A late holiday light installation booking can work. Gemmell Outdoor Lighting installs Christmas and holiday lights across Williamson County and Nashville from October through mid-December, so a November booking still fits the season, just not on the best dates. Expect fewer dates to pick from and possibly a trimmed design. The switch-on night can still be the one you want.
Is November too late to book?
The Christmas page says to book by early October, and the reason is the calendar. The dates everyone wants fall in early November, before the first hard freeze, and installation crews across Williamson County have those filled before Halloween. By the time most people start thinking about lights, the first-choice weeks are already gone.
The season isn’t over, though. Installs run to mid-December, which leaves late November and the first half of December as working weeks. Which of those days are free shifts week to week as bookings come in. Ask for the open dates first and decide the scope second. Doing it the other way around tends to end with a design that won’t fit any slot that’s left.
Do the lights have to come on the day they go up?
No. Timers and photocell scheduling are part of the service, so the install date and the switch-on date are two separate decisions. Lights installed in late November can stay off until the evening you actually care about: the Friday after Thanksgiving, the night of a party, or just the first properly cold evening.
Holding out for one particular week? An earlier open slot with a later switch-on is often easier to get than the exact date you wanted, and nobody driving past can tell when the lights went up. For the whole sequence, see how a Christmas light season runs from the first walk to January takedown.
What should come out of the design to get a date?
Fewer pieces means less to fit into whatever slot is still open. A full holiday design is built from separate pieces: the roofline, wrapped trunks and canopy lighting on the trees that frame the drive, wreaths and garland scaled to the door and portico, and markers along the driveway and walk.
Each piece is measured for the property. Every roofline run is cut to length, and the clips are matched to the gutter and shingle profile (never staples), so very little of it comes out of a box on install day.
If something has to go, keep the roofline and the one or two trees you see first from the street. That’s what reads from the road. Entry decor and the rest of the trees can move to next year’s list, when there’s time to do them properly.
If you’re still choosing an installer as well as a date, the questions worth asking before you hire apply to a late booking just as much as an early one.
Is my street close enough?
Gemmell is based in Franklin and works within about 30 minutes of it, which covers Williamson County and runs north through the Davidson County estate corridor to Belle Meade, Green Hills and Forest Hills. You can see if your street is in our area or read the full list of towns we serve.
Late in the season, distance does count. In the weeks around Thanksgiving, when every crew in the county is booked, a short drive can be the difference between getting a slot and waiting for one. Franklin addresses are the easiest to schedule for exactly that reason.
Should you book next year now?
Yes, if you want an early-November date next year. The design walk is free, comes with no obligation, and is done at dusk so the house is seen in real light. Walks are usually booked within the week, so a walk in late summer or September gets you onto the calendar well before the early-November dates go.
The second season is easier. After January takedown the lights are stored labeled by property. The design already exists and the runs are already cut to your roofline, so it goes back up faster and costs less than the first year did. Booking a design walk commits you to the walk and nothing more.
Common questions
Is mid-November too late to book holiday lights?
It’s too late for the best dates, not for the season. Gemmell installs from October through mid-December, and the early-November slots before the first hard freeze are normally filled before Halloween. A mid-November booking is more likely to land in late November or early December, and a simpler design fits those remaining slots more easily.
Ask which dates are open first, then settle the scope.
Can lights still go up after Thanksgiving?
Yes. The install season runs to mid-December, so the weeks after Thanksgiving are still working weeks. What shrinks is choice: fewer open dates, and less room for a large or heavily custom design. Timers and photocell scheduling come with the install, so once the lights are up they run on their own each evening without anyone flipping a switch.
Can I book next year’s installation now?
Yes, and it’s the surest way to get an early-November date. The design walk is free and carries no obligation. Returning clients have an easier second year: the lights come back from January storage labeled by property, the runs are already cut to the roofline, and the same design goes back up faster than it did the first time.
The second season also costs less than the first.
Is there a waitlist if install dates are full?
Call (615) 914-4411 and ask what’s open this season and how a full calendar is handled. If every date is taken, booking next season’s design walk now is the more reliable move. The early-November dates are the ones that fill before Halloween, and the people who book early get first pick of them.
