Arden Oaks Christmas Light Installation

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The Arden Oaks Neighborhood Association describes its own streets as dimly-lit. It isn’t complaining. That’s the look: towering oaks, very few streetlights, houses set a long way back from the pavement. It also means a lit house carries a great distance here, and an unlit one more or less disappears after five o’clock. Arden Oaks Christmas light installation runs bigger than most of what we do in Arden-Arcade, so the plain facts are below.

The neighborhood runs a lighting contest

Each winter the association holds its Winter Holiday Lighting and Decorations Contest. Volunteers do the judging. In 2025 ten homes were recognized, and the winner was a house on Rockwood. We don’t know what the judges like and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. No trophies come with our work.

What we can do is the part that’s under anyone’s control. Straight lines along the roof. No dark gaps. Trees wrapped evenly instead of spiraled in a hurry. Everything on a timer so the house is lit every single evening without you remembering to flip a switch. Judges or no judges, that’s what makes a display look finished from the road.

No HOA, and no display dates that we’ve found

Arden Oaks does not have an HOA. The association is voluntary. Its dues pay for an off-duty Sheriff patrol and for events like the July 4 parade and the September barbecue. The neighborhood also has recorded CC&Rs and a County Neighborhood Preservation Area, and both deal with things like lot size, setbacks and building height. We haven’t seen a holiday lighting date in any of it. If your own paperwork says something different, tell us and we’ll plan around it.

In practice the dates are yours to set. No letters, no fines, no committee. Tell us yours at (916) 586-7193.

Big lots change the work

The preservation zoning calls for lots of at least 30,000 square feet, 110 feet of frontage and front setbacks of 50 feet. The original lots ran from 0.8 acres to more than 3. Each of those numbers shows up in how a lighting job gets planned.

• Roofline lights. From 50 feet away or more, fussy detail is wasted. We put lights on the lines that define the house: eaves, peaks and gables. Homes here can reach two stories, so tell us the tallest point when you call. Everything goes up on clips, with nothing nailed or stapled into the trim.
• Tree wraps. The oaks are the reason for the name. Trunks get wrapped, along with low limbs within ladder range. The crown of a mature oak is not part of the plan, and anybody who says it is should show you their ladder.
• Stake lighting. Long curving driveways are standard, and on a street without much lighting, stakes down the drive are how guests find the front door. They go in away from sprinkler heads and far enough off the edge that tires miss them.
• Pillar and column wraps. Many frontages are fenced or hedged, so the gate posts are the only thing the street ever sees. Wrap those and the entry columns at the house.
• Wreaths and garland. A lit wreath hung at the gate, lit garland on a rail or above the front door. Small items, but behind a tall hedge they may be your entire public display.

Power takes some thought too. On an acre, the nearest outlet can be a long way from the street. Give us the outlet locations and we’ll map cord runs that follow edges and beds instead of crossing open lawn.

Quoting Arden Oaks Christmas light installation on an acre lot

By phone, or from photos. Nobody drives over to pace off your frontage. For a property this size, photos help a lot: the house from the street (if it can be seen from the street), the driveway, the gate, and any trees you want lit. Text or email them, then call (916) 586-7193 and we’ll go through it together.

January, driveway strands included

We come back and take every strand down, including the ones up the driveway you forgot about. The lights are ours, so there’s nothing for you to coil, label or store. During the season, if a section goes dark, call and we’ll fix it.

To get a date before the calendar fills, ring (916) 586-7193 with the photos handy, or use the contact page.

We work across the estate neighborhoods on this side of the county, from Windemere Park and Random Lane to the streets near Del Paso Country Club. We also handle holiday lights in Sierra Oaks Vista, the ranch houses of nearby Arden Park and the city of Sacramento next door. Long driveway? Our stake lighting page covers that in more detail.

Straight answers for Arden Oaks

Is there an HOA rule on when lights can go up in Arden Oaks?

No. What Arden Oaks has is a neighborhood association you can join or skip. That isn’t an HOA, and we’ve found no holiday lighting dates in its materials or the county zoning. You pick the dates.

Can you help me win the Arden Oaks holiday lighting contest?

We can make the house look clean and finished, on a timer, every evening. The judging is done by association volunteers and nobody can promise you how they’ll vote.

My house can’t be seen from the street. Is lighting it still worth it?

Usually the answer is to light what the street does see: the gate posts, the driveway and a tree or two near the road. Then do the house for yourself and your guests.

Is Arden Oaks Christmas light installation quoted without a visit?

Yes. Photos you text or email, plus a phone call, do it. Shots of the house, driveway, gate and trees tell us what we need.

Will you light the tops of my oak trees?

No. Trunks and low limbs within ladder range get lit, and the high canopy is left alone.