This holiday season is full of firsts for us. It’s the first time Clara can shout things like “I love you Santa!” to the inflatables at Home Depot (this actually happens quite often). It’s also the first time we got a real tree (even if it’s of the tabletop variety). And it’s our first real Christmas in this house (we moved last December but were still living out of boxes then). But perhaps our biggest first is actually decorating the outside of our house. We’ve never done that. Isn’t that crazy? What the heck were we waiting for? There’s definitely some magic to waiting until it gets dark, plugging everything in, and stepping back to see things glow. We should have done this years ago!
Since it’s our first outdoor decorating foray, it’s hardly one of those amazing every-inch-of-the-house-is-lit-up things. But we had some fun dipping our feet into the outdoor decorating pond by:
- adding white candle lights in every window (from Ben Franklin)
- hanging three glowing stars from the porch at varied heights (from amazon.com)
- turning an outdoor evergreen next to our driveway into an outdoor Christmas tree with red and white lights (from Target last year on clearance after Christmas)
- tossing more of those “candy cane lights” (aka: red and white lights) over the bushes that lead to the front door
- stuffing three red over-sized metal lanterns with white lights on the porch (from Ikea)
- adding two glossy red reindeer to the window (from Ben Franklin and altered with spray paint)
- making a square wreath with four sticks from the yard (and a faux boxwood garland from Ben Franklin)
Here’s a close shot of the porch so you can see the glossy red reindeer flanking a candle in the window with the tree glowing in the background and the hanging stars on the porch reflecting in the window:
Let’s step back a little so you an see a bit more of those hanging stars on the porch and some of the red & white lights in those bushes. The cool thing about hanging the stars at varied heights in front of the picture window is that their reflection doubles them- so from certain angles it looks like we have six glittering oversized stars floating over the porch instead of three.
Oh and although in person the whole red & white thing is clear, for some reason the white lights all look green in these pics (probably because they’re picking up the green in the bushes). So pretend everything is bright white and shiny red- it’s a really fun outdoor palette since so many houses are doing the all white thing- sort of looks retro and bold with our little ranch.
Here’s a super far shot from the curb where you can see our cute little evergreen-turned-Christmas-tree next to the carport. Wasn’t he just dying for some lights? And adding more red and white lights to the bushes leading to the front door sort of balanced things out.
Here’s a closer Christmas tree shot…
And here’s our little tree from the side (man do those white lights look green- so funny):
As you walk closer to the porch you can see the three red over-sized lanterns that we got from Ikea for $11 a pop.
At first we chatted about using real white pillar candles (or battery operated ones) in each lantern, but then came up with the idea of shoving a ton of white lights in each one for a festive glowing effect. So glad we did.
We just ran an extension cord to get power over to them, and each lantern has a string of white lights in it (so there are three total, that are joined together in a chain, and powered by the extension cord).
Oh and get this: apparently our neighborhood has “Secret Neighborhood Spirit Elves” who left a thank you note in our mailbox for decorating. How cute is that? Seriously, we were smitten by that unexpected little note of appreciation.
Here’s a good shot of the three hanging stars (we used plant hooks to hang them from the inside of the porch’s scalloped header).
We got these guys on amazon.com a few months back on sale (I think they’re called Moravian stars if that helps you hunt them down):
They’re actually made of hard plastic and you assemble them by snapping each of the spikes into place.
Here’s a close up shot of our red and white lights… which again look red and green. Haha. We learned that these guys are called “candy-cane lights” – charming name, right? We thought that was cute.
Oh and I mentioned that I made a little square wreath with sticks from the yard, so here’s the scoop…
I just collected four sticks that were pretty straight and broke them over my knee so they were all the same length. Then I grabbed a faux boxwood garland at a local craft store (Ben Franklin) which was 50% off (down from twelve bucks to $6). I already had green floral wire at home, so those were all the materials that I used (pardon the bad iPhone pic, John was using the good camera to photograph kitchen stuff for yesterday’s post):
As you can probably guess, I just used the floral wire to connect the four twigs in each corner to make a rough-but-charmingly-rustic square wreath shape with the sticks. Then I just wrapped the faux boxwood garland around it. Here’s a shot of the corner of the wreath that’s connected with wire (this detail is covered by the garland, but I pulled it away for this shot to show you how it’s all held together):
Oh and I already had that red “kissing ball” from a few years back (it was a sweet gift from John’s mom) which I thought looked fun in the middle of the wreath. I didn’t even have to hang a hook since it rests over the base of the door knocker. And the square wreath itself rests on the top of the door knocker, so no 3M hooks were harmed in the making of this wreath. Haha.
