The Cost of Running Christmas Lights in Texas

ACROSS TEXAS — The time has come where we toss Christmas trees to the curb, take down lights from the house, and box away our ornaments for next year. And while the holidays may be over for us all, there’s plenty that still linger on weeks, and even months past December.

From returns and exchanges with gifts, mailing out thank you cards, and paying hefty electricity bills during January from the month before – the holidays still find a way to follow you around.

Simple. Thrifty. Living. conducted a study at the end of last year on how much electricity bills in each state are predicted to be during a 34-day period (Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day).

The calculations across our nation vary heavily as some states near the $50.00 mark, while others hanging Christmas lights will barely notice a difference in their bill. Texas residents, however, seem to have fared nicely as the added cost for incandescent lights is predicted to be only $15.00, and LED lights will come at an even better cost of only $5.42. While this might seem low compared to other states, the website noted they didn’t go overboard on the light strand estimates. So, obviously, homes decked out in lights can anticipate spending double or even triple for the upcoming holiday season.

The national average of running Christmas lights during that 34-day period is $19.81, surprisingly leaving Texas under the national rate. Residents living on the West Coast and Northeast can expect a heftier electricity bill in the next few weeks from all of their Christmas light usage last month.

This begs the question, how much money do you think will be tacked on your electricity bill this month?