Illinois Holiday Lights: 2025 Costs You’ll Actually Want to Know

Sometimes life gets in the way, and you can't do all the things you'd like to do during holiday time. For my family, it's the outdoor lights this year that didn't get done due to too many other commitments and lack of time. The inside of the house is fully and beautifully lit, but the outside is not quite as bright as it normally is at this time of year.

That's okay, because I can console myself by thinking about the money I'm not spending on my electric bill.

Every December, the same question comes up in Illinois neighborhoods. "How much is this going to add to my electric bill?" Whether you’re running a few strings along the roof or turning your yard into a full-on holiday spectacle, the 2025 numbers suggest it’s probably not as bad as you think, especially if you're using LEDs.

Last Year, We Looked At Average Electricity Rates And About Seven Hours Of Nightly Use

In my post last holiday season about the costs of holiday lights in Illinois, we used a piece from Joybird.com as the source of information. They used average rates based upon a 7 hour-per-night-schedule that ran from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day to come up with the costs in each state.

Using the same approach, our updated estimates are based on Joybird.com holiday lighting analysis, average Illinois residential electricity rates for 2025, and standard seasonal usage assumptions. The totals are different, but not by that much.

Let's take LED lights first. They’re low-wattage, energy-efficient, and wallet-friendly. A typical LED setup, just enough to make your house look festive, will run about $3.50 for the season. A heavier LED display, with a lot more strands, will cost roughly $35 to $40. And if you’re going all-out, snowballs to the walls, expect to spend around $90 to $95 for the whole season.

What If You Haven't Added LED Lights And Are Going With Old-School Incandescent Lights Instead?

As you probably already know, incandescent lights use more electricity than LEDs do. Far more, as a matter of fact.

A typical setup costs $22 to $25 for the season. A heavy display jumps up to $230 to $250, and if you go all-out, you could be looking at $600 or more. That’s a big difference, but it’s all about the wattage.

Even with electricity rates creeping up in Illinois, LEDs keep the costs low. These estimates assume roughly 49 days of use, about seven hours each night, which is pretty standard from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

So for most Illinois households, running Christmas lights isn’t going to break the bank. Winter heating bills will definitely cost you more. Switching to LEDs makes a noticeable difference, especially if your decorating ambition leans toward the extravagant side.

Like using a million lights: