Q: Our holiday lights kept tripping a breaker last year. As we prepare to install our lights this year, how do we prevent that?
A: First, let me state that if you have lighting that makes the Griswolds jealous, you need a licensed electrician to recommend a power strategy. You do not want your holiday lights to cause a holiday fire.
For a more traditional lighting setup the trick is to distribute the load. Do not connect all your lighting into a continuous string. Typically no more than three strands should be connected. Also, do not funnel all your holiday lighting back to a single outlet. While it is convenient to use a single switch or outlet to manage the entire display, you were overloading it. Instead, run a cord from another part of your home, hoping to tap into another circuit, to distribute the load.