Join me on an outdoor holiday decor tour!
The minute Halloween is over I start decorating the exterior of our home for the Christmas holiday! I just can’t wait to continue the festivity. 🙂
I pulled my outdoor holiday decor out of storage and decided what will go where.
I purchased 8 of these affordable unlit garland from Lowe’s for $8 each. Unlit has become my go-to since the pre-lit tend to only last a season or two in my experience.
These red velvet look bows from Walmart are the perfect size, and oh so affordable. I added them to my real-look wreaths and garland strands. I love how classic they are and the pop of color they provide.
If they are sold out for you, here is another option.
My ultimate favorite lights ever are these indoor/outdoor plug-in warm white fairy lights.
They come in both 66 foot and 33 foot options. I use them all over my house both inside and outside and have for a few years now. They have held us perfectly, even after lots of weather and wear. I highly, highly recommend them.
Head to this post to see how magical they looked over our porch pumpkins and window boxes this past fall. And here is how they looked inside our home last holiday season and this fall. I use them everywhere. 🙂
To wrap each strand of garland with fairy lights, I looped the lights over the garland twice in most cases. For this one solo strand I used one set of 33′ lights. For the double and triple sets of garland together I used one 66′ strand of fairy lights.
In total for the garland lights I used two sets if 66′ lights and two sets of 33′ lights. Not bad at all, and I know they last for such a long time. Worth it!
For the front door I used two garlands since I wanted them to almost hit the ground on both sides. To secure them in place I use simple clear tacks, which have always worked really well for me.
After the garland was hung I twist tied two red ribbons to each corner.
We recently had the exterior of our home painted and our trim went from white to black. I was very excited to find these black light clips to help blend things a bit better.
To hang the fairy light garland to the gutters, I added the clips and secured the ends to each one.
I clipped the middle of each garland to give more support and to get the look I wanted.
Our garland has been up for a month already and has held up great through strong storms and wind.
I keep the cafe string lights around our door year-round, and love the look.
The red bows are definitely one of my favorite additions this year!
The fairy lights come with a very long cord and on off switch, which is so convenient.
To ensure they last in the outdoor elements I wrapped the plug section in a zip lock and securely tape with electric tape. I think this step is key in ensuring the indoor/outdoor plug-in fairy lights last a very long time.
The tape also works to secure the cord.
For the front porch, I used this cute outdoor buffalo check pillow from Walmart last year ($5). It has lasted so well in the winter elements. I can’t find it online, but saw them in store last month. Here are similar options.
Each time I got to Target I always start at the Dollar Spot. I was so excited to score this cute red “Letter to Santa” mailbox. The pop of red coordinates with the bows perfectly. I added in another little tree I have had for a few years. Here’s a similar option.
The modern white chair is one of my fave finds from Home Goods. And the white and gold garden stool is a clearance find about five years ago.
In my two larger flower pots I added light up trees that I got from Big Lots last season. You can find similar ones here.
I filled the pots in with extra garland that I had on hand.
Using net lighting, I lit up 11 bushes.
Time to move onto the three window boxes – my favorite outdoor holiday decor task!
Our large window box started bare except for the 6 faux sweet grass/boxwood bushes. They come in a set of 6 and look pretty realistic I think.
I added faux greenery, berry picks, ornament garland, some extra garland for filler, white lights, and some styrofoam mint candies (similar).
I grabbed my extension ladder and got to work on the two smaller window boxes.
My husband and I made these recently, and I have really enjoyed decorating them for each holiday.
I added more ornament garland and fairy lights to the boxes, which started bare except for faux cedar bushes that come in a set of 3.
The fairy lights run through the window on the inside of our house, where they plug in. I had to kind of MacGyver it to make it work. 🙂
I cut one ornament garland in half, and it was the perfect size for each window box.
The plan to hang the wreaths was to use command hooks, but I forgot the windows are covered in screens – oops! I had to get creative using a twist tie through the screen from the inside of the house. It’s been holding up great for the last month!
I love how real and classic the wreaths look.
They came plain and I added the red ribbon. The wreaths are from Walmart, but are sold out – Here is a similar wreath option.
I love how the small window boxes turned out!
For another pop of red, I stuck some affordable light up candy canes behind our front bushes.
To ensure the lights continue to work through snow storms, I wrapped all plugs in electrical tape from the Dollar Tree.
I wrapped these four front tree trunks with white lights and large sparkly candy canes from the Dollar Tree.
These extension cords and power hub come in so handy for this part of the project!
And finally here is the outdoor holiday decor all lit up at night!
We love our path lights, which come with a remove control and can be changed to any color combination possible. I started with a simple warm white, but then decided that a red and white look would tie in nicely.
Here’s a look at them in warm white.
Thanks for joining me on my outdoor holiday decor tour!
Here’s a peek at our winterized back deck, which also got a bit decorated. I miss all my pillows, etc, but they always have to go in storage once the winter weather gets here.
