Blog · Burlington

Taking Christmas lights down in Burlington: when, how, and what happens to them until next November

Most Burlington lights come down in the first two weeks of January, on a dry day when the eavestroughs are clear of ice. Switch the timer off on your chosen date, wait for a workable roof rather than forcing it, and label every run as it comes down so next November is quicker.

Last updated October 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the Burlington Christmas Lights team

When should Christmas lights come down in Burlington?

In the first two weeks of January, on the first dry day the roof allows. That is when the season winds down across the city: in the 2025 season the Festival of Lights in Spencer Smith Park ran until January 7, 2026, and Halton Region collected Christmas trees on regular collection days in the weeks of January 5 to 9 and January 12 to 16, 2026. Lights usually come down across the same fortnight. The date you switch the lights off and the date they come down do not have to be the same: set the timer to stop on your chosen evening, and let the takedown wait for safe conditions.

Why is January harder than November on a Burlington roof?

Because it is colder and icier. Burlington has no station with a full 1981 to 2010 climate record, so the nearest official figures are Environment Canada's normals for the Hamilton airport at Mount Hope, on the escarpment. They give January a mean daily high of -1.7 °C and a mean low of -9.3 °C, against November's 7.5 °C and -0.2 °C. Freezing rain or drizzle averages 2.8 days in January, the most of any winter month at that station. The lakeshore tends to be a little milder than the airport and Kilbride a little closer to it, but across the city the pattern is the same: in November the lights went up on dry shingles, and in January they come off eavestroughs that may hold ice and roofs that may hold snow.

Ice in the eavestrough freezes the clips and the wire into it. Pulling a frozen run free cracks clips, tears sockets and can bend the eavestrough lip. The fix is patience: an iced roofline waits for a thaw.

Is it safe to take the lights down myself?

On a bungalow eave reached from a short ladder on firm ground, many people do. On a two-storey, it is a different job. Ontario's O. Reg. 213/91 requires workers to use fall protection where they could fall more than 3 metres, which is the height of the eave on most two-storey houses in Millcroft and Headon Forest and of the gables on many in Roseland. Those rules bind the installer rather than a homeowner, but the height is the same either way. If you do it yourself:

1. Unplug first. Switch off and unplug at the outlet before touching any run, and leave the weatherproof cover closed afterwards.
2. Look up before the ladder goes up. ESA's holiday advice is to check for overhead power lines and keep at least 3 metres away. Many older houses in Aldershot and around downtown are fed by an overhead service wire, often close to the roofline or a front-yard tree.
3. Check the footing. Frozen ground, packed snow and a sloped driveway are where ladders slip. Do not work on a day with ice on the rungs or the shingles.
4. Release, do not pull. Unhook each clip; a run that will not come away is frozen in and should wait.
5. Work with someone at the foot of the ladder, and stop if the wind picks up off the lake.

If any of that sounds like a reason not to, takedown is offered on its own, including for lights you hung yourself.

How do lights come down without damage?

The method that protects the house and the lights is the same one used for a hired takedown.

• Clips released one by one, so the eavestrough lip and shingle edges are left exactly as they were.
• Each run tested before it is coiled, with failed bulbs, cracked sockets or damaged sections noted for replacement.
• Each run labelled for where it goes: front eave, garage, left dormer, maple by the drive. Runs cut to your house the first year go straight back to the same place.
• Clips kept with their run, in the same bag or bin.
• Timers and extension cords collected and checked for outdoor rating before they go into storage too.

Where should the lights be stored until next November?

Somewhere dry, in labelled bins, with each run loosely coiled rather than wound tight. If you own the lights, they can go back to your garage or basement, or be stored by the installer. If you lease them through the seasonal service, they go back into the installer's storage, and each season's price covers install, service, takedown and storage of the same cut-to-fit set. Buying suits households staying put with room to store; leasing suits those who would rather not own anything. The terms are set in writing, and the cost guide covers what takedown and storage add.

What about the tree and the old strings?

Halton Region's 2025 holiday waste notice set out tree collection for the weeks of January 5 to 9 and January 12 to 16, 2026, on regular collection days, and said trees cannot be wrapped in plastic and all decorations must be removed. Check the Region's schedule for the 2026 season when it is published. Old incandescent strings and sets that fail the check should be disposed of under Halton Region's rules; its waste pages are the place to check before anything goes to the curb.

Does it have to be this way every year?

No. Households who have been through two or three Januaries on a ladder are the ones who most often ask about permanent lighting, which stays under the soffit all year and never comes down. For rural properties in Kilbride, where long runs, lane-side trees and escarpment weather make takedown slower, booking the January visit at the same time as the November install keeps it simple. To book a takedown, or next season's install with takedown included, use the quote form.

Sources

• Halton Region: Holiday waste made easy (2025)
• Tourism Burlington: Burlington Festival of Lights
• Environment and Climate Change Canada: Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010
• Electrical Safety Authority: Holiday safety
• Ontario Regulation 213/91: Construction Projects