A Cautionary Christmas Tale: Don’t Let This Happen to You!

Here’s a little holiday story we want to share with our readers. Once upon a time there was die-hard do-it-yourselfer. He mows his own lawn, fixes his leaky faucets, and even changes his own oil. That kind of guy…we all know them.

It was approaching the holidays, and he was inspired while watching The Great Christmas Light Fight on TV. He thought to himself, “Heck, yeah! I could do that.” So the next day he headed to his local big box store and loaded up his cart full to the brim with Christmas lights and decorations.

He arrived home and unloaded his purchases from the car while his kids watched in wonder. As he was walking across the lawn, the well-meaning do-it-yourselfer tripped on a landscaping rock and dropped the heavy load he was carrying. When he bent to pick everything up, he pulled a muscle in his back.

But he was a trooper, so he pushed through the pain because he didn’t want to let the kids down. They were so excited about the beautiful light display he was about to install.

He grabbed his rickety ladder, leaned it up against the house, and began installing the lights. But they were crooked. “Ugh,” he thought, “that’s not the look I’m going for.” So he started over. Still crooked. He started to perspire as he became more and more frustrated.

His wife came out to check on his progress. As he turned to look at her, he lost his balance and fell off the ladder, twisting his ankle. While he was laying on the ground, the mosquitos found him.

Back and ankle aching, dripping in sweat, and cursing to himself under his breath, still he pushed on. He didn’t want to disappoint the kids who were hoping to be the envy of the neighbors.

Several hours later, our sweaty, aching, itchy do-it-yourselfer finished decorating and was ready to behold his handiwork. He plugged the lights into an extension cord. Sparks begin to fly, singeing his eyebrows. Clearly, he miscalculated the electrical load.

Meanwhile, his neighbor across the street was enjoying a cold beer while watching the game. His brilliant No Fuss Lights were the talk of the neighborhood. This neighbor knew his limitations and understood that sometimes it’s just better to hire the experts.

This year, take a load off and let the professionals at No Fuss Lights bring some holiday cheer to your home. Not only will we install your lights, but we’ll also take them down and properly store them for you. You’ll be the envy of the neighborhood!

Be like the smart neighbor, and call us ASAP at 281-809-7021 for a free estimate. We serve the Greater Houston area, so our calendar fills up fast!

The Best Christmas Lights in Houston

If your family is like ours, they love driving around town and visiting local hotspots looking for the most amazing Christmas light displays in the Greater Houston area. As light installation professionals, we can certainly give props to our peers who light up the town!

While driving around in your own car is definitely the safest way to enjoy the holiday lights, many local tourist spots are requiring masks and working their hardest to keep you safe in 2020 despite COVID-19.

Here are a few of our favorite holiday light displays in Houston and surrounding areas:

Houston Zoo – Zoo Lights
Enjoy a cup of cocoa while you stroll around the beautifully decorated grounds of the Houston Zoo.

Moody Garden Festival of Lights
Festival of Lights is a magical display, and Moody Gardens in Galveston offers so much more. It’s truly an immersive experience.

Reliant Lights Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular
Due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of public gatherings, the Reliant Lights Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular event will be reimagined this year. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Space Center Houston – Galaxy Lights
Space Center Houston has gotten into the lighting game with “the most interactive and technologically advanced light display in Texas.”

River Oaks
River Oaks is known as THE neighborhood with the best Christmas light displays in town. Check out River Oaks Country Club, Inwood Drive, Willowick and Del Monte streets.

Lights in the Heights
Another neighborhood known for amazing displays is The Heights. You can check it out on foot or by car.

Sugar Land Holiday Lights
Billed as the “best holiday display in all the land,” Constellation Field in Sugar Land brings the season to life.

Sadly, the Magical Winter Lights at Gulf Greyhound Park in LaMarque is taking a year off in 2020 due to COVID-19, but be sure to plan a visit in 2021.

No matter where you live in the Greater Houston area, you can be sure to find amazing displays to enjoy in your neck of the woods.

After visiting these incredible displays, bring the magic to your home with professionally installed holiday lights by No Fuss Lights. Be sure to call us ASAP at 281-809-7021 for a free estimate. We serve the Greater Houston area, so we book up fast!

Bringing Light to the Holidays During Coronavirus

It’s no understatement to say that 2020 has been a year like no other. COVID-19 has turned all of our lives upside down, and we’re doing the best we can to cope with life during a pandemic.

