Lighting up your garden with a stylish glow is a lovely way to enter the Christmas spirit and brighten dark winter days. There's an array of beautiful outdoor Christmas lights to choose from, so we've selected our favourites to make your search a little easier. You could give a subtle nod to Christmas with a set of starry fairy lights or go for some charming light up reindeer - which children are sure to love.
So spread some festive, merry cheer and make your garden look even more beautiful, with our round up of the best outdoor Christmas lights for your garden.
For more lighting options, check out our lists of garden string lights and festoon lights.
Don't miss our Christmas hub page for everything festive.
Best outdoor Christmas lights for 2024
Star Battery Outdoor Lights
- Battery/mains? Battery
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? Five metres
These classy little outdoor lights are a fabulous way to decorate your garden this festive season. The flexible cable allows you to wrap the lights around foliage so you can jazz up your trees and plants. They require three AA batteries and you can make use of the six hour timer so they automatically light up every evening at the same time, making this a low maintenance choice. They're waterproof, and roughly five metres in length.
You could use these lights all year round as they're not overly Christmassy, so you're bound to make great use of them.
Robins LED Christmas lights
Buy from John Lewis (£45.00)
- Battery or mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? 10 metres
While we are all for classy, simple outdoor Christmas lights, we also couldn't resist this option which is on the John Lewis range. A set of five Christmas robins with a rattan effect, they could be the one catch of colour and fun to your display. The LED lights are for inside or out, and there are 40 bulbs in total. The cable measures 10m.
Outdoor Hanging Star Light
Buy from Lights4Fun (£49.99), Amazon (£51.99)
- Battery or mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? 58 cm
This large micro bead star can be hung inside or outside to add a glow to your home. Illuminated by 176 warm white LEDs and with a diameter of 58cm, it gives an elegant silhouette which looks great against windows, doors or walls. It is also complete with a handy hanging string attached. Plug it in using the generous 5m lead cable and set it to the 6 hour timer for automatic switch on at the same time each evening.
Wrap up warm this winter with a stylish garden jacket.
Starburst Wreath
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? Five metres
A wreath with a difference. This light-up wreath would look fantastic on a wall, or door. The mains operated lights would make the perfect finishing touch to your winter wonderland scene. It's festive without being too loud thanks to its stylish and graceful design.
Wire robin lights
- Battery/mains? Battery
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? 50cm
These individual robin lights will light up your garden beautifully at dusk. They are battery operated, and can be used outdoors or inside. The each robin has 20 warm white LEDs with a lead that's about 50 cms. There's a built in timer too, which makes it very versatile.
Light Up Tree Tower
Buy from Cox & Cox (£81.25)
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes, but not suitable for heavy winds.
- Length? 1600 cm cable
This is an understated and elegant outdoor light up tree. Thanks to its adjustable design, you can alter the size to make it wider or slimmer, so it should work well in a range of gardens. It's three metres high, so large enough to function as an attractive focal point. You can choose between still or twinkling lights, and there's even a star on top so it's a Christmas tree you don't have to decorate.
For more festive products, check out the best garden-themed Christmas cards.
Outdoor copper starburst garland
Buy from Graham & Green (£42.00)
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? 6 metres
A glittering addition to your home or garden, this sweet garland is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use and is powered by the mains, so there's no need to faff with batteries. Create a sparkling entrance if you've got an outdoor plug handy, or bring it indoors to add extra cosiness.
Antiqued winter village garland
Buy from Graham & Green (£45.00)
- Battery/mains? Battery
- Waterproof? Yes
If you're going for a rustic or vintage look, this outdoor garland is perfect. It features sweet little houses with lit windows, and comes with an automatic timer. Rain might change the look of this garland over time, so it's a great one for covered porches or terraces.
Three Magical Outdoor Silhouette Tree Path Lights
Buy from Cox & Cox (£60.00)
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes, but not suitable for heavy winds.
- Length? 800 cm
These delicate stylised Christmas tree shapes have a simple silhouette and a warm white LED glow. Use them to highlight the approach to your front door, or as a feature on your lawn.
Each tree measures H 72cm x W 32cm x D 0.4cm, on a 5m length of black plastic flex. Note that the transformer and plug must be located indoors.
Rattan Reindeer Light Up Family
Buy from Lights4Fun (£394.99)
Buy other reindeer sets from Lights4Fun
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes
- Length? 8 metre cable
If you fancy upping your garden light game this Christmas, this set of three light up rattan reindeer will do the trick. The endearing stag, doe and fawn feature LED lights and you can choose between icy white, warm white or a combination of both.
The stag is 140cm in height and the fawn is 60cm, so they make quite the show-stopping display. The reindeer are weatherproof and feature an eight metre lead cable, so you can have fun choosing where to place them!
Find out what to plant this season with our list of winter bulbs and foliage for December.
Icicle Curtain Lights
- Battery/mains? Mains
- Waterproof? Yes, but not suitable for heavy winds.
- Length? 10 metres
Icicle curtain lights are an easy way to create an effective garden display over the festive period. These outdoor lights are 10m in length, so you've got plenty of string to play with. With eight different lighting effects - including twinkle, slow fade and chase - you can select your preferred mode.
They have an IP44 waterproof rating, so these LED lights are ready for whatever this winter has in store. Using the timing feature, the lights will glow for six hours so you can sit back, and enjoy the display without faffing around with settings.
How to choose your outdoor Christmas lights
This depends on the type of garden or outside space you have. It's always worth using the energy that's all around us, so why not consider opting for solar powered, if you live in a particularly sunny area of the country. Solar powered options are often very versatile, but if you're looking for particularly bight lights, or lights that will be on for a significant period of time, then so mains or battery powered might work best.
Battery powered outdoor Christmas lights
There are lots of options for battery powered outdoor Christmas lights which will mean you don't have to have a connection to mains, and you can light up a remote spot of the garden easily. The main issue with battery powered Christmas lights is that often you will need to replace the battery, if you're planning on using them quite a bit. Battery powered options also tend to be less bright and less sturdy too.
Mains powered outdoor Christmas lights
Having your lights plugged into your mains can be a really helpful way of controlling when your outdoor Christmas lights are on and off. Plus there's no fiddle with having to buy batteries when they run out. Mains connected outdoor lights come with their own challenges: you'll need some way of getting the lights to the right plug indoors, or alternatively you'll need an outdoor plug to use.
The style of your outdoor Christmas lights
As you can see from the above selection, gone are the days where you have to have bright red and green garish Christmas lights flashing outside your front door. Think about what you'd like to have in your garden when you come home and what your neighbours may enjoy seeing. Are you looking for string lights, or could a little shape - a star perhaps - lit up with little light be enough for you.
In need of some decoration inspiration? Take a look at our list of outdoor Christmas decoration ideas