Christmas lights on Stockade houses
The Stockade is Schenectady's oldest neighborhood, and most of its houses sit right at the sidewalk with little or no front yard. That changes the design. There's nowhere to stake lights or wrap a tree, so everything goes on the house itself: the roofline, the window frames, the doorway, a wreath and some garland at the entry.
Old clapboard and brick deserve a light touch. Installers fasten with plastic clips on gutters, shingles and trim, not nails or staples, so the lights come down in January without leaving holes. Our advice for these streets: warm white along the eave and a wreath on the door. On houses this old, simple looks right.
Power is the other Stockade question. Closely spaced and attached houses often have no outdoor outlet on the street side. Tell us where your nearest outdoor outlet is, because it shapes the whole quote. And with the front door a few steps from the sidewalk, nobody wants an extension cord across it; ask the installer to run cords along the foundation and up the steps, out of the way of foot traffic and the snow shovel.
Big rooflines in the GE Realty Plot
The Realty Plot is a different job entirely. These are large early 1900s houses with gables, dormers and steep roofs, often two and a half stories tall, set back on deep lots under old trees. Linear feet add up fast, and the peak of a steep gable is serious ladder work, so ask whether the installer would use a lift.
Start with what faces the street. A lit front roofline and a lit entry will carry a Realty Plot house; the back eaves are rarely seen. Then decide on trees. Wrapping the trunk and lower limbs of one big front-yard tree does more than trying to light a whole canopy, and our tree wrapping page has more on lighting trees. If you have to choose, do the roofline this year and add the tree next season.
Schenectady city lots, driveways and street parking
In Bellevue, Mont Pleasant and the city's other older neighborhoods, many homes sit on narrow lots with a single-lane or shared driveway. An installer needs somewhere to park the truck and room to stand a ladder between houses. If the only spot is on the street, or your side yard is a few feet wide, say so on the quote form.
December makes it harder. Plow banks narrow the side streets and cars fill every open curb. That's one more reason to book in October and get the lights up in early November, while the streets are still clear.
On these blocks the front porch is your best canvas. Garland and mini lights on the railing, a wreath on the door and C9 bulbs along the porch roof read well from the sidewalk, and a porch roof is a lot easier to reach than a third-floor gable.
Union College area and downtown Schenectady storefronts
Around Union College you'll find plenty of two-family houses and rentals. If you own one, decide who controls the outdoor outlets and the timer before you book, and make sure the tenants know someone will be on the roof.
Downtown on State Street and Jay Street, a storefront or restaurant needs a different setup: window outlines, wreaths and garland, scheduled around business hours. Our commercial Christmas decorating page has more on lighting for businesses.
Christmas light installation in Schenectady's suburbs
The rest of Schenectady County brings bigger lots and different houses:
- Niskayuna: long colonial rooflines and mature trees along the Mohawk.
- Glenville: bigger lots north of the river, where power runs to front-yard trees get long.
- Scotia: village homes and front porches just across the river.
- Rotterdam: ranches and split-levels west of the city, out toward Rotterdam Junction.