Festoon strings are the workhorse of an outdoor display. The bulbs are spaced along a heavier cable than fairy lights, so they hold a line between posts without sagging into a curve, which is what you want across a pergola, along a veranda or zigzagged over an entertaining area. Measure the run first and add about 20 percent for the dip between fixing points and the distance back to the power point. A typical pergola takes 20m to 40m, while a full backyard perimeter is where the 77m and 95m sets earn their keep.

Fairy lights and curtain lights do the closer work. Curtain lights hang flat against a window, a fence panel or a backdrop and light a whole surface rather than a line. Fairy lights wrap trees, railings and the inside of a window frame. Effect lights sit somewhere between decoration and display: icicle chasers run a falling pattern down the string, and spiral and circle lights give you movement, which is what draws the eye from the street.

Warm white is the safest choice for a house, because it matches indoor lighting and photographs well against brick and timber. Cool white reads brighter and more modern, and it sits better against white render or a modern grey palette. Multicolour is the fun option and the one children ask for. Mixing warm and cool white in the same display is the one combination worth avoiding, as the contrast makes the warm strings look dirty.

Light-up figures give the display a focal point. Our LED reindeer stand up to 110cm, hold their shape in wind because the frame is wired rather than inflated, and they suit a garden bed, a front path or either side of a doorway. Christmas gnomes and lighted gift boxes do the same job at a smaller scale on a porch, a landing or under the tree. Unlike inflatables, they stay up day and night without a fan running, so they work in a front yard that nobody is home to switch on.

A few practical things before you buy. Check that anything going outside is rated for outdoor use, and keep plugs and joins off the ground and under cover. Put the whole display on a timer or a smart plug rather than switching it at the wall, because in December an Australian evening does not get properly dark until after 8:30pm, and a timer saves you turning everything on for two hours a night. Clip lights to gutters and pergola beams with plastic clips instead of staples or nails, which damage the cable insulation.

To finish the setup, our Christmas trees cover indoor displays and our Christmas inflatables cover the big front-yard pieces. See the full Christmas range for everything else.

Every item in this range ships Australia-wide with fast dispatch and is available for 1-hour Click and Collect from Mitcham. All orders are covered by our 30-day returns policy.