Every fall, the same question comes up: keep hanging seasonal lights, or put in a permanent system once and be done? Both are good options — they just fit different homeowners. Here's an honest comparison so you can tell which one is actually right for you, no pressure either way.
The quick verdict
If you like changing your display year to year, or you're not sure you'll light up every single season, seasonal lighting is the simpler call — lower up front, fully managed, and easy to adjust. If you light your home every year without fail and you'd love to skip the whole install-and-takedown cycle for good, permanent lighting usually wins in the long run, and it does a lot more than Christmas. That's the short version. The details are below.
Seasonal (traditional) lighting
This is the classic setup: a custom display designed for your home, installed for the holidays, maintained through the season, then taken down and stored until next year. With a full-service program like ours, the whole thing is handled — you never touch a ladder. Our seasonal displays start around $1,200, and that one price covers design, commercial-grade lights we provide, installation, maintenance, takedown, and storage.
It's the right fit if you:
- like the flexibility to change your look from one year to the next
- want the lowest up-front cost
- aren't certain you'll decorate every single season
The one trade-off: it's a fresh install and takedown every year, so you're paying for that service each season.
Permanent lighting
Permanent holiday lighting is a discreet LED system installed once along your roofline and controlled from an app. We install InvisiLights®, which tuck into your trim and all but disappear during the day — no cords or bulbs on the house when they're off. At night, they're whatever you want: warm white for everyday, red and green for Christmas, orange for Halloween, your team's colors on game night.
It's a bigger investment up front than a single season of traditional lights, but you never pay for installation or takedown again. And ours is backed by a lifetime workmanship warranty — you put it in once and rely on it for years. Financing through Wisetack® is available if you'd rather spread it out.
It's the right fit if you:
- light your home every year anyway
- want it handled once and done — no annual install, no storage
- like the idea of year-round and every-holiday lighting, not just December
- want app control over colors and schedules
The honest cost comparison
Here's the math people actually want. Seasonal lighting has a lower entry cost, but it repeats every year — you're paying for install and takedown each season. Permanent lighting costs more the first year, then almost nothing after that, because the system's already up and the work is done.
So it comes down to time. If you decorate every season, the yearly cost of seasonal lighting adds up, and at some point the one-time permanent system would have cost less overall. For most homeowners who light up every year, that break-even lands within a handful of seasons — and everything after that is upside. If you only decorate some years or love changing your style, seasonal keeps more money in your pocket. (Read more about exactly what determines these costs here).
There's no universally "cheaper" answer. There's only which one's cheaper for how you actually use it — and that's an easy thing to figure out together in a quick quote.
Permanent lighting does more than Christmas
This is the part people don't think about until they have it. A permanent system isn't really a "Christmas" product — it's year-round exterior lighting that happens to do Christmas beautifully. Everyday warm-white accent lighting. Security lighting on a timer. Every holiday handled without lifting a finger. Color for a birthday or a party. For a lot of Delaware homeowners, that everyday use ends up being the part they love most, long after the tree's down.
Which should you choose?
If you're the kind of homeowner who lights up like clockwork every December and you're tired of the yearly routine, permanent lighting is probably your move — and the lifetime warranty makes it an easy one to feel good about. If you'd rather keep it flexible and low-commitment, seasonal lighting done full-service gives you a beautiful display with none of the work and none of the long-term commitment.
Either way, the best next step is the same: a free look at your home so you can see real options and real numbers for both.
Not sure which fits your home? Get a free quote today or call (302) 290-6508, and we'll walk you through both — honestly. We serve Wilmington, Hockessin, Greenville, Newark, Middletown, and across Delaware and Southern PA.