Shop for decorative outdoor holiday lights and other types of non-task lighting and you will discover high prices and a lack of uniqueness and visual creativity. Homemade options are usually far more impressive, and they are almost always cheaper. Milk jugs make fantastic enclosures for this type of lighting, and they hold up well in cold or warm temps. Use these unique ideas on how to make outdoor lights with milk jugs, and illuminate a porch, a path or any exterior location that would look great with decorative lighting.
Necessary Supplies
To make eye-catching outdoor lights with milk jugs you will need one dozen or more clean empty plastic gallon milk jugs without the lids, a string of C-9 indoor/outdoor lights in colors of your choice, clear tape with strong adhesive and sand or rocks to weigh down the containers. Cutting is not required. Also, if it is extremely cold, sand or rocks will not be necessary. Ice can be used to effectively weigh-down the containers during the winter months in the coolest regions. In any case, milk jugs can be used to make very pretty luminaries that will light up the night in striking new ways.
Procedure
Begin by washing and drying at least twelve one-gallon milk jugs. Be sure to remove the labels. Next, fill the jugs with enough sand or gravel to keep them in place should a strong wind come along. As previously mentioned, water can be frozen in the bottom of the outdoor containers if the temperatures are expected to remain below freezing. However, use extreme caution since water and electricity do not mix, especially when plugging them in. Although the outdoor lights will not touch the moisture, it is important to make sure that the water is frozen before adding the outdoor lights.
Next, unravel a string of C-9 lights, and lay them out in the area where they will be displayed. Space the milk jugs accordingly. Place one light in the top of each of the milk jugs, and secure the wiring with small pieces of clear tape. Plug in the string to illuminate the milk jugs. When darkness arrives they will no longer look like milk jugs. These colorful outdoor lights will look absolutely amazing no matter where they are placed.