Holiday Decorating Tips: Your Home and Yard

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

01 Dec 2006 12:43 PM

At one of the TV stations I used to work at we featured a segment during the month of December called: "Holiday Lights---Show Us Your Stuff." We'd send a crew to document various homes in the viewing area that captured the holiday spirit. I used to marvel at how creative, and frankly, how incredibly elaborate some homeowners got with their outdoor decorations.

Personally, I don't have the time or money to turn my yard into a mega-watt Winter Wonderland. However, if you have the money but not the time (or motivation) to string hundreds of feet of lights or garland around your property you could hire a Christmas decorator, such as "Dr. Christmas" to put it all up and take it all down. Or you could visit someone else's house, and let them do the work.

Kidding aside, there are ways to decorate the outside of your home without breaking the bank... or your back.

Here are some simple ideas:

· Place one wreath on the peak of the house, and one on the front door.

· If you have the money to buy multiple wreaths (or the time to make multiple wreaths) you could add them (make them simple---greens with red bows) every few feet. If you have a fence in the front, this works well. Or you could attach some garland to the fence and call it a day.

· Wrap a garland or red ribbon around your mailbox or a big tree in your front yard. Our neighbor adds red ribbons around the necks of the decorative plastic reindeer in his front yard.

· Skip stringing lights on every eave and bush; instead consider putting them only on the arbor in front of your house. Or, you could just do the perimeter hedges in front of your home.

· If you want to light your shrubs but don't have the time to hassle with multiple rows of lights, consider spending a few extra dollars to purchase the new net-style lights that drape over your shrubs or wrap easily around trees.

· Shine one or two colored floodlights on the branches of a tree or on a single, large decoration in your yard. Or choose a yard decoration that lights up by itself. My 2-year-old loves the new inflatable Christmas yard decorations-you only need one to light up a child's face.

· Skip the yard and concentrate on your front door. Frame the door with small lighted pine or rosemary trees, or lean a big sled with a bow next to your entry.

Related Articles:

Holiday Decorating-Keep It Simple

It's Beginning To SMELL A Lot Like Christmas

Natural Christmas Décor

Natural Christmas Décor Part 2

Creating A White Christmas--Indoors

Holiday Decorating Reminders

Outdoor Décor: Decorate Your Yard for Christmas

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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