These $12 Command Clips Solve My Biggest Holiday Decorating Problem

One of my favorite days of the year is the cozy afternoon dedicated to decorating my home for the holidays. I usually crank a tried-and-true holiday playlist, make a mug of something warm, and deck the halls to my heart’s content. And the one decoration that I anticipate the most, especially at night, are the strings of lights we put on the tree, on the mantel, around door frames, and on the exterior of our home. Ambient lighting is an essential piece of hygge, aka the Danish practice of comfort and coziness, and once the string lights are up, it’s officially cozy season in our home, and the holiday spirit is pulsing through our hallways. 

As lovely as the glow of our lights is, I’m a bit embarrassed to share that my husband and I have been taping our lights to the interior and exterior walls of our home since forever. Just regular old tape, like the tape we use to wrap our presents, which works just fine until it … well, doesn’t. There are usually a few times in December where we have to make repairs and add more tape to our walls, and it’s even sillier when a string of lights falls on the exterior of our home. My husband handles the lights outside, and this is the year we decided to string up our lights with a bit more finesse and precision. Enter: Command light clips. 

Command hooks have come in clutch for us, but I never knew the brand offered tools for holiday decorating. Because we add string lights just about everywhere, I knew these clips would come in handy. The brand very generously sent a few packages of mini decorating clips and light clips, and they work just as well as other Command hooks I’ve used in the past. 

Setup couldn’t be easier — each clip comes with a thin clear adhesive sticker, with one side sticking to the clip itself and the other side to the wall. After cleaning the wall surface with a bit of rubbing alcohol, you press the strip to the wall and wait about 30 seconds, then remove the liner and press the hook to the wall for another 10. The wall-mounted clip is then ready to go! The instructions do recommend you wait at least an hour before diving in, but if I’m being honest, I was too excited to wait and the hooks performed just fine.

The small decorating clips are ideal for fairy lights and lightweight garland, as they are teeny-tiny, and the light clips work well with regular string lights, which I have loads of, so I broke those clips out first. I wanted to outline our kitchen archway with lights, so I placed a few clips around the opening in the wall, then very easily clipped in the string lights all the way around. Not only do the lights look fantastic, but the clear clips are also practically invisible. We can barely see them, which already has us thinking about simply not taking the clips off once the holidays are over. Even if we do decide to remove them, though, the adhesive comes right off without damaging the wall.

The true test came when we tried the clips for the outdoor lights. Our front door has a small awning and is flanked by two pillars, which my husband decked out with lights a few weeks ago. The only problem was the lights began to droop and fall from the awning, so the Command clips came at just the right time.

Command’s outdoor products are water-resistant, so the clips shouldn’t waver in rain or snow and they work on a variety of outdoor surfaces like flat siding, soffits, and windows. My husband had no problem sticking the hooks in place after cleaning the outdoor surface, and once the lights were in place, our outdoor light display looked pristine. It also happened to rain that evening, and the lights and hooks stayed in place. Score!

I’m happy to share that taping our string lights to the wall is now a thing of the past. These handy clips are essential for anyone who takes decking the halls seriously, and the light clips are perfect for both indoor and outdoor use — I can’t believe I used to do all of my holiday decorating without them.

Buy: Command Outdoor Light Clips, $12.99; Command Indoor Mini Light Clips; $11.90