You don't have to be Buddy the Elf to make your commercial space shine this holiday season. With some well placed LED lights and a little bit of creative effort you can turn your retail location into a winter wonderland, without pulling an all-nighter. Here are some ideas for adding holiday decorations to your place of business!

A good place to start is hanging simple LED string lights around the edges of your building. If you work in a tall office building or store I would recommend hiring someone to put these up. Holiday LED strings come in a variety of colors, but the most popular ones are red, green, white, and blue. You can use all of these colors around the face of your building, or limit yourself to just the classic white. Many retailers use a combination of red and green by the roof, but white around doorways and windows. The choice is entirely up to you! As long as the colors aren't overwhelming and your business isn't showing up on satellite images, you can assume it is properly lit! You also have the choice of having your lights programmed to change colors, but if you did this I would suggest you set them to change slowly. Having many flashing or changing lights could come off as tacky.

Another thing you can do with LED string lights is drape them over a courtyard at your business. If you own a store that is located in an outdoor shopping plaza you could coordinate with your neighboring businesses to create a ceiling of hanging lights! These types of decorations are likely to keep shoppers walking outside from store to store, and to prevent them from being discouraged by the cold weather. This type of lighting is difficult to pull off, but is well worth it for the effect. Shoppers love taking pictures under these gorgeous sky lights!

Don't forget to decorate the first and last thing customers see on your property – the parking lot! Adding decorations to existing streetlights and signs can make every inch of your property look well thought out. Tinsel candy canes or LED snowflakes are great for hanging on poles in your lot. Add wreaths to wrap around the bottom half of these poles or around shopping cart returns to complete the look!

If you have space, candy cane colored cable lights also look great in parking lots or wrapped around trees. Take advantage of the unique aspects of your property. Add lights to trees and existing structures. Gas station pumps can be decorated with ribbons or bells. Decorate your storefront with classy wreaths, or if you have more space outside add mini Christmas trees!

If you work in a warehouse or office, adding a wall of stockings with each employee's name on it is a great way to decorate for the holidays! Each worker can decorate their own stocking, and leave encouraging notes for their coworkers. Before vacation, make sure everyone brings candy and small gifts to put in each other's stockings! Or even some high quality coal. Decorate the area with a small fake fireplace, or a Christmas tree and menorah! You can also hang ornaments from the ceiling, or ask employees to bring in decorations for their work area. Everyone will be happy to see the festive decorations.

Adding decorations will get customers in the shopping spirit, and increase the morale of your employees! Try something new this year and see how it goes!