Frequently Asked Questions: How to Quickly Decorate a Garden Plot for New Year?

If you plan to celebrate New Year on the dacha, start preparing by decorating the plot. We asked experts from Derevo Park studio to explain how to choose New Year's lights and where to hang them.

Where to start?

Any designer will confirm: properly placed lighting can work wonders. Look at your house and garden from the side — which areas would you like to highlight, and which ones to hide?

You can emphasize the entrance area, windows, eaves, roof, and also decorate trees. Ideally, New Year's lighting should complement architectural solutions — for this, landscape designers create a design mock-up. In reality, a small hand-drawn sketch is enough to assess your options and understand how many lights you'll need.

What lights to choose?

There are two types of lights: some are suitable for indoor use, others for outdoor. The latter have special protection against temperature fluctuations, so the wires look thicker.

Plan ahead how many lights you’ll need. Remember that it’s better to buy lights with a little extra: it might be hard to find the same models later. Buy 1–2 more of each type. We’ll talk about types below.

Belt light

Lighting in retro style with round bulbs. The cable is water-resistant and durable. They also look great in any project.

"Fringe"

One of the most popular decorations — lights with hanging glowing threads. They can decorate maximum space with minimal cost. You can also create a "running fire" effect with them.

Light curtain

This is a variation of "fringe" with longer threads up to 9 meters long.

LED icicles

Not very good as standalone decorations, but they blend perfectly with other lights. For example, with the same fringe.

Led Neon

This is a molded PVC cord, inside which LEDs are placed on special current-carrying tracks.

Important

Lights should match in color temperature — don't mix warm and cool tones. Lamps with warm light look cozier, but aren’t suitable for every architecture.

How to control the lighting?

You can choose lights with a regular switch or timer so they turn off at the right time. You can also connect lights to facade lighting or a "smart home" system.

Types of cables

Lights differ in wire quality. What types are there?

• Plastic wire is cheaper, but doesn’t withstand temperature changes or strong winds well — it can crack in poor weather conditions.
• Rubber wire is considered more durable and high-quality.

Note

Swedish lights are so unprofitable that it’s better to buy quality Chinese analogs.

How to hang lights?

It’s not advisable to hang lights outdoors in freezing weather — they can become stiff at low temperatures.

A small suburban house can be decorated by yourself in about 2–3 hours. Owners of larger cottages should consider hiring professionals — they need permits for high-altitude work. Don’t forget to call an electrician to check the wire insulation and connect everything properly.

Decorating trees

To choose the right type of tree decorations, it’s important to consider bark texture, canopy density and shape, and growth rate. We explain what types of plot decoration exist.

• Different types of spotlights. They cover large areas and can illuminate big trees — just direct the spotlight at the canopy. The light can be any shade.
• Spotlights with directed light. Similar to spotlights but smaller in size. You can direct the light at tree canopies or individual decorative zones — large boulders or snow-dusted bushes.
• Lighting garlands. LED Clip-Light garlands are suitable for decorating trees — they are safe and connect via a power supply. The voltage is only 12V. The garland can even be cut if it’s too long.
• Lighting pendants. They come in the form of New Year symbols — snowflakes, stars, large balls that are attached to branches. Pendants are made of lightweight PET — transparent, strong, and flexible material. For decorating trees with medium-sized canopies, 3–4 pendants are needed.
• Lighting figures. These usually come into play once other decorations are installed. They come in two types: made of duralumin (a flexible cord is attached to a base) or plastic (with prints like snowmen or reindeer), the outline of which highlights LED strips.

What to do with decorations after New Year?

Lights are often left hanging until summer, but that’s not a good idea. They easily withstand frost and rain, but aren’t adapted to intense sunlight (unless it’s Belt Light).

If you want to extend the life of lights, remove them early in spring, store in boxes, and label so you don’t have to search for them next year.

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