Oh and for anyone wondering how our oil-rubbed bronze door knocker and handle and deadbolt are holding up (more on that project here), as you can see from the pic above, they’re all still looking mint!
So yes, we are thoroughly enjoying the festive outside stuff we hung, set out, and strung up for the first time! I even named our $6 wreath Charlie because he’s kinda minimal and sparse, like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree…
And now back to those red reindeer. I found these guys at Ben Franklin when I was buying the clearance faux boxwood garland to make Charlie. At $4 a pop I couldn’t resist (they’re giant – maybe two feet tall each). They were sort of a flat brown bag color when I got them and looked to be made of paper mache. So I thought making them super shiny and bright could be fun. So one $3.50 can of high-glossy “Sunrise Red” spray paint later…
… and those babies were glossy and ceramic-animal-esque. Clara is obsessed. She can now say “red reindeer” and usually looks outside beyond them and shouts “Santa’s coming!” Not kidding. This kid is excited with a capital E.
Have you guys decorated the outside of your house? Have you ever made a wreath from sticks? Are you as crazy about square wreaths as I am? Might just be me, but I love how different they feel. Sorta modern and angular. And how about them reindeer? Are you surprised I tried my hand at bright red spray paint? I must admit, I kind of surprised myself with that choice. But I love the super bright color – so festive!
Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!
1916home.net says
Im sure we can all grab a few ideas just from this one blog post. You two are amazing! I especially love how the Christmas tree came out. What size are those bulbs? I love the alternating red/white lights on it.
YoungHouseLove says
They’re just those small ones on a green string. I think Target sells them again this year (they’re actually red, clear, and frosted white, but they just look red and white when you plug them in). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
So beautiful! I want to steal your stars and reindeer! I’ve looked all over for good reindeer this year, and found nothing in my little town. :(
Kristen says
Looks great!! I especially love the glowing stars! We pretty much skipped outdoor decor this year; just a sparkly wreath on the door and a mini-tree with lights next to the door.
Ruthie says
I love the reindeer. In fact I scored some smaller ones- 1 in red, 1 in brown from Marshall’s and I’ve gotten so many compliments!
Emily says
Oooooh, love your red and white lights!! And the giant lanterns- SO pretty. I love decorating the outside for the holidays- so much fun!!! Check out the front of our house:
http://davenportdiy.blogspot.com/2011/12/deck-halls-outside-edition.html
YoungHouseLove says
So festive!
xo,
s
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet says
So adorable! Understated but definitely festive.
My parents have a Japanese maple in their front yard that loses all of its leaves right around December 1st. My dad winds red lights through it for Christmas; it looks like sparkly, twinkling leaves. Your set-up definitely reminded me of theirs.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh that sounds amazing!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
Looks beautiful & I LOVE the idea of secret neighborhood spirit elves! What a nice way to get in the Christmas spirit!
Carol N. says
Is there a big difference between this year and last year as far as Clara is concerned? I would think she is more aware of Christmas this year and having lots more fun. Can’t wait to see the videos! And the decorations look amazing. I’m looking at a Moravian Star fixture for our newly remodeled closets just to do something fun.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! Last year she wasn’t even mobile (not even crawling yet) and she can run now! She’s so much more aware and she talks all the time and gets so excited about lights and trees and santas! It’s a really sweet time to have a 1.5 year old!
xo,
s
KC says
This is the perfect balance of festiveness and classiness! Love it!! Santa and his reindeer will be proud!!
jeannette says
a vid of miss clara shouting “santa’s coming” would make my day. i know she doesn’t perform on command, but clara talking, along with brown paper packages tied up with strings? is one of the few of my favorite things.
YoungHouseLove says
We have a few new Clara videos that we have been meaning to upload! She’s so much more chatty these days! And occasionally allows us to get it on film. Occasionally being the key word…
xo,
s
katherine says
“Here’s a close up shot of our red and white lights… which again look green and white”- did you mean red and green?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- yes! Off to fix that!
xo,
s
RachelSD says
I’ve never understood why you guys haven’t decorated outside before- you do it so well! I especially like the lanterns and the stars. Pretty.
Marlena says
Super cute! Ya know, this is the first year we’ve decorated inside our house. Our daughter is three and we decided to bite the bullet – got a real tree, put a bow on the door, and we really enjoy it!
