- Most homes switch on the weekend after Thanksgiving – in 2026 that is Friday November 27 to Sunday November 29.
- Lights can go up earlier and stay off until then. Professional installers hang displays from October onward.
- Book an installer in September or October; calendars fill through October and November.
- Take them down in early January. HomeGuide notes most professionals recommend removal by mid-January.
The short answer
In the U.S. the traditional switch-on is the weekend after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday November 26, so for most households the lights go on between November 27 and November 29 and stay on until the new year.
“Up” and “on” do not have to be the same day, though. Hanging lights in October or early November, on a dry and mild day, is easier and safer than waiting for the first frost – then a timer keeps them dark until you are ready.
A season calendar
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| September – October | Get quotes. Installers measure, suggest a design and book install dates. |
| October – mid November | Most professional installs. Lights go up and stay off on a timer. |
| Thanksgiving weekend (Nov 27–29, 2026) | The traditional switch-on for most homes. |
| December | Service calls if a strand fails. Lights run on a timer each evening. |
| Early to mid January | Takedown, then storage until next fall. |
If you are hiring an installer
Installers are the constraint, not the calendar. Many of them are landscapers, window cleaners and roofers who switch to holiday lighting in the fall, and the best-organised ones fill their season early. Get two or three quotes in September or October and you choose your install date; wait until December and you take what is left.
Ask for both dates in writing when you book: when the lights go up, and when they come down. Of the 1210 installers in our directory, 48 mention a January takedown on their own websites.
If you are doing it yourself
- Pick a dry, calm day for the ladder work. Frost, ice and wind are the real reasons not to wait too long.
- Test every strand on the ground first. Finding a dead section on the roof is a second trip up the ladder.
- Put everything on a timer so the switch-on date is a setting, not another climb.
When to take them down
The most common window is the first two weeks of January. Traditions differ – some families wait for Epiphany on January 6 – but practically, HomeGuide notes that most professionals recommend removing holiday lights by mid-January. Lights left up through late winter take a beating from snow, ice and sun, and some HOAs set their own deadline (see HOA rules for Christmas lights).
If you hired an installer, takedown is usually part of the package, and HomeGuide puts takedown on its own at $100 to $400. If you would rather never think about it, permanent lights stay up all year and are switched from an app.
Keep reading
- How much it costs to run Christmas lights
- How to measure your roofline
- HOA rules for Christmas lights
- How to hire a Christmas light installer
Sources
- HomeGuide – Christmas light installation cost – updated October 1, 2025; read September 22, 2026
Written by the Christmas Lights Outdoor Installation editorial team. Figures are dated and linked to their source; national numbers vary by area – confirm with local installers.
The directory
Find an installer near you
1210 installers in 49 states, each checked on its own website and listed alphabetically.