Minneapolis · St. Paul · Twin Cities metro
Christmas light installation in Minneapolis — once, not every year
We don't hang Christmas lights. Hiring a crew to put strands up in November and pull them in January runs $800 to $1,500 a season in the Twin Cities, and you pay it again every year you own the house. What we install is the version you pay for once: permanent LED track under the roof edge, color-matched to your trim so it disappears by day, and switched to red and green from your phone every December after that. Somewhere between year five and year eight, installing once is the cheaper of the two.
What the package actually is
What a seasonal crew is charging you for
The advertised price is usually the November half. Ask for all of it before you book anyone — us included.
The install
A crew on your roofline for a few hours in November, on the coldest fascia of the year. This is the part the quote is built around.
The takedown
A second visit in the second or third week of January — later if the fascia is iced. Sometimes priced separately, so ask.
The storage
Some crews keep your strands between seasons for a fee. Some hand you the bins. Either way, a third of them won't light next year.
The January call
A strand goes dark on the 12th. Whether the mid-season repair is included or billed is the question nobody asks in October.
The math
What you've paid by year five
Take the Twin Cities seasonal range and add it up. That's the column on the left. A permanent system is a one-time cost — measured to your roofline, quoted in writing — that lands inside the five-to-eight-year window, and it's still on the house in year twelve doing warm white on a Tuesday.
For context, professionally installed permanent systems in this category run from about $18 to $40 a foot depending on brand and dealer. We don't post a “starting at” number because on a real house it's never yours — we measure and put the exact figure in writing. The pricing page walks through what moves it.
| Hired every year | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $800 | $1,500 |
| Year 3 | $2,400 | $4,500 |
| Year 5 | $4,000 | $7,500 |
| Year 8 | $6,400 | $12,000 |
| Installed once | One number, in writing, after a free measure | |
Seasonal figures are the typical Twin Cities install-and-removal package range; they do not include storage or mid-season repair calls where those are billed separately.
The honest part
When the seasonal crew is the right call
If you're moving in the next two years, renting, lighting the house for one event, or the budget this year is a few hundred dollars and not a few thousand — hire the seasonal crew. We'll tell you that on the phone rather than measure a roofline that doesn't pay off.
If you're staying, the question is different: not “who hangs them this year” but “how many more Novembers do I want to pay for.” That's the house this page is for. The track is screwed into the fascia — not taped — carries a 5-year parts warranty, and the crew that installed it is the crew that services it. What it looks like in July is the photo on the left.
Which page is for you
Three pages, three different questions
They overlap on purpose. Pick the one that matches what you're actually deciding.
What permanent Christmas lights are
The product: the track, the fixtures, the controller, the app, and how it survives a Minnesota January. Start here if you've never seen one up close.
One system for every holiday
Halloween, game day, the Fourth, warm white the rest of the year. Start here if December is only part of why you're looking.
What moves the number
Linear feet, stories, peaks, controller count — and why we quote per house, in writing, instead of posting a teaser rate.
Same calendar, different reason
Seasonal crews are booked through October and working on frozen fascia by mid-November. For a permanent system the good window is the same — August through early October — because the fascia is dry and there's daylight to do it right. Miss it and spring is a perfectly good install month; you'll simply have it for next December instead of this one. No manufactured urgency. That is just what the Minnesota calendar does.
Before you book anyone
Three things worth reading first
When to Book Permanent Christmas Lights in Minnesota
August to early October is the right window for a Minnesota install — daylight and dry fascia, not fake urgency. What changes after Thanksgiving.
4 min read
Are Permanent Christmas Lights Safe? What the Manufacturers Actually Publish
Permanent lights run on low-voltage 12V or 24V power. But only three of six brands publish any safety listing at all — here's exactly what each one says.
6 min read
The Brand On The Box Matters Less Than The Crew On The Ladder
Eighteen months fixing other crews' permanent lighting taught us what actually fails — and why the brand on the box matters less than who hangs it.
8 min read
Christmas light installation, answered
What people ask before they call a crew
How much does Christmas light installation cost in Minneapolis?
Hiring a crew to hang and take down traditional Christmas lights runs about $800 to $1,500 a season in the Twin Cities, and most companies quote it as a package: install in November, removal in January, and often storage of the strands in between. A single-story rambler with a simple roofline lands near the bottom of that range; a two-story with peaks, dormers, and a wrapped porch lands near the top. The number you should pay attention to is the second one — you pay it again every year you own the house.
Is it worth paying someone to hang Christmas lights every year?
For a year or two, yes — it is the cheapest way to have a lit house this December, and nobody should go up a ladder on frozen ground to save $800. Past that it gets harder to defend. Five seasons of hired install is $4,000 to $7,500 in the Twin Cities; eight is $6,400 to $12,000. A permanent system is a one-time cost that lands somewhere inside that five-to-eight-year window, and it does Halloween, game day, and warm white the other eleven months. If you are staying in the house, install once.
Do you hang traditional Christmas lights?
No. We install permanent LED track under the roof edge — once — and we do not hang, take down, or store seasonal strands. If what you want is strands up this November and gone in January, there are good seasonal crews in the metro and we will say so on the phone rather than take a deposit for the wrong product. What we can do is put the seasonal number next to the permanent one for your actual roofline so you can decide with both in front of you.
What does Christmas light installation cost per foot?
Seasonal crews in the Twin Cities mostly price by the job rather than by the foot, which is why the quotes come back as $800 to $1,500 packages. Permanent systems are the ones priced per linear foot of roofline: professional installs in this category run from about $18 to $40 a foot depending on brand, dealer, and how many stories the crew is working from. We measure the roofline and put the exact number in writing — no "starting at" figure, because on a real house it is never yours.
How much does it cost to have Christmas lights installed and taken down?
Install and takedown are usually one price, not two. In the Twin Cities that package runs $800 to $1,500 a season, and the removal visit is typically the second or third week of January — sometimes later if the fascia is iced. A few crews add storage for a fee; a few charge separately for a mid-season repair call when a strand goes dark. Ask for all three numbers before you book, because the advertised price is usually just the November half.
When should I book Christmas light installation in the Twin Cities?
Seasonal crews book up through October and are installing on frozen fascia by mid-November, so for strands this year, call in September. For a permanent system the answer is the same calendar for a different reason: August through early October is dry, daylight-rich, and the system is on the house well before Thanksgiving. Miss that window and spring is a perfectly good install month — you will simply have it for next December instead of this one.
Still deciding? Call or text 952-900-2733 — if the seasonal crew is the right answer for your house, we'll say so.
Free design consultation
Let's see what your house looks like lit
We'll measure your roofline, show you the options, and give you a real number. No pressure, no all-night pitch.