Holiday decorating looks a little different in the desert. We don’t have the white snow, we have to travel north to find some (natural) pine trees, and it’s usually a balmy 70 to 85 degrees out. But plenty of people want to get in the holiday spirit all the same! Read on for decorating tips from our real estate development.

How to Hang Christmas Lights on Stucco

Hanging lights in a house with wood framing and drywall is pretty simple: use adhesive hooks, or a hammer and a nail. However, many houses in Tucson and other regions in the Southwest are made with stucco.

Stucco is a very hard material made of cement and sand. There are a few strategies you can take when hanging Christmas lights on stucco.

Hot Glue

Whether hanging lights outside your stucco home or inside, you can use hot glue to adhere the cord to the wall. Make sure your hot glue gun is loaded and connected to an outlet (you’ll likely need an extension cord). Place the light string onto the wall, then put hot glue over it — hold it close to the cord, but don’t make direct contact. Hold in place for about 30 seconds or until the glue dries.

Mounting Clips

You can also hang lights by attaching clips to your exterior stucco wall. These clips will stay up year-round, even after the lights come down, but will make for easier hanging in the future.

Figure out where each clip will go (where you’re going to hang the lights).
Using a caulk gun with construction adhesive, put a little bit of adhesive onto the correct spot.
Place the mounting clip onto the adhesive and stick to the wall until it’s firmly in place.
Hang your lights up once the adhesive is dry and can bear weight.

Hanging Other Holiday Decorations

For interior decorating, you might not want (or even need) to put clips up, especially since they’ll stay on the walls. Screws and anchors might be your best bet — particularly if you can hang another decoration in the same spot after the holidays.

Use a pencil to trace on the wall where your screw(s) will go.
Attach a masonry bit to a drill and go into the stucco, just a little longer than the length of the anchor.
Fill the hole with silicone caulk and put the anchor into the hole. Hammer it gently until it’s flush with the wall.
Put corrosion-resistant screws into the anchor(s).
Hang your decoration.

Keep in mind, you might have to do more work for larger and heavier objects. If your home has synthetic stucco, talk to a professional for anchor installation tips.

Cactus Light Decorations

Driving around in southern Arizona cities and real estate developments and you’ll see plenty of cacti strung up with lights. Here are a few tips for doing the same thing at your home:

Get gloves: Find gloves that will protect you from spines and needles.
Use the right tools: With its many arms, a ladder is sometimes hard to set up next to a towering saguaro. Order a reaching tool that will make setting lights up easier.
Consider light alternatives: Net lights are easier to set up than stringing lights around a cactus. You can also set up a holiday spotlight, which is probably your easiest and safest option.

One thing to remember (especially for anyone who’s new to Arizona): while many people elsewhere in the country go out and cut down their trees, it’s a felony to cut down a saguaro. Go to a tree farm or get a fake tree instead.

HOA Restrictions

Real estate developments often have a homeowners association (HOA), and these HOAs typically have rules on what your home’s exterior can look like. Before doing a holiday decorating overall, it’s best to first consult your HOA guidelines.

Make no mistake — we may lack the snow and the cold in Tucson, but we still have the holiday spirit! Interested to see what decorations are going on at Saguaro Ranch? Contact us to set up a driving tour to visit our real estate development. With houses going up in Moonlight Canyon and estate lots being bought, it won’t be long until Saguaro Ranch turns into a (desert) winter wonderland.