Christmas here doesn't look like the postcards. No snow, no dusk at 4pm, no excuse to stay indoors. An Australian Christmas happens in the backyard, in the heat, with the sun still up well past dinner. Which means our lights have a harder job than anyone else's: they have to survive a summer storm, then look incredible at 8:30 at night.
Here's what actually works outdoors in 2026 — plus four facts worth repeating over the ham.
Four Christmas light facts you'll want at the BBQ
1. The first electric Christmas lights were a publicity stunt
Thomas Edison strung electric lamps outside his Menlo Park laboratory in 1880 so passing commuters could see them. Two years later his colleague Edward H. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white and blue bulbs around a rotating Christmas tree in his New York home — the first electrically lit Christmas tree anywhere.
2. The world record belongs to Canberra
An Australian family in Canberra has held the Guinness World Record for the most lights on a residential property, with more than 1.1 million globes on a single suburban home. If you've ever been told your display is over the top, it isn't.
3. LEDs changed the maths completely
Modern LED Christmas lights draw up to 80–90% less energy than the old incandescent globes. That's the difference between wincing at the December power bill and leaving the display on all evening without thinking about it.
4. We turn ours on later than almost anyone
In the southern states, late-December sunset can fall past 8pm. Northern-hemisphere displays are glowing by mid-afternoon; ours don't earn their keep until the kids are nearly in bed. It's worth planning for — a display that only looks good for two hours a night is a lot of ladder work for not much payoff.
The most common mistake: covering space with string
The instinct is to buy more lights. Another 50 metres, another ladder trip, another extension lead snaking across the lawn.
String lights are brilliant at what they're actually for — defining an edge. A pergola, a fence line, a tree trunk, a doorway. Give them a line to trace and they look considered.
What they're poor at is filling space. Covering a whole lawn or the face of a house with string means hundreds of metres, dozens of anchor points, and a rebuild every time the wind gets up. That's the job a projector does in one unit from one power point.
Most good displays use both: a projector for the wash, strings for the detail.
Five ways to light an Australian Christmas
The whole-yard wash
One HighBright™ Outdoor Laser Light Projector throws thousands of green and blue points across lawn, trees and the face of the house from a single spot. Waterproof, mains powered, and it takes about five minutes to set up. From $275 — with 2-pack ($497) and 3-pack ($697) options if you're covering front and back.
The cascade
Amazing Falling Rain Lights ($53) do the falling-icicle effect down a pergola post or veranda edge. There's a bulk pack ($190) if you're running a whole frontage.
Solar accents along the path
No cable, no power point, no thinking about it. Purple Blossom Solar Garden Lights ($29) and Warm White Rain Bubble Lights ($29.90) line a driveway or garden bed and charge themselves.
Fairy detail where people actually stand
White Frangipani Fairy Lights ($32) around the table or the outdoor bar — the bit guests are closest to all night, and the bit most displays forget.
The photo wall
Photo Clip LED String Lights ($27) — peg up the year's photos. Quietly the most-commented-on thing at any Christmas party.
Five minutes of weatherproofing that saves the display
- Check the rating before it goes outside. Anything permanently exposed should be IP65 or better. "Water resistant" is not the same as "sits in a storm all summer".
- Get transformers and joins off the ground. Zip-tie them to a fence rail or post. Puddles find the one connection lying in the grass.
- Assume it will blow. Summer storms arrive fast. Anchor at both ends and leave a little slack rather than pulling everything tight.
- Never run leads across a walkway. Go around the edge, or overhead. Christmas Day is the worst possible day for a trip.
- Aim projectors away from the road. Point them at your own house or garden, not at passing traffic or the neighbours' bedroom window.
And the drink to go with it
Since the lights are only half the evening: our Christmas Mistletoe Margarita — cranberry, lime, a sprig of mint, and a sugared rim. It's the recipe our readers ask for more than any other, and it takes about two minutes.
🎄 We're giving away $1,000 of Christmas lights
Drawn Tuesday 1 December 2026. Free to enter, open to Australian residents.
Everyone who enters also gets $30 off orders $275+ as a thank you.
Already entered? Tag your mates for bonus entries 🍹
Every different friend you tag on our giveaway post is one extra entry. There's no limit — tag five, get five. It's the fastest way to improve your odds, and your mates get their own $30 code too.
Free shipping Australia-wide on orders $275+.
