Christmas decorating is our favorite part of the holiday, if we’re being perfectly honest. Although you don’t have to go all out, there’s just something magical about a house that is adorned with decorations and lights. Think about it: You spend all year working on your lawn, keeping your house in shape, all that time spent shoveling or blowing snow, and then for a few magical weeks a year, it gets to be a winter wonderland instead of a list of outdoor chores. So we say decorate everything, go all out, use every idea you like, and check out our favorite Christmas decorating ideas for your yard, porch, doors and roof!
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Outdoor Christmas Decoration Ideas
Hanging Santa
Hold on, there, Santa! He’s accidentally slipped off the roof, but he’ll be ok. It is Santa, after all. This would make a cute element to a fun outdoor Christmas scene complete with tiny reindeer on the roof or fun lit-up elements such as elves and polar bears. This would be an especially fun idea for a house that has kids or a neighborhood.
Nutcrackers
These nutcrackers are standing tall and proud outside your house ready to welcome guests inside your home for some holiday cheer! The colors on these statues are so vibrant, they almost look real! Visions of sugar plums will most certainly be dancing through your head as you settle in for a long winter’s nap with these two guarding the premises.
Vivid Christmas Lights
These brilliantly vivid Christmas lights are sure to brighten up the night! Whether it’s luminescent reindeer, a colorful snowman or a combination of all kinds of holiday elements, these LED lights are the perfect thing to keep your house inviting even in the dead of winter. The more lights, the better and you really can never have too many sparkling lights around the house! You just want to make sure Santa can find his way in the dark, after all.
Sparkling Exotic Birds
Having interesting light-up creatures around or outside the house is our favorite trend this year! Birds of all kinds are big right now, but we’re really loving this peacock. Or if you like a more common bird, there are also ducks and even chickens!
Snowy Landscape
This snowy landscape is absolutely perfect for these wooden cut outs. Whether you have a large are to fill, or a smaller front area, utilizing wooden cut outs is a great way to fill the space with virtually anything you’d like to decorate with. You could even paint your own wooden cut outs in order to bring some life and color into the scene.
Outdoor Ornaments
This is such a cute idea and it looks really great! Use oversized Christmas ornaments and hang them from trees for a whimsical, colorful look that will have people virtually stopping in your street just to look at them. Pair these magical baubles with some pretty great Christmas lights, and you’ve got a Christmas scene straight out of the storybooks!
Wooden Decor
Using outdoor wooden décor is not only a rustic, fun look for the home, but it’s also incredibly easy to pull off. Whether you have some old plywood laying around or even some thin branches discarded from trees, you can easily piece together interesting focal pieces for your yard that will save you a ton of money and look pretty great overall. You can get as creative as you like with this nifty idea!
Lined Houses
This simple yet elegant outdoor home look is a great way to add some lights for the season without overpowering anything. The simple lined arches of the roof look absolutely stunning in this frozen landscape. Everything from the shadow of the house to the downy white snow makes this scene look perfect enough for a holiday card! You could add colored lights for a more interesting effect if desired.
Dripping with Lights
This cozy backyard scene features plenty of great lighting! The tree in the photo practically looks like it’s dripping with illume scent lights shining down on that cozy sitting area below. Lights naturally make everything look elegant, no matter what the holiday is, but around Christmas time, lighting in an outdoor setting helps make the scene look extra magical. It’s an interesting way to pull off outdoor lighting.
Character Inflatables
Lighted inflatables are a great idea for a home that has kids, or even a neighborhood that has a lot of kids in the area. They’re cute, make a big show, and are super simple to set up. These decorations are a cinch—just plug them in and they do all the work for you!
Tinsel Gifts
These little gifts made of wire, tinsel and lights may seem simple enough, but once they’re plugged in, they look absolutely fantastic! Using them to add a pop of décor to something like this bench setup is a cute way to help bring in guests with an extra added touch of holiday flair. You could also easily incorporate these gifts indoors on a table or even a side table for extra lighting.
Christmas Corner
Christmas decor doesn’t always mean over-the-top decor. Set up a pretty display in a corner of your porch or at the edge of your lawn for a small but impactful decoration arrangement that doesn’t overwhelm.
Pretty DIY Decor
Try your hand at crafty Christmas decor with simple touches, like these hurricanes filled with shatterproof ornaments. Or make a wreath for your door with those same ornaments, which is a pretty effect that takes just a few minutes to pull together.
