With Christmas only 12 days away we want to see how Christmassy the outside of your house looks.

Are you proud of your Christmas lights? If so, email them to us here, for a chance to feature in our gallery.

The tradition to decorate the outside of your house with Christmas lights dates back to the 17th century.

Before lights were invented people would decorate their Christmas tree and home with candles.

They would stand candles on windowsills so they could be seen from the outside - having candles in the window indicated that it was a Christian house.

• Read more: How much can you remember about toys from Christmas past?

In 1880 during the festive period Thomas Edison introduced the first outdoor electric Christmas light display to the world.

His lights were displayed outside his laboratory compound, which was close to a railway, so many people could see it each night.

A few years later, Edward Johnson, who was an inventor under the supervision of Thomas Edison, created the first string of Christmas lights, made out of 80 small electric light bulbs.

In 1890 the string of lights were mass-produced and department stores began displaying them in Christmas displays in their stores.