How do you hang Christmas lights on stucco? (paint, install, outside)

[BillyBaroo]

Does anyone have suggestions for how to hang Christmas lights outside on a house with a stucco finish?

This is our first Christmas and the house was just built this year. Im willing to do something permanent that I could use every year. I have some gutters that I can hang clips on and there's some woodwork I can put some nails in. But there's also some parts of the house where I would need to attach the lights to a stucco finish.

[desertsun41]

I suggest you use the gutter clips. You can very easily put a nail into stucco. Stucco is basicly soft. It could crack though. If you put nails into the stucco I strongly suggest that as your removing the nails in January you have a caulking gun handy and fill each nail hole with a finger full of caulk. Do not use silicone though because if you ever paint the house, the paint will not stick to the silicone. Use paintable exterior caulk.

It's just safer not to put nails into it.

[Barking Spider]

If it is a true stucco finish, you could use a masonry bit and drill a pilot hole, insert a plastic insert to accept screws, and screw a small bracket or clip to the stucco. You want to be sure to seal it with caulking to keep moisture from entering the wall.

iF you have an EIFS stucco material, you can do the same thing, but really take care sealing the places where you install the clips.

[BillyBaroo]

Thanks for the suggestions!