It's time for your party, twilight is falling, your terrace or garden lies in darkness and your guests are beginning to arrive. Then you flick a switch and your outdoor party zone springs into illuminated life with lines of shimmering outdoor fairy lights leading to the tables which are bathed in the gentle glow of lanterns. Colourful shapes shimmer in the trees and the whole scene is enchanting. Your outdoor lights have transformed your garden into a delightful spot for enjoyment and socializing.

Giving an outdoor event such as a dinner or cocktail party is always a special event. There's something supremely pleasant about dancing, chatting, eating and drinking in the open air in the evening beneath the stars. But you have to do things right, especially when it comes to lighting. By arranging your outdoor lights properly, you can create a truly magical ambience that will captivate all your guests. Here are some tips about how you go about it.

When it comes to buying your lights, here are some things you need to consider. The first thing you have to decide is whether you need the lights for actual lighting or just for decoration, or more likely, a combination of both. Ultimately, you need to create illumination that's soft and romantic but also functional.

Next you have to consider the mood you want to create. The lighting for a wedding party will be very different to a birthday, for example. For wedding lights you'll want soft pink romantic colours and perhaps torches or lanterns to give a classic ambience. For a teenage birthday, you'll want an upbeat mood and the kind of lighting that suits dancing. Outdoor fairy lights are perfect for any occasion.

It all depends on the ambience you want to create but you don't need to light up the whole terrace or garden. Just a few vital areas will do. It's important to light up the pathways and the tables and chairs, and the bar and buffet, so that people can find their way around and eat and drink in comfort. Meanwhile, other areas can be left in darkness with just an array of fairy lights twinkling away or glowing orbs and lanterns to add colour and style. Of course if you're having a BBQ or cooking in the open air, you'll need enough light to be able to do the job safely.

If you're planning a meal or barbecue followed by a more lively activity such as dancing, you can set up a lighting system employing multi effect lights. You just use a controller to choose between a range of light sequences such as twinkling, slow fade, flashing, even static if you choose. This means you can easily change the lighting to reflect the quickly changing the mood of a party.

Another factor you'll need to consider is your power options. You'll have to run electrical leads to your outdoor lights unless you're just using battery or solar powered lights. With some types of outdoor lights such as connectible lights and rope lights, you just need one power lead to service many lights.

Yet another choice you'll need to make is whether to use standard filament light bulbs or LEDs. Filament lights are cheaper and give a pleasant warm glow. LEDs are cooler and have a much longer life. Nowadays, you can get LED lights with the warm glow of filaments which makes them very attractive.

When it comes to outdoor lights, you may be worried about rain damaging your lights or causing shocks during an unexpected downpour in one of the capricious British summers. The solution is to use outdoor lights with IP44 and IP64 ratings. This rating means that the lights can be installed outdoors and left out whatever the weather.

The great thing about outdoor lights is that you can buy packages read made. Just put them in place, plug them in and you're ready to go. The best place to search for outdoor lights in online where you can browse the products of online vendors to find the right lights for your needs. You can even search by colour. Just place your order and your lights will be delivered in a day or two.