Cheap and Easy Outdoor Christmas Decorations

We are all trying to save money. Everyone knows the people who spend a small fortune on lights and decorations for their neighbors to enjoy. If you have never read John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas" or watched Chevy Chase in "Christmas Vacation" you have missed some really good laughs. We have had outdoor Christmas decorations for generations. My parents had a red star, referred to as "the star in the east", that had such bad wiring they would run upstairs and plug it in just before they thought we would get to their house,. As soon as we were inside they would rush to unplug it. Heaven only knows who did the wiring of the star. It was unique. I remember falling asleep at Christmas when I was younger with the soft glow of that red star in my bedroom.

When we were first married, I tried to figure out a way to decorate our porch that would not cost an arm and a leg, but would keep our house from looking like the home of the grinch. I bought three rolls of shiny wrapping paper. I had some wide ribbon and scrounged some large cardboard boxes. I wrapped the boxes leaving the opening in the back so that I could put a brick inside that would keep it from blowing away. I taped the wide ribbon to the sides and put a big bow on the top of one. They didn't look bad.

We have a picnic table on our porch and I put a plastic tablecloth over it and arranged the boxes on top for maximum display. My husband rigged a spot light on them and they looked pretty good. After Christmas, we brought them in and put them in the attic. I think we got two yeas out of those boxes, but by the end of the second year, they were done. They has served their purpose - they were quick and inexpensive and they planted the idea.

My husband had a whole year to scrounge wood and build boxes. Being the smart man that he is, he worked it out so that he could nestle one inside the other when we put them away. We still leave the opening to the back. They are painted in bright colors and we have even painted on the ribbons. They look very festive and take only the electricity for the spotlight, although we do put icicle lights around which brighten the porch considerably.

One year we put a big red bow on my childhood sled. That didn't work out so well. I guess it was just too much temptation, because one night when we had gone out to look at Christmas lights, some kids came and stole it. I can imagine their disappointment when they found out how poorly those old sleds with runners went in the deep snow. We used to work hard at packing the snow down to get good distance out of the sled. The good news on that is that two summers later another kid said he knew where the sled was and brought it back. I haven't had the heart to put it out since.

The other thing that we added to the display was a makeshift crib. It sits in the center of the presents. On Christmas morning we put a 'Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes" with a gold garland halo, in it. That way people know the best Christmas present has arrived. Before Christmas it is empty. I don't know how many people have figured that out, or even noticed for that matter.

This isn't an impossible project to do. The wooden boxes are good, but cardboard works fine and you don't have to store them. You can get the sizes that work for the place you want to put them. If you use cardboard, be sure to weight them and leave the backs open so that when the children want to open them, they can without wrecking the appearance of your decorations. Wooden boxes can be used over and over, but are more work to make and store. The spotlight isn't as expensive to use as a bunch of lights spread all over the house. The boxes go up very quickly. I think the whole effect looks. really nice and no one will know that it didn't cost a bunch.