During the month of December the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin has their annual Holiday Lights event. We won’t be able to do it this year unfortunately, but here’s how you can use an eBay discount code to save on making your own little holiday light display. I think we could all use a little extra holiday cheer this year, here is how you can bring some to your family and neighbours.
What is the Madison Zoo Lights event?
The Henry Vilas Zoo is also known colloquially as the ‘Madison Zoo’ since it is in fact the only zoo located in Madison, Wisconsin. In a typical December, the zoo is decorated with thousands of strings of Christmas lights and guests are invited to attend in the evenings to see them. You can have some hot chocolate or hot apple cider (boozy options available for those 21+), walk through the light displays at the zoo and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere and music. This is typically the zoo’s biggest revenue generator throughout the year, so it’s a tough blow for them to not be able to run it this year. If you are able, consider making a donation to the zoo this year perhaps on someone’s behalf as a Christmas gift. All donations are tax deductible.
Can you use discount codes at eBay?
This is something I was surprised about as well, but yes you can indeed use an eBay discount code when shopping the auction website. They do have a rare site-wide discount code every now and again, but for the most part the coupon codes are for individual sellers. As of right now, they actually do have a discount code for 5% off site-wide, and that does include holiday lights!
Redeeming one of their discount codes is a very simple process, all you have to do is paste or type the code into the appropriate box on the checkout page. To get to the checkout page you will either need to sign into your eBay account, or you can proceed with checkout as a guest. Once you have either signed in or filled in your shipping & payment information scroll to the bottom of the checkout page where it says ‘Add coupons’. This is where you can paste your discount code.
How to create the ultimate holiday light display
How you want to set up your holiday light spectacular is really up to you. Some people go all out and have lights & displays on every inch of their house & yard, personally I find those a little busy. I like displays that seem well thought out and make smart use of the features of the house and yard with maybe an accent piece or two. Whatever your style is, you can find tons of inspiration online, check Youtube, Instagram and Pinterest for some really cool holiday light displays.
Next I’d spend some time looking through what’s available for holiday lights on eBay, there is certainly a lot more options than when I was a kid! Gone are the days of string lights where when one bulb goes out, the whole thing goes out. You should definitely look into LED options, as they use far less power than traditional light bulbs. There are all kinds of shapes for the bulbs including stars, trees, icicles, and more. You can get ones that change colour, ones that can be controlled with a remote, ones that sync up to music, and ones that can be programmed to turn on & off with a timer. There are literally hundreds of options.
Remember to be careful when using a ladder to put up your holiday lights, it’s always good to work with a helper who can hold the ladder for you and pass you things. Never work on a ladder when you are home alone, just in case. Although it’s not quite the same, you can always stroll your own neighbourhood (or a nearby one with lots of great light displays) with your hot chocolate or cider. If you slip a little Baileys in there I won’t judge, especially with the last year that we’ve had! And hopefully next year Zoo Lights will be back at the Henry Vilas Zoo.