When you invite family and friends to visit this holiday season, your front walkway and entrance will set the tone for your festivities. Any decorations you display in these areas of your home will serve as the first impression, so why not go all out this year?

In this guide, we are going to look at a variety of fun and festive Christmas walkway ideas that are sure to impress your guests and leave everyone in the holiday spirit. The list includes everything from simple decorations that can be purchased at your local dollar store or thrift shop to large DIY projects and elaborate holiday displays. Whatever your style and budget, we are sure that we have something to inspire your decorating plans!

Traditional Candlelit Lanterns

Hanging Lantern on Winter Season

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If you prefer a more minimalistic or traditional holiday decorating theme, why not go right back to the basics with the classic look of candles and lanterns. Today, we see lanterns being used in a wide variety of different ways, filled with Christmas ornaments, holiday greenery, and other festive pieces. However, this simple decorating scheme requires nothing more than shepherd hooks holding basic holiday lanterns being used as candle holders. If you are concerned about fire risks of live flames, or simply don’t want to take the time to light your lanterns each night, swap the standard pillar candles for LED candles with timers or remotes.

Craft Clay Pot Snowmen

Isolated on White Background Flower Pots

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If you’re feeling crafty, here’s a cute option to transfer traditional clay pots into some adorable greeters to welcome your guests. For each snowman, you are going to need 4 clay pots, all of the same size. Paint three of your pots white while painting the 4th pot the desired color for your snowman’s woolen hat. With a glue gun, glue the opening of two white pots together as well as a white pot with your colored pot, before stacking the two pieces together to create the form of your new friend.

Now it’s time to decorate! Paint a cute little face on the top white pot. If you want, you can add a 3D carrot nose or simply paint it on like the other features. Glue a strip of fabric around the seam between the colored pot and the top white pot for the brim of your hat and tie a matching strip for your snowman’s scarf. Finally, glue the felt hands onto the middle white pot and add a row of buttons down the center to complete the look. You can incorporate a single snowman into your walkway or make multiple to help fill out the space. Experiment with different sized pots for larger and smaller snowmen.

Purchase a Lighted Inflatable Archway

Lighted Christmas Inflatable Santa Claus and Snowman Archway

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One of the easiest ways to welcome guests into your outdoor space with a bold, dramatic gesture is using a lighted inflatable archway. These decorations often look large and impressive; however, they require minimal effort to set up. Simply stake down your archway where you want it to remain for the season, plug it in, and allow the built-in inflation fan to take over. As long as the fan is running, your archway will continue to stand tall. When not in use, simply allow the decoration to settle on the ground until you’re ready to inflate it once again.

Line Your Walk with Oversized Christmas Ornaments

Big Christmas Ornaments

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Oversized Christmas ornaments are surprisingly easy to make, and their bright colors add beautifully to the joy and holiday cheer in your outdoor space. For each ornament, you will need a large inflatable ball, a small, round deli container, a length of wire, and a hot glue gun. Inflate the ball fully to the size of your finished ornament. Spray paint your deli container and carefully put two small holes across from one another just above the bottom of the container. This is where you will loop the wire to create the hanger on the top of the ornament. Finally, glue the container with the opening down to the top of your ball and you have an ornament ready for display! These can be hung or stacked on the ground to add a festive touch to your walkway.

String Up Festive Garland

Decorated Christmas Tree with Red, Golden Balls, Garland

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We often associate the traditional holiday garland of foliage and soft white lights with a classic holiday wreath or a pop of color along the front porch. However, this garland can also be incorporated into a beautiful display along your walkway. If you already have a fence already in place along your walk, carefully drape your garland along the fence with some strategically placed red velvet ribbon bows for a beautiful traditional touch. However, if you don’t have a fence, don’t let that stop you! You can still line your walkway with garland using shepherds hooks like those designed to hold hanging plants.

Create Holiday Snow Sculptures

snow sculptures

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Why spend money on craft supplies when Mother Nature is providing you with what you need for a festive display free of charge? If you live somewhere where that sees enough snow, try your hand at building holiday-themed snow sculptures. Tackle your snow sculptures freehand or use a snow mold to create your fun and festive characters. Add some pops of color by including holiday accessories including scarves, Santa hats, or reindeer antlers to your characters. Worried that sculptures are going to be too difficult? You can always go back to the basics and make a family of snow people to line your walkway.

Paint Your Walkway Stones

woman on a garden outdoor pavement

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While some houses feature walkways made of fancy, decorative stone, others keep it simple with basic patio stones. A standard patio stone may not seem overly exciting but with the holidays coming, they offer the perfect blank canvas to create a one-of-a-kind Christmas display. Sidewalk chalk paint is easy to work with and budget-friendly. To make your temporary paint, you will need equal parts cornstarch and water, food coloring to create your desired paint color, and a plastic container with a lid for storage. This is a fun way to decorate specifically for your holiday party or family Christmas. You can even add names and other personal touches without worrying about how long it’s going to hang around. The paint easily rinses off sidewalks, concrete pavers, and driveways when you’re finished.

Incorporate Holiday Nutcrackers

Group of Christmas Nutcrackers

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Most holiday displays feature Santa Claus, reindeer, and snowmen, but those aren’t the only recognizable characters during this festive season. This Christmas, change up your walkway decorations by taking inspiration from holiday nutcrackers. There are many different nutcracker-themed decorations available on the market, including inflatable decorations, garden sakes, wooden cut-outs, and even life-size models. Compliment your nutcrackers with bright lights, festive garland, and other decorative elements.

