<br /><br />I use a staple gun, but all my lights are in a perfect straight line. I use only the small twinkle lights and twist the wires so all the lights point in the same direction. Then I place every 5th or 6th light in a staple to keep the rest straight. It doesn't take that long and I think the straight lines make the house stand out more. The neighbors think I'm crazy. They may be right. <br /><br />The chasing lights around the eves have been on the house for years. I leave them up, but the trim is dark blue and you really can't see them either. The wires are just under the overhanging shingles and stapled to the top of the trim. Every 5th or 6th bulb is in a staple. The staples are painted the color of the trim. With everything being in a straight line it helps blend into the shape of the roof line.<br /><br />My Neighbor has clips that attach to her drip cap that hold the bigger lights. These might be the same ones that you all use for gutters. With less then 7 inches of rain a year we don't use gutters very much. <br /><br />My mother has hooks. We leave them up and again painted them the color of the trim. You don't really see them unless you are looking from the side.
Oh, I agree . . . That's why I used 170 + of those flippin' clips. Again, no gutters for me, I just couldn't see messing up my newly painted eaves with a bunch of staples. I do a double row of colored C7s along with Icicles as my base setup.<br /><br />Originally posted by AzMeadMan:<br /> Ok, I admit I'm anal when it comes to Christmas lights.
<br /><br />Icicles are a pain in the butt though. First pet peeve is getting them to hang straight out off the box. Way too much time stretching etc. Then they bang around a little in the wind and a small section goes out. Heck, a small section goes out if I look at 'em cross-eyed. My favorite deal is that one of the C7s will go out and it is always at the very top where I have to hang over the edge to change it Murphy's law of home illumination . . .