Delana says
Seeing your carport reminded me, what’s the status on turning that into a garage? I thought when you bought the house, the ownwers were going to pay to have it converted? Your house looks awesome! I’ve never been brave enough to tackle outside decorating. We don’t even have a tree up this year because it’s just too much work! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We got a credit when we purchased the house to go towards converting it, but it didn’t have a strict timeline (aka: we can do it whenever we want) so we just decided to focus on some of the inside spaces (since we hang out in the kitchen/bedrooms/dining room/living room more than the carport/garage). But we hope to tackle it sometime this year or next. We’re still debating a few things (placement of windows/door type) and don’t want to jump into it until we’re certain about what we want to do!
xo,
s
Kelley says
Looks great! I love that you have a “Christmas tree” in your landscaping to decorate. How festive. Ever think of putting your indoor tree right in front of that beautiful picture window? I’ve always dreamed of having a home with either a large picture window or a bay window in which to put a Christmas tree covered in white lights. YAY!
YoungHouseLove says
That could be really fun – it’s just where our dining table is and since we’re having family over for Christmas I’m sure we’ll appreciate the table there too!
xo,
s
Karyn says
I found similar paper mache reindeer, but laying down @ Goodwill a few years ago for about $2 each. I sprayed them glossy red and added a plaid ribbon around the neck with a shiny bell attached. I think they are my fav cheapo decor!
I have tons of ice cycle lights I bought on clearence 2 years ago, but have yet to hang them outside…. I think steep roof & uneven ground is keeping me from it. Maybe someday!
YoungHouseLove says
You reindeer sound so cute!
xo,
s
Jody says
I love it all! Wish we had bushes or shrubs to drape more lights on like yours. I want moravian stars now too, but it gets so windy here that they might not survive the winter!
Great job guys!
BrookeJ says
Love the wreath! You’ve inspired me to make 2 today from things found in the yard. Thank you!!!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome! Would love to see pics!
xo,
s
Margaret F says
I love how those reindeer just pop.
karen says
very nice!!! now all you need is some snow :)
braelin says
Hi there,
The Moravian stars on amazon are pricey… ($30 each). Tell me that you paid less than $90 for the 3 on your porch! Any ideas where to get them for cheaper??? http://www.amazon.com/CHRISTMAS-LIGHTED-MORAVIAN-OUTDOOR-DECORATION/dp/B000YT1UN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323884071&sr=8-1 are the ones that I see…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! They were maybe $15 or $12 each on amazon.com a few months ago? We got a bulk order discount since we got three- and they were the 14″ kind I think – the bigger ones can be a lot more!
xo,
s
Elyssa says
Apartment Therapy has a post on DIY Moravian stars today. Weird coincidence? They are so pretty!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/diy/diy-inspiration-moravian-stars-162993
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!
xo
s
Jill says
Ohhhh Moravian stars make my heart sing! My beloved Nona always had one hanging on her front stoop. When she passed away, it was given to our family & unfortunately we don’t have a stoop to hang it on. Year after year we see it hanging in the rafters of the attic and brain storm about what to do with it, but haven’t come up with any ideas yet. It really is such a magical thing. I think about how beautiful the REAL star looked so long ago as the wise men were going to meet baby Jesus for the first time. :) I just love how you clustered them together like that! So beautiful. Awwws. :) And the rest of the place is awesome. I want some shiny red reindeer!!!
Amanda @ The Fix-Its says
So pretty and so classy! Christmas decorations can so easily cross the oh-god-so-tacky line. You guys rock!
Lola says
Wow, it looks so nice! I absolutely love your creativity.
We’re mid-reno and our garage has become the dumping ground and alas I couldn’t find our decorations this year, so just the tree it is. As for outside, half our bulbs burnt out so only one of our trees was graced with the wrap around this year. Our goal was to wrap each tree, all its branches and trunk with white LED’s so they both look like trees made out of lights. Guess we’ll have to go buy more lights next year :)
Katie J. says
Everything looks so festive! Great job!
Skye @ Neathering Our Fest says
Those hangy whatsidoozit lights are GORGEOUS! I love them! :)
We don’t decorate outside – we always tell ourselves that we are going to do it when we have kids… but we just can’t decide to have kids! SO maybe one day we can decorate for my nephew. :)
denise says
We don’t do much outdoor decorating at Christmas but we always hang our Moravian star. We lived in Winston-Salem for many years when I was a child and my parents have continued the star tradition and given each kid a star to hang, too. I believe the tradition is that the star is hung on the first day of Advent and not taken down until Epiphany (Jan. 6). My dad always keeps us straight!