Many of us are struggling with how to bring a sense of normalcy to the holidays this year, especially considering it’s all about gathering together with friends and families. How can we celebrate safely while COVID-19 is still spreading in our community?

Here are some tips for keeping the holidays festive and safe, even during the Coronavirus pandemic:

  • Indoor family gatherings seem to be where COVID-19 is spreading right now. Instead of gathering indoors, invite your family and friends over for an outdoor celebration.
  • Keep your gatherings short, the guest list small, and put plenty of distance between your guests. Give the gift of individual-sized hand sanitizers and festive masks.
  • The jury is still out on whether or not air travel is safe. If you can’t spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa with your loved ones, consider setting up a group Zoom call.
  • Get your flu shot. Ain’t no one got time to catch the flu and Coronavirus this year!
  • If you’re dressing up for Halloween, don’t let a costume mask replace your fabric mask or combine the two together.
  • Check out more recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.

Even though we’re facing dark times, we can’t let the chaos and turmoil in our world bring us down. Instead, we need to bring more light in our lives. Christmas lights, to be specific.

Although we complain about Houston’s brutal summers, we’re so fortunate that fall and winter are pleasantly mild here, and we can enjoy being outdoors throughout the year.

Since we’ll be spending more time outdoors in this lovely weather, make sure your home’s exterior is up to par with outdoor lights by No Fuss Lights.

Lights aren’t just for Christmas anymore! We can decorate your home for all the holidays: Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and for pretty much any other occasion you can imagine.

Make your home the envy of your neighbors. Give us a call at 281-809-7021 for a free estimate.

We serve the Greater Houston area, so we book up fast. Schedule your appointment today!

Hit a Home Run with Sports Team-Themed Christmas Lights

How Big of a Fan Are You?

If you’re a Houston Astros, Texans, or Rockets fan, we’re betting your Christmas tree has at least one ornament featuring your favorite sports team.

If you deck out your entire Christmas tree in team-themed ornaments, then that means that you’re a true fan. Check out these Christmas trees on Pinterest.

But if you’re the ULTIMATE FAN, you’ve got season tickets, all the team apparel, can recite all the stats from the beginning of time, and you also decorate your entire house with sports-themed Christmas lights! Check out this house lit up for the Astros, this one decorated for the Texans, and this one decorated for the Rockets. Pretty impressive stuff.

Show Off Your True Colors

Prove your love for your favorite team by lighting up the neighborhood with orange and blue lights for the Astros, red and blue lights for the Texans, or red and white lights for the Rockets.

Not only will you be the envy of your neighbors, but you’ll also show the world who is really the biggest fan of all time. Do it right, and you might even become a photo opp for the neighbors (won’t they be jealous!) or make it onto the local news.

No Fuss Lights can set you up and save you hours of work during the busiest time of the year. We set up, take down and store your lights for you. Couldn’t be easier!

Make your plans now, and give us a call at 281-809-7021 for a free estimate. But do it ASAP as we book up fast.

Who’s the Biggest Fan?

Do you decorate for the holidays with your favorite team colors? If so, we’d love to see some pictures. Show off your handiwork by sharing them on social media using the hashtag #nofusslights.

Christmas Lights Aren’t Just for Christmas Anymore!

October 31 is right around the corner! Are y’all ready with your inflatable Frankensteins, spooky pumpkins and exterior Halloween lights? Wait…what?!?

You heard us right—exterior Halloween lights. They’re a real thing now, and they’re SPOOKTACULAR!

Because Christmas lights aren’t just for Christmas anymore! They’re for Halloween, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and pretty much any other major holiday you can think of.

We all know this time of year is crazy, so save yourself the time and hassle and let No Fuss Lights take care of ALL your exterior holiday lights.

Make Your Home a Fright!

Get into the spirit of the holidays, and make your home a showcase of the neighborhood and the envy of your neighbors. Whether you’re more of a Casper the Friendly Ghost or a serious Amityville Horror fan, No Fuss Lights has got you covered.

Instead of the same old lame pumpkins and hay bales, up your decorating game and get some unique lighting ideas here or on Pinterest. Add in your own creepy yard décor, and we’ll take care of installing, removing and storing your lights.

Choose Your Color Scheme

Orange is the obvious choice, but you could also go with orange and purple or green or blue for an equally spooky atmosphere. If you’re looking for super ghastly look (think haunted graveyard at night), try red and orange, which will look like flames! Add in some mummies, zombies, skeletons, ghosts hanging from the trees, giant spiders, and super creepy mood music, and your trick or treaters will be in for a frightful treat!

