All About Traditional Christmas: Outdoor Christmas Decorations and Decorating Ideas

The traditional time for putting up Christmas decorations is the weekend following Thanksgiving. And after all that rich food and football, putting up the decorations is a good way to work in some exercise! (This is also the biggest weekend for holiday gift shopping.)

For some, Christmas decorations are as simple as a decorated Christmas tree inside and a festive wreath on the front door. For others, decorating for Christmas becomes an all out festival of Christmas lights, lawn and rooftop ornaments, and all sorts of other indoor and outdoor Christmas decorations.

Christmas Decorating Ideas for Outdoors
Outdoor Christmas decorations that depict a scene are fun, easy ways to make your neighborhood more festive during the holiday season.

Luminaries: For a festive, but gentle scene, suitable for the approaching "Silent Night, Holy Night," line your drive and walkways with luminaries. These can be made by hand cutting shapes (snowflakes, stars, snowmen, etc) with an X-Acto knife out of colored and waxed lunch bags. But if you're not crafty, commercial luminaries are also lovely. Note: Paper bag luminaries are not recommended for snowy or rainy locales.

Nativity Scene: When decorating your front lawn or entryway with a nativity scene highlight the scene with lights. If possible, light the scene from above to simulate starlight shining down on the Holy Family. And, light the scene with soft lighting from the front to illuminate their faces.

A Gift Giving Christmas: Do something different this year; make your outdoor space a place for gifts...giant gifts. Wrap wood crates (or large cardboard boxes if you live in a dry area or one with early snow and no thaw 'til spring) in large sheets of Christmas paper (foil or waxed is best) and a large bow. Highlight the ribbons and bows with a string of lights. For the best scene use a number of different sizes and shapes of boxes/crates. Pile them up, tip them sideways, get creative, and have fun! Carry the theme to your front and garage doors.

Santa's Workshop: Excite the neighborhood children by building a mock toy workshop on your front lawn. Set up a fake assembly line with oblong tables covered with brown table cloths and tinfoil on top. Then have various toy parts sprinkled on it. Pepper garden gnomes throughout the area and set up a fake Santa Claus on the roof of the house. He can be supervising the "elves," checking his list, or off in his sleigh!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." by Norman Vincent Peale

Themed Christmas Decorations: Choose a theme and go with it. Some ideas for themes include: candy canes, snowflakes, snowmen, Christmas trees, angels, candles, bells, reindeer, and, of course, Santa Clause and his sleigh! Put large plastic candy canes on either side of your doorframe. You could also string a series of bells and have them line the front of your house. Other "non-traditional" options are the Grinch or favorite cartoon characters celebrating the holiday.

Decorating the Neighborhood: Some neighborhoods are known for their decorations and people come from miles around just to tour the neighborhood each Christmas season. Possible neighborhood decorating ideas include enlisting adjoining neighbors to mount a reindeer on each of their roofs while you mount Santa and his sleigh, lighted toy soldiers marching through the neighborhood, and stings of white or colored Christmas lights connecting all homes in the neighborhood.

No matter what theme you select for your outdoor Christmas decorations, including a few basic materials will make any scene more festive. If you don't live in a naturally snowy climate, use sheets of cotton on your rooftop to recreate the North Pole. Icicle Christmas lights also do wonders to promote the Christmas atmosphere. Other accessories that make good outdoor Christmas decorations include poinsettias, mistletoe, and tinsel.

Dream Come True 5:10 AM Comment