What is the best advice you can give regarding Christmas light decorating outside?

In the past we have had bad luck with connecting too many strands of lights, and blowing fuses, forgetting to turn off the lights and running up high electic bills, etc. I know there are things you can buy at the store like timers, etc. I am wondering what items are really good for this and whether it is worth it to buy the more costly items for quality, etc. My 11 year old son really wants to do most of the decorating, and has done an excellent job in the past, so I want to help him learn the correct way to do this.What is the best advice you can give regarding Christmas light decorating outside?
Go for the new LED lights, they'll use a lot less power and they look a lot better too.What is the best advice you can give regarding Christmas light decorating outside?
Make sure the lights you have are outside lights. Make it simple, not too much. Simple is best. I seen some that have ice cycle like lights that hang down. They look nice and easy