Inspiring Elegant 25+ Christmas Outdoor Decorations


Inspiring Elegant 25+ Christmas Outdoor Decorations





Sometimes it’s fun to be spontaneous. This is not one of those times. Clark Griswold planned his entire outdoor Christmas display complete with 25,000 light bulbs, and it was still a bit of a disaster. But you have a very important advantage that he did not have – this guide.

Don’t know who Clark Griswold is? Then step one is for you to go watch Christmas Vacation. It’s a classic and a great example of what not to do when it comes to installing outdoor Christmas lights and decorations! For everyone else, step one starts with ideas.

Grab your smartphone or camera, something to take notes if you want, and dress for the weather, because we’re about to head outside for a few minutes. Before we even start discussing outdoor Christmas decoration ideas, or types of lights, or installation tips and tricks, you need to familiarize yourself with the exterior parts of your home.

Right now you’re probably thinking, “I live here, I drive up to it every day, I know what my house looks like. Next step, please!”

But you have to trust us here. It’s really important to look at your house from a Christmas decorating perspective, and we hear that a little fresh air is good for the imagination.
1. Look at your home from a wide angle view
Let’s take a look at your house from a bigger perspective. Maybe go to the curb or cross the street if it’s safe to do so and take in what your house looks like from a wide-angle perspective. If you don’t already have a photo somewhere readily available, go ahead and take a picture of your house from this angle. Depending on the type of trees and foliage you have and what time of year you are in right now, you may also need to consider what the natural surroundings will look like in November and December. Count how many windows you have and note their location.

2. Take a good look at your roof
How many peaks does your roof have? Are any of the eaves (overhangs) horizontal? Do you have gutters? What about shingles? If you don’t have a clear picture focused on your roof, take one now.

3. Take in your landscape, walkways and driveway
How many trees are there in your garden? Do they have a very tall trunk like a Sweetgum or Palm Tree, or multiple trunks and lower branches like an Oak or Crepe Myrtle? Are there evergreen trees or shrubs with no visible trunk? Do you have bushes somewhere in the yard? Does your garden have any garden beds or interesting outlines? Note any walkways and the driveway as well. These are all places that Christmas lights and decorations could go.

Do you have a covered porch with pillars and railings? If covered, does your porch have a gutter or shingles? Is your front door a single or double? Are there stairs up to your door?

5. Don’t forget the power
Exterior electrical outlets will become really important when it comes time to power your outdoor Christmas light display. Finding out how many, if any, exterior outlets you have now will help you avoid unexpected complications during installation. Walk around the outside of your home and identify where your primary electrical outlets are located.

Now that you’ve spent some time getting to know your outdoor spaces from a decorator’s point of view, it’s time for the really fun part. Let’s decide what to do with all these potential places for lights and decorations to go! Before you even found this page, you probably had some ideas or plans for where you wanted to hang outdoor Christmas lights and the theme or style of outdoor Christmas decorations you could use. After walking around your yard, it’s possible that this mental list of ideas has grown or changed, so now that you’re back inside, we want to collect all the potential options neatly in one place.