Safe Trick or Treating

If you’re concerned about how to trick or treat safely this year, check out these suggestions:

  • Spread candy out on a table or sidewalk
  • Get your robot to hand out candy (no joke!)
  • Create a candy chute
  • And the easiest one: make a mask part of your costume!

The most important thing to remember: less is NEVER more when it comes to the holidays!

Harvey Recovery and the 2017 Holiday Season

It’s been forty days and forty nights since a hurricane of Biblical proportions slammed into the Houston area and other parts of Texas and the Gulf Coast. Even though local leaders have finally begun issuing relief fund grants, the vast majority of south Texans who saw their property damaged (or destroyed) by Harvey are not even close to returning to normalcy.

 

We at No Fuss Lights were affected by Hurricane Harvey too, as were many of our neighbors and family members. So we completely understand what our current customers and others in the Houston area are going through. And with your attention focused primarily on insurance adjustors, cleanup efforts, contractor arrangements, and rebuilding projects, you’re probably not thinking much about the holiday season right now – much less decorating your home for Christmas.

 

With that in mind, we want our customers to know that No Fuss Lights will do everything in our power to work with you this holiday season. Whether it’s pushing back your decoration date, reducing the scope of your display, or putting together a more basic and lower-budget design plan, we’re happy to accommodate your needs as much as possible.

 

If you aren’t a No Fuss Lights customer, please know that we did survive Harvey and we are open for business this holiday season. So feel free to give us a call today at 281-809-7021 for a free quote, or fill out our contact form here.

 

And no matter who you are, please keep in mind that everyone at No Fuss Lights is keeping you in our thoughts and prayers as you continue to rebuild, recover, and rebound after our state’s worst hurricane in decades. After all, it’s our Houston values of resilience, helpfulness, and selflessness that will get us through this calamity together.

Image credit: Jill Carlson (jillcarlson.org)/Flickr

 

No Fuss Lights Means No Extra Power Outlets

One of the most frustrating things about making a major purchase is discovering that you need to buy something else in order to make it work properly. Like needing a specific adaptor for a new piece of stereo equipment, or a new set-top box or cable so you can actually watch programs on your television.

Unfortunately, there’s something similar that happens in the Christmas lights installation industry, and it involves extra AC outlets.

It’s not unheard of for a company to come to a home, charge a bunch of money to hang Christmas lights, and then tell the homeowners that they need additional outdoor plugs so that all of the holiday lights can be plugged in without overloading their electrical system. These new outlets sometimes cost $100 or more apiece, and there’s no guarantee that the homeowners will ever use them again except for holiday lighting. (There have also been a few horror stories about improperly-installed electrical outlets which have caused homeowners to deal with building code compliance issues later on.)

Does this sound like a shady practice to you? We at No Fuss Lights think so. Which is why we will NEVER ask you to purchase extra power outlets as part of our service.

Not only do we think this practice is abhorrent, but there simply isn’t any need for us to add any new plugs in order for our Christmas light displays to be fully illuminated. That’s because No Fuss Lights uses LED lights, which consume a fraction of the power that regular incandescent lights do. As a result, we can literally take dozens of strands of lights, connect them end-to-end, and plug the entire sequence into a single power outlet (as opposed to a maximum of four or five incandescent strands of lights).

So don’t get swindled by companies who insist that you buy extra electrical plugs. Let No Fuss Lights decorate your home with beautiful, energy-efficient LED lights and power them using your existing electrical outlets. Call No Fuss Lights today at 281.809.7021 or fill out this contact form for more information.

Image credit: No Fuss Lights
Image credit: No Fuss Lights

Already Own Too Many Christmas Lights? No Fuss Lights Wants to Buy Them From You

Ok, time for a quick lesson in behavioral economics.

There’s a concept known as the “sunk cost fallacy.” It describes the reluctance of consumers or companies to make prudent decisions because of the tendency to factor in the amount of money that has already been spent and cannot be recovered (known in economics as “sunk costs”).

For instance, you would be exhibiting this type of behavior if you chose to continue sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress simply because it’s only a couple years old – even if you are suffering from back problems caused by the mattress. Or you decide to attend that weekend outdoor festival because you already paid for the tickets – even though you know the weather will be rainy, windy, and cold, and you will probably have a miserable time.

