Christmas Yard Art: Decorating for the Holidays

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas holiday is to drive around town and see all the wonderful decorations people display in their yard. Certainly you have all seen the enormous balloons, lighted reindeer and so much more in your own neighborhood. Instead of allowing your neighbors to be the envy of all, why don't you check out some of the following sites and do your yard up right for this joyous occasion. There are so many choices and I've found some of the best ones to offer to you and just what decorating on a big scale could mean to your wallet.

Big Lots is definitely one of the better stores for the least expensive holiday decorations you can find, seriously. For instance, how about lining your walkway or driveway with lovely candlestick lights. They have a 10 pack of these lights for only $10. You can't beat that! Also for the same low price you can get five spiral trees or six candy canes to light up the sidewalk. Heck, for that price you can get them all. Other options for $20 and under include single animated reindeer, a six foot spiral tree, a 30" lighted polar bear among others. One of the nicer things you can get real cheap is a lighted horse and carriage for $40. These are just like the lighted reindeer you see in everyone's yard, which are basically just the outlines, but you know how good those look so just image a whole horse and carriage in your yard. Don't worry about this being too big as the horse stands 48" tall and the carriage is 40", but the effect is great. You may want to check the store often for new items to be on sale and as of the time of this publishing, Big Lots is now offering on-line purchasing so you don't even need to leave the house if you already know what you want.

Buycostumes.com has a great selection of yard balloons for the Christmas holiday at what I believe are very reasonable prices. Something really cute here is a Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and a Tigger door greeter balloon. Any one of them can be purchased for about $30, plus shipping, and stand approximately 30-40 inches high. If you happen to have a little more funds available in your decorating budget, how about a 7 foot tall by 10 foot wide balloon with a snowman couple, a Christmas tree and two penguins that you can get for around $200. This is certainly going to be the envy of the neighborhood.

One last fabulous idea, which is perfect for a family with a handy man or woman around, is to make your own yard art. It's easier than you think if you check out patterns4less.com where you can get various patterns in the Christmas spirit. What a great way to spend some time with your kids by allowing them to paint their own. All but a few of the patterns here cost under $5 and come with detailed instructions, assembly diagrams and material list. The only thing you need to do is trace the pattern onto wood and cut it out. As an example, you can get a pattern for a skating snowman which would be 47" tall and 28" wide. Once you have cut the wood to the pattern, then the whole family can sit around and paint them as desired. If you ask me, this is a great way to spend some holiday time together.