How to Straighten Icicle Lights

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Nothing inspires Christmas cheer quite like turning on some of those classic Christmas hits, trimming a Christmas tree as a family and setting up your favorite holiday decorations both inside and out. And having the right holiday lighting can make your entire seasonal display even more magical. So, break out the extension cords, grab those LED icicle lights out of storage and get ready to set up the best Christmas display yet.

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But wait! You've run into a problem and you need to fix your icicle lights. You can't hang a twisted-up light display from your roofline or under your eaves, no way. And after being stored in a box or bin all year with your other Christmas decorations, your favorite icicle lights may not hang quite as straight as the day when you bought them.

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Luckily, this DIY tutorial shows you how to hang Christmas lights that look amazing and hang straight year after year.

Things You'll Need

  • Hair dryer

  • Fishing weights

  • Fishing line

  • Scissors

Using heat on LED Christmas lights

Heat is an effective straightener, so get out your hair dryer to start with.

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1. Heat the strands

Take a hair dryer and heat the strands of your Christmas lights on low heat for a minute or two. You'll want to quickly touch the string lights every 30 seconds or so to make sure that they aren't getting too hot. In order to straighten icicle lights, they only need to be warmed up slightly, not overheated.

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Warning

If you heat icicle Christmas lights too high, that can actually cause the plastic strands to start melting, and you certainly don’t want that because it’s now a fire hazard.

2. Pull the strands apart

Once the outdoor Christmas lights have been warmed up for a minute or two, gently pull the strands apart and hold them in a naturally stretched-out position until they cool down. Move along the entire strand of Christmas lights until all of the individual icicle light strands have been straightened out.

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Using fishing line on outdoor Christmas lights

If you still have some pesky kinks, trying using fishing line with weights.

1. Tie on the line

For pesky kinks that still remain, tie a short piece of fishing line to the end of each individual icicle light strand.

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2. Add a fishing weight

Add a weight to the end of each fishing line that you've tied along the strand of icicle lights.

Tip

After the weights have all been added, holding the entire strand of tree lights into the air will show you which individual strands need a second weight added in order to straighten them out.

3. Tie additional weights

For each strand that needs additional weights, tie on a second or even a third weight to that individual strand. With the help of the weights and gravity, your icicle lights will begin to straighten out automatically once you hang them.

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Tip

If you run out of weights and need more, you can always substitute gutter clips for fishing weights instead.

4. Trim the line

Use scissors to trim any extra fishing line that is visibly hanging from the bottom of the light strands.

Hang the icicle lights

You are now ready to hang the rope lights outside anywhere you choose by clipping them to your shingles or wrapping them around railings or trees.

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Now that you've straightened your icicle lights, enjoy your holiday lighting display. Each year, simply straighten your icicle Christmas lights as needed, hang them up and make the season bright!

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