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River Park is one long dead end tucked into a bend of the American River, and the only way in is off H Street. A lot of the lots in there were orchards before they were yards, and you can still spot old fruit trees behind the ranch houses. We like working back there. The trees are old, the rooflines are low and nobody is in a rush. It’s also a good picture of how we approach Sacramento Christmas light installation in general: start with the trees, then figure out the house. Coming from across the river to the east, that side of the city is closest, so that’s where most of our Sacramento work lands.
Christmas lights in Sacramento’s east-side neighborhoods
River Park’s post-war “California Rancho” houses have long, simple eaves that take roofline lights without much drama. The fruit trees are a different story. Old fruit tree limbs tend to be thin and brittle, so we’ll light a trunk and maybe the first fork, but we won’t hang a heavy load out on those twiggy branches.
Campus Commons, over by the river trail near Sac State, is mostly townhomes and condos arranged around shared greenbelts. That usually means an HOA, shared walls and rooflines that belong to more than one owner. We use clips only, nothing that leaves a hole, and we’re happy to talk with your association before anything goes up. A lit wreath and garland around one front entry can look great here without touching the shared roof at all.
East Sacramento and especially the Fab 40s are where the ladder work gets serious. Those grand early 1900s homes have tall gables, second-story dormers and big street trees arching over everything. We plan every one of those roofs before the truck shows up. Elmhurst and Tahoe Park have smaller, older homes with simpler gable roofs, and they’re quicker, but the street trees are still big. On those bungalows, a wrapped front-yard trunk and a lit porch often say more than a fully outlined roof, and the whole job fits in a morning.
Street trees, yard trees and what we won’t wrap
Sacramento calls itself the City of Trees, and a lot of those trees stand in the planting strip between the sidewalk and the curb. If the tree in front of your house belongs to the city, we’ll bring it up before touching it, and a lot of the time the better plan is to light the trees in your own yard and leave the street tree alone.
The yard trees we do wrap in the city are mostly big elms, sycamores and old fruit trees, and each one gets a loose spiral that comes off in January before it can tighten into anything. Our tree lighting page goes deeper into which trees take a wrap well and which don’t.
What we put up
On an older East Sac house, the big square front columns are the first thing we’d light, because a pair of pillar wraps reads from half a block away even under street trees. Then the roof edges that actually show, each bulb on a plastic clip over the gutter lip or tucked beneath a shingle. Stakes along the walk, set between the sprinkler heads. A wreath at the door or up in an upstairs window, and garland along the porch railing. We bring every strand, handle all the ladder work, and set a timer so the house lights itself each evening.
We also light a few storefronts and church entries in East Sac, with a little more attention to foot traffic and cords.
Questions we hear from Sacramento homeowners
Will clips hurt an old roof?
No. The clips grip the edge of the gutter or slip under the shingle edge without any fasteners. On a brittle old roof, we’re extra careful about where we step and where the ladder sits.
Can you light a tall two-story house in the Fab 40s?
Yes. We bring the right ladders for it and plan the runs ahead of time so we’re not guessing on the roof.
Do you take them down?
Yes, in January. Our crew pulls the whole display, trees and roof both, so your gutters are bare by February and there’s nothing for you to box up.
What if part of it quits?
Call (916) 999-5158. We’ll come back out during the season and get it working again.
How do I get a price?
Estimates are free and done by phone. Call (916) 999-5158 and describe the house, the trees and what you have in mind.
Booking Sacramento Christmas light installation
We drive through Arden-Arcade and across the river on the way to most Sacramento jobs, so if you have friends in Wilhaggin or Arden Oaks, point them to our Arden-Arcade page. When you’re ready, call (916) 999-5158 or use the contact page, and we’ll find a spot on the schedule before the December rush fills it up.