I think all of your outdoor decorating looks wonderful! And very classy. I think my favorite is the little evergreen tree.
houseofearnest says
I LOVE it! All of it. my outdoor decorating has been on lock-down since it’s been pouring here for 3 weeks… something about working on electrical things in the rain doesn’t quite appeal to me!
Lilly says
Hi, love all of your decorations for the holiday inside and out. Very fresh and modern. My question is about jute rugs, I see u guys have had ur share of jute rugs in ur previous house. R jute rugs good for babies play area while learning how to crawl? I want to buy a rug and I really like a jute rug from overstock and the price is right on my budget. I just bought their black n white chevron rug in the synthetic material and although I love the pattern and the color contrast I cant get over how cheap the material looks. So my next choice was a jute rug that has no reviews. I was hoping u guys can give me a hand I’ve never had a jute rug so I really don’t know what it feels like. Help me please u r my design gurus.
YoungHouseLove says
Some are softer than others (the braided ones usually are softer than just woven ones which can be rough) but I don’t think any are great for a baby’s bare legs while he crawls (if he’s in long pants it would probably be fine). We have one in our bedroom here and Clara was fine crawling on it but we used a nice plush wool rug for the living room and office since she played in there a lot more. Now that she’s walking we have a woven rug back in the office, in the kitchen, and a lower pile wool one in the living room and that works out great! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Lauren M. says
I LOVE the decorations that you all did! The colors are so festive and the decor still has your edgyness in it.
I love that your wreath is non-traditional. I made a non-traditional one this year as well!
http://myersmaison.blogspot.com/2011/12/wreath-story.html
YoungHouseLove says
Fun!
xo
s
Nicole says
LOVE the red deer and the STARS! So, I of course have an unrelated question (am I allowed to do that?):
How do you hang your frames on your gallery walls? My husband is crazy about having to have even the lightest frame in a stud and we are totally commitment-phobic when it comes to putting holes in the walls for frames. It’s starting to become a problem. Any advice?
YoungHouseLove says
We have plaster walls so we use anchors and screws whenever we’re not going into a stud if things are heavy (if not we just use one or two nails – since two keep things hanging straighter).
xo,
s
Carolyn H. says
I love the Moravian stars. My grandparents had one hanging in their entry way when I was growing up. I’ve always loved them.
LMN says
the reindeer are so fantastic! what is ben franklin? i must find one in south carolina…
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, Ben Franklin. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
kelsey says
Those are Moravian Stars – the Moravians settled in Winston Salem in Old Salem! Here is a link to them:
http://www.oldsalem.com/category/moravian_stars
I grew up in Winston, so everyone has one there! Looks great. Our 1 year old and almost 3 year old have attacked our poor tree so many times, I am thinking about making it into a topiary up to where they can’t reach – I totally refuse to have a gate around my tree – just sayin’!
Merry Christmas!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting!
xo,
s
Alanna says
looks great! we mainly stuck with indoor lights and decorations this year (http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-mantel.html and http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/12/trimming-tree.html). to get our exterior light fix we’ve been enjoying driving through different neighborhoods at night and visiting other local light displays (http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/12/speedway-in-lights.html).
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- looks like so much fun!
xo,
s
Santana says
Wow, it looks amazing. Love the star lights and the red reindeer especially.
Kara says
My son loves the home improvement inflatables too! They have a 16-foot Santa at Lowe’s and he asks to go to Lowe’s just to look at it, haha. “Dere’s de HUUUUUUUGE SANTA CLAUS!” Last week he invited his daycare teachers to go to Lowe’s with him to look at the Christmas stuff. :P Kid is obsessed!
Connie says
Do the Moravian stars come apart for storage or must you find a spacious storage area?
YoungHouseLove says
I think the spikes snap off again, so they get a bit smaller!
xo,
s
Marie says
Very Nice!!! I love your decorations outside
We also decorated the outside of our house for the first time this year. After we were done I also wondered why we did ot do this years ago (we lived in our house for almost 7 years….)
The decorations/lights outside just somehow belongs to the holidays.
Your blog is so great and inspirational.
I also have a blog; http://www.houseofdanishmarie.blogspot.com
You are welcome to stop by :o)
I am thinking about added links on my blog to my “favorite blogs”/”blogs I follow”. Would you guys be OK with me adding yours to my list?