Greenery and Lights
This entrance way looks absolutely stunning with all this greenery and lighting! Adding spruce to an entranceway like a garland is a great way to add greenery into a scene and is actually a pretty common garland option. You typically see holiday garland with spruce leaves or holly berries, but adding anything from twigs to poinsettias is a great way to add color to all that greenery.
Traditional Mailbox
This mailbox is all ready for the holiday season with all that greenery and bright berries. Even the mailman will think he’s stumbled upon a holiday gift delivering mail to your house! Decorating the mailbox is simple yet elegant way to add some color outside your house without overdoing it.
Christmas Planter
Even the plants can get festive! This holiday planter features plants that are perfect for the holiday season. Anything frosty colored like pale green or blue will naturally look magical in a wintery scene. Adding holly, garland or lights into holiday planters will not only help make the plants look magical, but will add interesting elements into your yard or front porch area.
Winter Arrangement
Add a winter plant arrangement outside your house that incorporates all the best elements of Christmas. Deep greens of ferns and spruce, the magnificent red of holly berries or poinsettias, and adding some colorful baubles is always a good idea to help create a gorgeous planter just in time for the holidays. You can add so many other decorative aspects to these ideas and you can change them up for any kind of color scheme you’re using.
Holiday Planter
This planter has easily been made into a holiday planter thanks to these great little accents! The tiny silvery wreath on the front of the planter and the tiny icicle looking elements toward the back of the planter makes this setup truly beautiful. Adding the silvery and white bow really helps incorporate all these elements together to create a gorgeous planter.
Pine Cone Planter
These pine cones and extra-large Christmas baubles makes this setting a truly holiday inspired one. This just goes to show how adding elements that are holiday inspired can change the whole décor of the area. These extra-large pinecones are a great way to add some holiday décor to a front yard or backyard area without incorporating too many elements at once.
Bucket Planters
These bucket planters hold within them baby Christmas trees! Ok, they may not actually be pine trees (or maybe they are) but whatever tree this is sure does look like a pine tree. These are cut in the classic Christmas tree shape and can be easily decorated for added holiday cheer. The buckets look great on their own, but adding a bow to these trees is a cute touch.
Windowsill with Baubles
This windowsill is holiday ready thanks to these large, gorgeous baubles! Adding some greenery underneath and adding these giant, oversized baubles on top is a simple yet elegant way to add some decorative elements to the outdoor of the house. Even if you wanted to add some décor to a backyard area, you can’t go wrong with this fresh, fun concept.
Outdoor Christmas Wreath
This outdoor Christmas wreath is a great, modern twist to an old time favorite. You can virtually construct wreaths out of all sorts of materials these days, and in these modern times, the funkier the better. This wreath appears to be made of fur or some kind of plant, but it looks absolutely stunning against this background. You can either buy wreaths already made or make your own.
Modern Christmas Planters
Give traditional holiday planters a modern twist by adding lights and plenty of holiday elements such as these sparkling, silver baubles. These longer, bit more tapered planters would look great on an outdoor patio area or even a front yard courtyard. They add so much holiday flair without all the business of more traditional holiday decorations. These are simply gorgeous!
Blue and Red
This holiday house exterior features plenty of blue and red elements that create an interesting change to the more traditional holiday color scheme. Although using blue or red is not uncommon in decorating, using blue and red together is not commonly seen. Adding interesting color combos is a great way to spruce up the exterior with a unique holiday twist.
Holiday Garland
This holiday garland looks great against these large bannisters. Adding greenery into any scene will definitely give off that Christmas feel without overpowering with tinsel and/or lights. Of course, green garland looks especially great with lights interwoven into it, but it’s not necessary if you are going for that more natural look. Incorporating other green elements will help move the eyes around the scene.
Rustic Holiday Decor
This rustic holiday décor features plenty of green garland and natural wreaths. All the wooden and green elements makes this house front look absolutely gorgeous and simple. The house is definitely holiday ready without having to add so many typical holiday elements such as tinsel, cartoon Christmas characters or planters. It’s gorgeous in its simplicity and is a look that is easily achievable.
Contemporary Christmas Planter
This contemporary Christmas planter just goes to show how much beauty a planter can add to your holiday décor. The stone planter is gorgeous against the background and using natural elements in the actual planter can go a long way in itself. Like this stone, you can use other natural elements such as wood or hemp to create a more rustic planter that will look gorgeous sitting in a corner.
