• Lit Diner Scenediner image by michael langley from Fotolia.com
  
  Many parades are held during the day, but sometimes you get lucky with a night parade, a parade of lights. Props and decorations are often necessary for the evening shows, but the most important element of your float is the lighting. Done right, your lighted Christmas parade float will dazzle all the spectators.
  
  

Keep it Simple

• Blue Lightslights blue night,lumi?¡§res bleus la nuit image by davidphotos from Fotolia.com
  
  Parade floats come in various shapes and sizes, themes and colors. Make your float stand out with lights of one color. Use bright blue, green, red or purple to outline your float. Rope lights work well for this. Staying with the same color, cast a glow underneath your trailer. Trailing lights, the bulbs that light up one after the other, could outline the pulling rig and any seating or props you put on the trailer. Just be sure to have enough battery power to keep the lights going.
  
  

An Outdoor Wonderland

• Lit Christmas Treebradesco's christmas tree image by Paulo Neres from Fotolia.com
  
  Place several evergreens of varying sizes and shapes around your flatbed trailer. Use multi-color light strands to string around each tree. Be sure the lights are rated for outdoor use. You can group a few trees together, line them up down the middle of the float or place one one each corner and a larger one in the center. Use fake snow or white fabric to mimic the snow on the ground.
  
  

Lit Gifts

• Red Wrapped Gift Boxeschristmas birthday present wrapped image by scalesy from Fotolia.com
  
  Use red and green festooning and fringe to conceal the lower part of your trailer. Cover the deck with a solid color of your choice. Build extra large boxes of various sizes and spray paint them a solid color. Outline each box with rope lights. You can make bows out of lights, too. Adults and children can ride on the float. The children could open real wrapped boxes while staring in wonderment at the oversized gifts.