Have a wonderfull Christmas and all the best of luck to you in 2012
Take Care
Marie
NJ
PS: I live in Rahway, not too far from IKEA in Elizabeth. I always smile when I see your posts about your trip to IKEA in Elizabeth.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure- that’s so sweet of you to link to us! Off to check out your blog. Oh and I totally know where Rahway is! Jersey, represent!
xo,
s
KCatGU says
(Foreword, I don’t think we have Ben Franklin stores in Phoenix) So when I started reading this post, I thought that putting white lights in every window was a tradition from Mr. Benjamin himself, and I thought wow the Petersik are so historical.
Oppsies, still looks fun.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- too funny!
xo,
s
susan says
Random question… We have a ton of videos and pictures of our 14 month old and I want to know how you back up the videos and pictures? Would hate to lose anything. Have any tips or sites you use?
Thanks,
Susan
YoungHouseLove says
We try to upload all pics and videos to third party sites so they’re backed up off the premises (in case of something crazy like a house fire). We generally like to use flickr for both pics and video, and sometimes will do youtube or vimeo for video if it’s too long for flickr (they have a time line where they cut things off). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Katie S. says
I LOVE the shiny, snazzy red reindeer!! They caught my eye right away and I can’t get enough of them! I could get totally carried away with a can of that spray paint.
Heather says
How funny, I just about bought those reindeer from Beverly’s and spray painted them red! As in five minutes ago I was at the store thinking about buying them, but I was in too much of a rush to get home (worked last night). I think I might just have to go back and get them tomorrow because your display just encouraged me even more! Love the house, it’s adorable.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- have fun!
xo,
s
Alice says
I think I love your pretty outdoor tree trimmed with lights the best. Oh, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a beautiful blue evening sky such as yours before!
Lilly says
Thank u for answering my question. Back to the drawing board
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo,
s
Whitney says
Very cute!! Love everything you’ve got going on for Christmas! My hubby and I made a personalized frame out of sticks, or twigs rather… http://drabtofabdesign.com/2011/12/using-twigs-paint-to-create-art/ We are new to this whole blogging world, but boy is it ever fun! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! Happy blogging!
xo,
s
Katherine says
I went to Ben Franklin last week to find some of those adorable reindeer, and they said that they did not carry them this year – BUMMER! Yours look fabulous:) I’ll try for some next year…
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, that’s sad!
xo,
s
Shannon @ Bungalow960 says
We had very good intentions of putting up lights two weekends ago, but then it snowed 8 inches. There is always next year!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s a fine excuse! Enjoy the holiday snow!
xo,
s
Carrie says
I love it all! The stars, the lanterns, the reindeer, the red & white combo and that wreath! So simple and so lovely with just the right addition of whimsy. Very Scandinavian.
Always J E A L O U S of you being so close to IKEA but now super jealous of your Ben Franklin! I’ve searched for some cute reindeer to no avail! And these are adorable.
I have never decorated the outside of my house and really thought this year was THE year. But alas I wasn’t able to move back home (tornado damage to the house in May) until the week before Thanksgiving and between unpacking (which had to be done stat! I have no room for a room of shame and I am cooking Christmas dinner!) and inside decorating the closest I came was a wreath on the front door and some $1 felt snowflake ornaments from Target hanging in the windows. Unfortunately I bought white and with my lined roman shades they just blend in at night (didn’t think that one through!). But I do have some new low voltage landscape lights that make it look pretty. :) I don’t have any bushes or trees anymore so I couldn’t even throw some pretties on them. Maybe next year!
This was a very blabby comment. Sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, don’t be too jealous of our proximity to Ikea, it’s actually a four hour round trip! Two hours each way! We just have some friends/relatives out there, so whenever we visit we make sure we stop at Ikea!
xo,
s
Carrie says
The closest (everytime I type that word I type closet first. Good grief!) IKEA to me is Dallas, which is 5 hours one way. However my cousin’s son works at IKEA in Bolingbrook, IL so I think I need a mini vacation soon to visit IKEA- er, I mean, my family. :)
I was spoiled by living close to the one in Renton, WA. Ahhh we all had IKEA apartments back in the day. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I’m all about visiting Ikea- er, family. Haha.
xo,
s
John says
Lowe’s had the Moravian stars for sale. They had one on display, but the bulb had slipped towards the top and had melted one of the tips, no fire though. Managed to notify a worker.