Here’s another example: because you already have hundreds or even thousands of Christmas lights that you’ve already purchased (perhaps at a steep price from another Christmas light company) that are taking up space in your garage or attic, you convince yourself to bite the bullet and put up those lights again this season – instead of calling No Fuss Lights to install your holiday lights.

Photo credit: Flickr/frankieleon.
Photo credit: Flickr/frankieleon

Well, guess what? We understand your dilemma. That’s why No Fuss Lights wants to take those old Christmas lights off your hands and buy them from you.

That’s right. If you choose No Fuss Lights to decorate your home this year, our designers will come to your house or business, look over your used Christmas lights, make you an offer for them, and then apply that amount as a discount off of your final invoice. Then No Fuss Lights will haul away your old lights and either donate them to a charity or dispose of them properly.

And here’s the best part: you don’t have to purchase new Christmas lights to replace the ones you are getting rid of. That’s because No Fuss Lights is a holiday lighting rental company – meaning that we don’t make you buy the lights, cords, outlets, or other equipment. In other words, No Fuss Lights will decorate your home beautifully, maintain those lights throughout the holiday season, and then return after Christmas to take down those lights and bring them back to our warehouse.

So don’t let the idea of already-purchased Christmas lights dissuade you from calling No Fuss Lights this year and letting us install your holiday lights. You won’t have to deal with the hassle of unpacking, testing, and hanging Christmas lights, which will free up valuable time (and a little extra storage space!) this holiday season.

Don’t wait! Call No Fuss Lights at (281) 809-7021 or fill out our contact form today. And say goodbye to those unwieldy Christmas lights – and hello to a gorgeously decorated home with “no fuss!”

Photo credit: No Fuss Lights
Photo credit: No Fuss Lights

Flickr Photo use license

No Fuss Lights Showcased in Houston Chronicle Article

 

Everyone at No Fuss Lights would like to thank all of our customers for helping us grow into one of the most successful Christmas lights providers in the city. And it appears that the entire Houston area is taking notice!

Earlier this month, No Fuss Lights was featured in an online article written by Craig Hlavaty in the Houston Chronicle, which you can read here. The piece focused on how much the company has grown over the last six years, and pointed out that the vast majority of referrals come from other satisfied customers. In addition, Hlavaty’s article notes that No Fuss Lights is the first Christmas lighting company to convert to 100% LED lights, which burn brighter while emitting less heat and using less energy.

Company owner John Emanuel was quoted in the Chronicle piece talking about the benefits of hiring No Fuss Lights during the holiday season:

“It’s all rental, we install it, offer a 24-hour service guarantee, and come back to remove the lights at the end of the holiday season,” he says. “Our job is to make your yard look like no other in Houston, while also accentuating the home that the lights are going on.”

After the article was posted on the newspaper’s website, No Fuss Lights received numerous inquiries from Houston-area homeowners who were hoping to engage the company’s services. We would like to thank them for their business as well – and remind everybody else that there’s still time to get their orders in.

For a free, on-site estimate, you can contact No Fuss Lights directly at 281.809.7021. Let No Fuss Lights turn your home into a holiday wonderland!

Lights for Halloween? A Frightfully Good Idea!

Sure, it’s a great idea to hand Christmas lights on your property during the holiday season. They’re also appropriate for parties, weddings, or other outdoor events any time of year. But what about putting up lights for Halloween?

Think about it. A few strands of orange-colored outdoor lights could add an extra facet to your Halloween decorations. Your home would appear even more festive as all of the kids visited your home while trick-or-treating. Or they’d be ideal as part of your decorations for a Halloween party for older kids – or adults! Plus, having a brightly lit home during Halloween would also add a degree of safety for people who are out and about on Halloween night.

Of course, you don’t have to string all those lights up on your own if you don’t want to. Why not call in the professionals at No Fuss Lights to do it?

No Fuss Lights will provide the same high-quality, personalized service for your Halloween lighting needs as they will for your Christmas outdoor displays. Whether it’s a standard lighting arrangement or something a little more complex and unique, No Fuss Lights will provide you with a design plan and all of the equipment necessary to build your Halloween scene. And as always, they’ll use energy-efficient LED lights and won’t make you purchase complicated timers, outlets, or other infrastructure products.

So if you wanted your home to be the brightest or scariest one on the block when Halloween rolls around, why not let No Fuss Lights lend a hand with you outdoor lighting needs? Call them at 281-809-7021or visit them online at NoFussLights.com.