So what we do is we cover every common room in white lights from floor to ceiling. I run lights all around the baseboard, the windows, doorways and then along the ceilings. We then put mult-colored lights in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
It is such light that from Thanksgiving to Super Bowl Sunday (the weekend that I take them all down), that you don't need to turn on a single overhead light or lamp in the house. This helps offset the electricity bill.
It also enables us to spread out the Christmas season and it gets us through the darkest days of the year in good cheer. No light deprivation depression in this household!
Sam I have to ask, do you spread out your electric bill over 12 months or do you take out a second mortgage to pay your bill?
When I was growing up, we always had more lights up inside than outside. When it gets dark out at 5pm, it sure is nice to come home to a house full of lights!