Christmas light installation is one of the most profitable seasonal add-ons for a service company. Lawn care, gutter cleaning, window washing and roofing crews already own ladders and trucks and already have a customer list. From October to January, the same crews can hang roofline lights, wrap trees and decorate storefronts, then come back to take everything down and store it.
In this article
Who buys
- busy homeowners who do not want to climb ladders;
- older homeowners;
- HOAs, apartment complexes and office parks;
- restaurants, retail stores and downtown districts.
Buy or lease the lights
The most profitable model is leasing: you supply commercial-grade lights, install them, fix outages during the season, take them down in January and store them. The customer pays every year, and you reuse the same lights for several seasons. Selling the lights outright is simpler but leaves no recurring revenue.
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Equipment
Commercial-grade LED C9 bulbs and cords, clips for gutters and shingles, timers, extension cords rated for outdoor use, ladders with stabilizers, fall protection for steep roofs and labeled bins for storage by customer.
Pricing
Measure the roofline in linear feet and price by the foot, add line items for trees, bushes, wreaths and garlands, and set a minimum per house that covers a crew visit. Include takedown and storage in the price so the customer is not surprised in January.
Insurance and safety
Confirm that your general liability policy covers holiday lighting and work on roofs. Train crews on ladder setup, roof access in wet or icy weather and electrical load. One fall costs more than the whole season.
Crews and schedule
Installations run from late October to mid-December, with the busiest weeks right after Thanksgiving. Takedowns run in January. Book installation and takedown dates when the customer signs.
Marketing
Start with your existing customers. A text and email to your list, yard signs on finished houses and before-and-after photos on Google and Nextdoor usually fill the first season.
An example
A gutter cleaning company in Texas added holiday lighting with two crews. It sold 74 residential installs and six commercial jobs in its second season, with an average residential ticket of $1,150 including takedown and storage. Sixty-one customers renewed for the next year before the January takedown.
Common mistakes
Starting in December, underpricing without a minimum, using cheap retail lights that fail, no plan for takedown and storage and sending crews onto icy roofs.
Price every call so it pays.
We help service businesses set clear policies, book better jobs and turn more calls into profitable work.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Christmas light installers charge?
Most installers price residential work by the linear foot of roofline plus extras for trees, bushes and wreaths, with a minimum per house. Including lights, installation, takedown and storage, residential jobs commonly land in the high hundreds to a few thousand dollars. Local prices vary, so check what established installers in your area charge and set a minimum that covers a crew visit.