Decorative Lamp
This decorative outdoor street lamp is all dazzled up for the holidays. Adding the spruce with the holly berries is such a wonderful touch to this lantern. Adding holiday elements like these to lanterns is a great way to add that holiday feel to the outside of a house. It looks gorgeous and it’s really simple to pull off. Adding the fun, striped bow is an extra great added touch.
Suspended Reindeer
These tiny little reindeer are ready to take off to help Santa in his holiday adventures! These little guys are an adorable addition to an already gorgeous house that is full of that classic garland. No matter the size of the yard, these little reindeer add an extra element of personality and will definitely be enjoyed by all throughout the holiday season.
Snowshoe Wall Design
Almost acting as a Christmas wreath, this snowshoe wall design would make the perfect addition to that family who likes to stay active even during winter. Even if just giving a decoration like this as a gift, the snowshoes offer a unique concept that anyone will truly enjoy – even more so if it were handmade and with plenty of love! Hang this in or outdoors for guests to admire.
Deer in the Archway
These gorgeous wicker light-up deer are the perfect elements to add into your holiday decorating. They are elegant on their own, but when paired with a truly gorgeous holiday scene like the one pictured, they stand out even more. Even if you want to use the deer as an afterthought, there is always room for these little guys because they’re so adorable.
Simple Votive
Votive candles can really add to your holiday table, especially if you adorn them with varying holiday elements such as holly, spruce or garland. Anything incorporating votive candles and a classy glass holder with look naturally and effortlessly elegant, but it’s these tiny little details that will really throw the whole table together. You can use any kind of candle color in order to match your existing holiday décor.
Candy Galore
It wouldn’t be Christmas without all the candy everywhere! You can easily use candy as decoration elements into the scene because candy is really quite beautiful and will definitely catch the attention of your friends and family. Candy canes places in an elegant glass jar or even a cake dish filled with delectable pastries can work as standalones on your kitchen bar area.
Cozy Patio
This posh patio looks like the kind of house front you’d see on the east coast. With all these dark wooden elements and wrought iron, it’s easy to see how this setup can exude that posh holiday flair. Guests and family will be so impressed strolling up to this house with this kind of setup. Use darker colors to invoke that classy holiday look without all the baubles or characters.
Hanging Fixture
This hanging fixture containing snowflakes and stars is an adorable way to add some interesting holiday elements into your décor setup. You could easily make a mobile like this using cut out shapes from cardboard and twine – just wrap each shape tightly enough to where none of the cardboard can be seen. You can spray paint the cut outs in different metallic colors or even add a sparkly shimmer to catch the light of your holiday lights.
Twig Deer
This rustic deer made out of decorative twigs is the cutest way to add some flair into your porch décor setup. Not only is this a truly unique concept, but you can easily make this yourself if you wanted to. If you aren’t the best when it comes to creating cute creatures out of sticks, you could always search online or even visit a department store that specializes in wooden creatures. They are, surprisingly, out there, you just need to search for them.
Star Door
In place of a traditional Christmas wreath, adorn your door with a brilliant star. This star shines bright against this ruby red door and offers a unique element into your holiday scene. You could easily paint the star to make it more sparkly or to fit in with any holiday décor you may have set up already. The garland hanging above the star offers just enough elegance without taking away from the star at all.
Ornament Orbs
These adorable little ornament orbs offer a great way to light up your porch area in place of traditional lamps. You could easily paint these ornaments in order to mesh into any design scheme you may have, or even to personalize them to read your family’s name or a personal holiday message to guests. These would look adorable around a mailbox or even leading up the pathway to your front door, as well.
Merry Christmas Sign
Create a custom message to all your guests by making your own holiday sign. You can use wooden placards or even cardboard if you keep the sign out of the elements to prevent getting soggy or falling apart. You can customize the message to read anything you’d like and you could even use this idea as a personalized Christmas gift to give away to friends and family.
JOY Trees
These tiny trees are also holding wooden placards to spell out the word J-O-Y. It’s a really cute idea, especially if the pots are set upon cascading steps like in this photo. You can add any kind of holiday message you want, or even incorporate you family’s last name to give it that extra personal touch. Add some lights into the trees if possible to add a glow the whole neighborhood can see.
