Balcony Christmas Lights: 9 Ideas for Flats and How to Hang Them

A balcony is the one part of a flat the street can see, so it is the natural home for Christmas lights. Balcony Christmas lights have their catches, though: you usually cannot drill, the space is small, and you may have only one indoor socket.

These ideas all work for renters and leaseholders.

9 balcony Christmas lights ideas

1. Wrap the railing with warm-white fairy lights. Classic, inexpensive and easy to see from the street.
2. Hang curtain lights from the railing so the strands face the street. The whole railing becomes a glowing panel.
3. Use an animated pixel curtain for a picture or message. A Santa, a snowman or "Merry Christmas" is visible from the flats across the road.
4. Light a small potted tree in a corner with battery fairy lights.
5. Add a lit garland along the top rail.
6. Frame the balcony door with lights so it glows from inside too.
7. Put star lights in the window next to the balcony.
8. Use solar lights if you have no outdoor socket. A British December gives them little sun, so treat them as an accent.
9. Set a timer so everything comes on at dusk, around 4 pm in December, and goes off at bedtime. Neighbours appreciate it.

How to hang Christmas lights on a balcony railing

You do not need tools (more detail: how to hang curtain lights):

• Clear plastic clips or cable ties around the railing bars hold the top wire of a curtain or string. Snip them off when the lights come down.
• Hang curtain lights on the outside face of the railing, strands dropping straight down. On a glass balcony, clip to the handrail and let the curtain hang inside the glass instead.
• Tie the bottom loosely on an exposed balcony so the wind does not tangle the strands.
• Keep the controller dry under the balcony above or in a small weatherproof box.
• Route the cable through the door seal rather than pinching it hard in the door.

Check with your landlord first

Read your tenancy agreement or lease before fixing anything to the outside of the building. Some management companies and freeholders restrict what can hang on a railing, so a quick email to them or your letting agent saves trouble later.

Measure your balcony first

Measure the length of railing you want to light and the drop from the top rail to the floor. Curtain lights look best hanging straight and covering most of the railing, so pick the closest size rather than the largest. Check how far the cable must travel to an indoor socket, too.

UK balcony lighting safety checklist

• Use lights made for outdoor use: IP44 on a covered balcony, IP65 or higher where rain hits them directly.
• Keep plugs, adaptors and controllers indoors or dry. Electrical Safety First advises keeping plugs and transformers inside.
• Look for UKCA or CE marking and a fused three-pin UK plug, and buy from a reputable seller.
• Use an outdoor-rated extension lead if you need one, and do not overload the socket.
• Use RCD protection for mains lights outdoors. BS 7671 requires a 30 mA RCD on outdoor sockets; if you feed lights from an indoor socket, check that circuit has an RCD or use a plug-in one.
• Switch off overnight and when you are out, or let a timer do it.

Best balcony lights for a flat

Need	Why
Low voltage (USB or 12/24 V)	Safer outdoors and runs from an indoor socket
IP44 or better	Copes with rain blown under a covered balcony
A timer	Lights come on at dusk while you are still at work
Something visible from a distance	Bigger pictures and bright colours read better than fine detail

We are affiliated with Lumalyn, whose Smart Animated Balcony Lights were designed for exactly this: a 2 × 2 m or 3 × 3 m pixel curtain that clips to a railing, runs on USB power, is IP44 rated, and has an app with schedules plus a remote. It runs from any USB wall adapter with a UK plug; IP44 suits a covered balcony rather than a fully exposed one. The store shows prices in pounds to UK visitors. If you just want a warm glow, 10 m of warm-white fairy lights wrapped around the railing is the budget option.