If you're wondering when to put up Christmas lights in Michigan, the answer is November, on a dry, mild day before Thanksgiving. Putting the lights up and turning them on are two separate choices. They can go up in the first half of November and stay dark until the night you pick. If you'd rather hire it out, book an installer in the fall. Glass Guru provides the lights, hangs them and takes them down in January.
Hang them early, turn them on later
The day the lights go up has nothing to do with the day they come on. A roof is safest to work on when the shingles are dry, and the weather turns against roof work as November runs into December. Lights can sit on the house unlit for weeks, then come on with a timer the evening you choose.
That takes the pressure off the calendar. You might want the house lit the week of Thanksgiving, or you might wait for December. Either way, the ladder work can happen on the best day in November, and the switch can wait.
Thanksgiving 2027 falls on Thursday, November 25. Saving the job for the long weekend puts it at the very end of November, a few days from December weather, and leaves no room if that weekend turns out wet or icy.
What the weather says about November
Here are Detroit's 1991 to 2020 normals from the National Weather Service, month by month through the lights season:
Month | Average high | Average low | Average snow |
|---|---|---|---|
October | 62.0°F | 44.0°F | 0.0 in |
November | 48.6°F | 33.9°F | 1.9 in |
December | 37.2°F | 25.3°F | 8.9 in |
January | 32.3°F | 19.2°F | 14.0 in |
November is the last month of the year whose average low stays above freezing, and it averages under two inches of snow. December's average low drops to 25.3 degrees, with 8.9 inches of snow. The National Weather Service puts Detroit's average first fall freeze at October 26, so by November, frosty mornings are part of the deal.
Frost is the reason late-season roof work slows down. Shingles that are frosted in the morning and wet in the afternoon are a bad place to stand, and a gutter isn't built to be leaned on. A mild November afternoon, after the frost has burned off, is the window to aim for.
Ice is worse than snow. The National Weather Service's summary of the December 21 and 22, 2013 ice storm logged freezing rain across southeast Michigan the weekend before Christmas, with reports from Oakland and Livingston counties among others and about half an inch of ice where it was worst. A glazed roof is no place for a ladder.
The ground matters too. Walkway lights and anything on a stake go in easily while the soil is soft. Once the top of the ground freezes, every stake is a fight.
The best days to hang them
If you're doing it yourself, pick your day the way you'd pick a day for any roof work:
Dry shingles and a dry lawn under the ladder
Above freezing, with the morning frost gone
Light wind, since a long run of lights catches every gust
After the leaves are down and the gutters are clear
Test each strand on the ground before it goes up. Finding a dead section at the top of a ladder means a second trip. If you're weighing doing it yourself against hiring it out, our post on hanging your own lights vs hiring an installer goes through both.
When to book a Christmas light installer
Booking happens in the fall. If you're searching for Christmas light installers near me, start in September or October, while the dry-weather install dates are still open. We install from late October into early December, and because the lights run on a timer, an early install doesn't mean an early switch-on. Your house can be finished in early November and stay dark until the night you want it lit.
We provide the lights, hang them on your house and take them down in January. We're owner-operated in Northville, and we hang lights in ten towns, including Northville, Novi and Plymouth. The full list is on our Christmas light installation service areas page.
To get a quote, have these ready:
Your address
Which rooflines and peaks you want lit
Which trees, shrubs or porch columns go in
The color you want: warm white, cool white or multicolor
It helps to decide what the street should see first. On a two-story colonial, the upper peak can carry the display by itself. On a ranch, the entry and the trees do more of the work. Note where your outdoor outlets are too, since every run of lights has to reach one.
Two questions are worth asking any installer, us included. Who provides the lights? Is takedown included, and when does it happen? An install-only price and a full-season price can look close on paper and cover very different jobs, so line them up on the same terms before you compare totals.
Takedown in January
The lights come down in January, after the holidays. January is the coldest month in Detroit's normals, with an average low of 19.2 degrees and 14.0 inches of snow, and that's why takedown is the harder half of the season. Clips freeze to the gutters, cords freeze to the shingles, and there can be snow sitting on the roof.
Takedown is part of our service. You don't book it separately or call us in January to remind us.
Clear the gutters before the clips go on
Lights clip onto gutter lips and shingle edges, so the gutters should be clear before the install. Leaves are still coming down in late fall, and a gutter packed with wet leaves is a poor place to clip a run of lights. Our gutter cleaning season runs April through November, and if your gutters are due, our gutter cleaning can go on the same schedule as the lights, in the right order.
The full service, from the lights we use to how takedown works, is on our Christmas light installation page.
Questions people ask
Is early November too soon to put up Christmas lights?
No. Early November is a good time to hang them, because the weather is still mild and the shingles dry out by the afternoon. Hanging the lights and turning them on are separate decisions. Put them up early, leave them dark, and switch them on the night you choose, whether that's Thanksgiving week or later.
Should I wait until after Thanksgiving to hang Christmas lights?
Waiting puts the work at the end of November or into December, when it's colder and snow is more likely. Thanksgiving 2027 is November 25. In Detroit's weather normals, December averages a low of 25.3 degrees and 8.9 inches of snow, so the earlier dry days in November are the safer ones.
When should I call a Christmas light installer?
In the fall. September and October are good months to ask for a quote, because the dry-weather install dates go first. Send your address and tell us which rooflines, trees and shrubs you want lit, and the color. We provide the lights, hang them and take them down in January.
When do installed Christmas lights come down?
We take them down in January, after the holidays. Takedown is part of the service, so there's nothing extra to schedule. January is the coldest month here, with clips frozen to gutters, cords frozen to shingles and sometimes snow on the roof, which is why it's the harder half of the job.
Get a quote
Tell us your address and what you'd like lit through Get a Free Quote, and we'll price your house. We're owner-operated in Northville and have been since 2014, and we're rated 5.0 on Google.
