Highland Hills Christmas Light Installation

Trees decide what a Highland Hills house looks like in December. The lots are large and wooded, the homes are custom, and from the street you often see more trunk and canopy than roof. A plan that ignores that ends up as a string of lights nobody can find. So we build each Highland Hills Christmas light installation around the trees first and the eaves second, here in the middle of El Dorado Hills.

Stand at your mailbox after dark and look back at the house. Whatever you can see is what’s worth lighting. On a wooded lot with a deep setback, that’s commonly a gable peak, the entry, and a lot of tree.

Tree wraps lead the plan. Mature trunks near the street or along the drive get wrapped from the base to the first big limbs. Two or three done well carry a deep front yard. See the tree wrapping page for how we tie them.

Roofline lights go on the peaks and eaves that clear the branches. We’d rather light two visible gables completely than run a line behind foliage. Clips are chosen from your photos to suit the roof edge, and nothing gets screwed or nailed into the house.

Stake lighting edges a long walk or driveway and connects the street to the porch. Under mature trees we keep stakes out of the root flare and off the irrigation.

Pillar wraps, then a lit wreath and garland, finish the entry: columns wound evenly, a wreath on the gable or over the door, garland on the surround or a stair rail.

Lennox Drive is the one gated street, with homes on close to an acre and long setbacks. Frontage that wide swallows a small display. We scale up: more trunks wrapped, stakes the full run of the drive, and a roofline bold enough to register from the gate. We’ll need gate entry for the install and again when we return to take it all down.

For nearby work, see Ridgeview, The Promontory across town, or the El Dorado Hills overview. Fairchild Village is next door and we work there too.

Most of Highland Hills pays no HOA dues, according to local realtor guides. Unit 4 is the exception, with its own association, Highland Hills Homeowners Association Number 4, and Unit 3 has an architectural control contact.

Unit 4’s recorded CC&Rs have no holiday or seasonal clause that we found, and no published rules document turned up, so this page has no dates. If you’re in Unit 4, ask your association what its current rules say and call (530) 457-4771 with the answer. Those same CC&Rs ask that decorative lighting be placed so the light source isn’t visible to adjacent lots where possible, and they prohibit colored landscape lighting without Architectural Control Committee approval. That clause is about landscape lighting, not Christmas displays, but it tells you the tone. If you’re in Unit 4 and want color, a quick question to the manager first is smart.

Highland View and Sterlingshire next door are separate communities. Nothing on this page applies to them.

Send the mailbox view, a closer shot of the front, and one of each tree you’d like wrapped. The contact page takes photos, and (530) 457-4771 takes calls. We’ll talk it through and quote by phone. All of the equipment is ours, and you don’t store any of it.

We aim lights at your house and your trees, not across the lot line. Cords follow trunks and trim so the yard looks clean in daylight, and timers put the display to bed late at night. If your frontage sits on a walking route to Jackson Elementary or Marina Village Middle School, people in no hurry pass it twice a day, and a wrapped trunk near the street is worth it.

Removal happens in January, down to the last tie on the last trunk. If a storm drops a limb on a run before then, call (530) 457-4771.

Which parts of Highland Hills have their own association?

Unit 4 has its own homeowners association and Unit 3 has an architectural control contact. Realtor guides describe most of Highland Hills as having no HOA dues.

Are there Christmas light dates for Highland Hills Unit 4?

We found no holiday clause in Unit 4’s recorded CC&Rs and no public rules document. Ask the association for its current rules before you set dates.

Can I use colored lights?

Unit 4’s CC&Rs restrict colored landscape lighting without committee approval. That is not a holiday rule, but Unit 4 owners who want color should ask their manager first. We haven’t read the other units’ documents, so if you’re in Unit 3, ask its architectural contact before choosing color.

My house is hidden by trees. Is it worth lighting the roof?

Light the parts that show. We usually wrap the trunks, light the visible peaks and entry, and skip eaves buried in foliage.