Do You Have to Take Your Christmas Lights Down?

Last updated July 2026 · Stay Off The Roof — Outdoor Lighting Experts · ROC #344820 · Phoenix metro

With a full-service installer, you never take your Christmas lights down yourself — takedown and storage are included. After the season, the crew removes everything, labels it, and stores it for next year (or hands it back if you’d rather store it). The only way to skip takedown entirely is permanent trim lighting, which stays up year-round and simply switches off from your phone.

Does professional Christmas light installation include takedown?

With a full-service company, yes. A complete holiday lighting package covers the whole cycle — design, install, in-season maintenance, and then removal after the holidays. You don’t schedule a separate takedown or climb a ladder in January; the crew comes back and handles it. That’s the entire point of hiring it out.

Where do the lights go after the season?

We remove your lights, label them to your home, and store them so they’re ready to reinstall next season — no bins taking over your garage, no tangled strands to sort out next November. Prefer to keep them yourself? We’ll hand them back neatly boxed. Either way, they’re custom-fit to your home, so year two is faster than year one.

What happens if you leave Christmas lights up too long?

In Arizona, the sun is hard on temporary strings. Leaving standard holiday lights up for months exposes them to intense UV and heat, which fades and degrades them faster — and many HOAs have rules about how long seasonal decorations can stay up. If you love the look of lights year-round, that’s a sign you’re a candidate for a permanent system built for the climate, rather than leaving temporary lights out to bake.

The no-takedown alternative: permanent lighting

If “never take them down again” sounds good, that’s exactly what permanent trim lighting does. A color-matched Gemstone track is installed once along your roofline, hidden by day, and controlled from your phone — warm white every night, full color for the holidays, and nothing to remove when the season ends. Curious how it works? Here’s what Gemstone permanent trim lighting is and how it works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to take Christmas lights down?

Seasonal lights should come down after the holidays, but with a full-service installer you never do it yourself — takedown is included. Permanent lights don’t come down at all; they stay up year-round and switch off from an app.

Does professional installation include takedown and storage?

Yes. A full-service package includes removal after the season and storage of your lights, labeled to your home for an easier reinstall next year.

When do you take the lights down?

Typically in January, after the holidays. We schedule takedown so you don’t have to think about it.

How do I avoid taking lights down every year?

Install permanent trim lighting. It stays on your roofline year-round, hidden by day and app-controlled at night, so there’s no seasonal install or takedown — ever.