It’s Christmas season and if you have a yard then you must decorate it. There is nothing like a festive looking yard in front of a brightly lit-up house to add to the color of the Christmas season. Today it is highly convenient to just sit at home in front of your laptop and browse through the range of Christmas yard decorations available online. There are several online portals selling decorations for the yard and outdoors in general.
The three most popular items when it comes to holiday yard decorations are
- Outdoor Christmas lights
- Wooden yard decorations
- Inflatable yard decorations
You can liven up your yard using a combination of the above three items along with other classic additions like a white Christmas tree and a wreath for your door, making it a focal point in your entire neighborhood. Let’s find out what you can do with each of these decorations.
1. Outdoor Christmas Lights
Lights bring on a festive atmosphere like nothing else can. No Christmas decoration would be complete without a sprinkling of lights across your yard. If you are buying lights for the first time, you are bound to be flabbergasted by the range and selection available online. So it is important to be clear in your mind about what you want to do with the lights before you start buying.
The things you can do with lights are listed below
- Use string lights and drape them on your trees, evergreen shrubs and hedges
- Place a rope light motif like a star or reindeer in the lawn.
- Arrange some lighted frames like toy soldiers, snowmen or Santa Claus. The lighted frames can be animated or static.
- Display some glowing inflatables in your yard. This is a favorite with kids.
- Place artificial lighted Christmas trees or colored bulbs along the pathway
There are several other things you can do with lights but the above are the more common ones.
a. String Lights
The most important of all is the use of string lights. There are several types of string lights available – led lights, mini-lights, net lights, icicle lights and rope lights. Let’s take up each one of them.
- LED lights – Can be use to drape the hedges and shrubs. The new range of C7 led lights are very bright and consume very little electricity.
- Icicle lights – They give an effect of icicle clinging on to the surface on which they are draped. It is best to put some icicle string lights on your Christmas tree and on your windows.
- Mini-lights – Can be draped on low hanging trees and on the railings. They are available in several colors.
- Net lights – Specifically made for shrubs and bushes.
- Rope lights – You can wrap them around tree trunks, railings and branches.
b. Rope Light Motifs
The trend of hanging motifs on roof tops and trees is catching up. You can also place the motif in the lawn or near the trees and shrubs. Motifs are available in several structures and designs, just search for “christmas lights motifs” in google to get a listing of online portals selling these products. Some of these motifs cost as high as $400 while some can be availed for as less as $45.
Some of the more popular motifs are
- Santa Claus riding a motorbike or a sleigh
- Reindeers
- Dove with a branch
- Snowman
- Toy soldier
- Banner (happy holidays or season’s greetings)
c. Lighted Frames
These are a little expensive and you should consider buying them only if you are working with a big budget. Frames are similar to rope motifs except that the entire frame is lit up with lights.
Popular lighted frames are
- Toy soldier
- Star
- Christmas wreath
- Christmas ball ornaments
- Mini Christmas trees
Small frames look a lot better than large frames especially at homes, they are also cheaper. You can consider buying a framed star and hanging it from a tall tree in your yard, these are quite popular as holiday yard decorations. If there are no trees around you can just place a small frame on top of a shrub.
d. Glowing Inflatables
Some people just write off inflatables as being too childish, that’s definitely not a good idea. Inflatables are a hit with kids and they look very festive. Nothing beats a glowing snow globe in the center of the lawn or near a Christmas tree. There are several designs available in inflatables especially built around Santa Claus and Snow men.
A priceless inflatable is one with Santa Claus jumping into the chimney or a reindeer waving. Other popular inflatables are
- Penguins holding some banners
- Snowmen next to Christmas trees
- Santa Claus driving a car
- Elves and Santa
If you have kids at home then glowing inflatables are a must buy. They look good in the day time as well as in the night time.
e. Pathway Lights
There is nothing more welcoming than a set of pathway lights along your sidewalk or driveway and the best part is that they are quite easy to set up nowadays. Just search for “Christmas pathway lights” in google to get a list of online portals selling them.
There are several designs to choose from starting with simple round globe bulbs to mini Christmas trees. Lighted candies are a favorite when it comes to Christmas yard decorations using pathway lights.
2. Wooden Yard Decorations
Wooden art in your garden can add a touch of traditional fervor to the festivities. In olden days when technology had not developed to this extent, people used to decorate their yards with wooden art. Some popular traditional wooden art included – nativity scene, Baby Jesus, Angel and Snowmen.
You can place the wooden arts in the center or corners of your lawn, below a tree or next to some shrubs. Toy soldiers can be placed along the pathway leading to your garden. A nativity scene can be placed below a tree. You can also search for “plywood Christmas yard decorations” to get a listing of online portals selling the plywood varieties. Plywood arts come much cheaper and they can easily be fitted into your budget.
You can even try out a few metal art for yard decoration. But wooden art will last longer and long a lot more traditional than its metal counterpart.
3. Inflatable Yard Decorations
We have already discussed glowing inflatable decorations, here we will discuss the non-glowing inflatables and how you can use them to decorate your yard.
The problem with non-glowing inflatables is that they become invisible in the dark, so their decorative value is restricted to the presence of day light. To counter this, you should consider buying some portable incandescent or halogen bulbs and place them around the inflatables so that they get highlighted. Another method would be to place one glowing inflatable among a couple of non-glowing ones, as shown in the picture.
Inflatables are highly versatile items for yard decoration. They can be placed at any point in your yard and you can easily change their positions according to your fancy.
So there you have it, plenty of options to work with for your christmas yard decorations. Holiday season is all about getting festive and enjoying your time with friends and family and nothing beats having an outdoor dinner in a well decorated yard.
These inflatables are generally made out of heavy duty fabric like nylon and will easily withstand the effects of sleet, rain and snow. When you buy a decoration it will include an electric pump.
You will need to use stakes to keep the decoration grounded. As the temperature fluctuates the inflatables will lose some air and start drooping a bit, all you need to do is refill them again. Keep
the inflatables sturdy else they will look sluggish in your yard. An advantages with these decorations is that they are easily stored and maintenance free.