Create a Dramatic Tunnel of Light

Light tunnel

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It’s a sight that is usually saved for large corporate and city holiday displays, but you can recreate this look at home easier than you may realize! The market for Christmas lights has grown and evolved considerably over the years. With this growth has come new lighting options including the secret to these beautiful DIY light tunnels – Christmas net lights. Net lights are LED lights that have been strung together in a grid design, making it easier to cover large areas. For your light tunnel, you will need at least two archways to provide the necessary structure. These can be made from wood or PVC pipes. Just be sure to build your arches tall enough to accommodate all your guests! When your structures are in place, carefully drape your net lights over top, securing them to the arches and creating a wall of lights all the way around the outside.

Take a Ride on the DIY Christmas Train

Merry Christmas Train

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If you have some extra wooden crates laying around your house, this is a great way to use them to build an adorable holiday display. Paint your crates in bright holiday colors matching your decorating theme. You will need one crate for each train car, with an additional crate to build your engine. Cut one of the engine crates in half down the middle and mount it on top of your front crate with the cut edge down, creating the compartment for your holiday conductor. To give your train wheels, add round pieces of wood or plastic plates decorated to look like peppermint candies. You can dress up your train to match with the rest of your walkway display by adding passengers, bags of presents, or other details.

Decorate Existing Lighting

Christmas Wreath around Light

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Do you already have outdoor lighting in place along your front walkway? If so, you can decorate these lights to incorporate them into your overall holiday decorating plans. Wrap your light posts with colorful lights or fresh garland while still allowing the lights themselves to continue lighting the way for your guests. They can also be transformed into signposts by adding a holiday sign with a cute festive saying like ‘Santa Stop Here’. Alternatively, if your light posts are large enough, they can be used to support wooden cut-outs of your favorite holiday characters.

Build Eye-Catching Ornament Topiaries

Red and White Christmas Ball Ornaments

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DIY ornament topiaries have been all the rage on social media in recent years, encouraging experienced crafters and those interested in discovering their creative side alike. They are easy to assemble but the finished look is one that will impress your guests, framing you’re the entrance to your walkway or your front door to welcome them in. For each topiary, you will need a large planter, a long wooden dowel, oversized ornaments in a variety of different sizes, a block of floral foam, and evergreen boughs.

To begin, you will need to attach your floral foam to the bottom inside of the planter. Secure your wooden dowel in the middle of the floral foam. You want to be sure that this isn’t going to go anywhere as the dowel will serve as the center support pole holding the topiary together. Arrange your oversized ornaments from largest to smallest, drilling a hole just big enough for the dowel in the top and bottom of each ornament and then sliding the ornaments onto your arrangement. The smallest ornament will not need a hole in the top as it will act as a cap on the top. Arrange the evergreen boughs around the base of the topiary along with a selection of regular-sized Christmas ornaments to conceal the floral foam entirely and you’re ready to put it on display.

Harness the Sun with Solar Cane Lights

Candy Cane Lights

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Solar cane lights are a series of durable plastic candy canes with stakes on the bottom, designed to line your walkway and provide a festive glow. Rather than adding to your electrical bill, these lights are powered by a small solar panel that can be placed strategically where it will pick up the most sunlight during the day. At night, you have your choice of 8 different lighting modes including flashing, waving, sequential, slow glow, chasing flashing, slow fade, twinkle flashing, and the standard steady on, making it easy to ensure that your new lights will match any aesthetic.

Transform Trees into Giant Holiday Gnomes

Christmas Gnome Tree Ornament

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Do you have large evergreen trees lining your front walkway? If so, you may be getting tired of wrapping them in lights every year for the holiday season. Here’s a fun way to include your trees in your decorating while making something new and unique. Hang strings of white yarn along the front 1/3 of the tree to create a large beard. Around the top of the beard, wrap a thick piece of red ribbon all the way around the tree and attach a cute gnome nose to the front. Finally, using the same ribbon from before, create a large ribbon bow to put on the top of your tree as the finishing touch. Your giant festive gnome will be a hilarious conversation starter throughout the season.

Assemble Tiered Holiday Planters

Two red planters

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Take your festive holiday planters to the next level by creating a fun, tiered design. To do this, you will need two pots of the same size and a block of wood approximately ¾ of the height of the inside of the pot. Place your wood in the bottom of one pot, holding it in place with soil all around the outside to keep it from falling over. Set your second pot on top of the wood. You can now finish filling in soil into the bottom pot as well as filling your second pot. Fill your planter pots to match your decorating style. Some examples include evergreen boughs, poinsettias, or a selection of winter-hardy plants. Incorporate holiday ornaments and fairy lights for some extra holiday flair. You can stick to two planters, one on each side of your walkway to the house, or use multiple evenly spaced along the path.

Combine Hundreds of Ornaments for a Real Statement

Lots of Colorful Christmas Balls

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This decorating idea is for only the most dedicated Christmas lovers! Start by building a large archway using PVC piping that extends up and over your walkway. If you have a long path leading up to your house, you may choose to build more than one. Cover your archway with foam or several pool noodles (if you’re looking for a more cost-effective solution).

Now it’s time for the holiday magic! For this next step, you will need a large collection of ornaments of different sizes and colors. Starting with your largest ornaments, attach them to the archway one at a time with a hot glue gun, spreading them out across the surface. As you finish each set of ornaments, move to the next size down and continue attaching them building your archway up on top of one another. You can block the ornaments together or mix the colors up. You can also tuck evergreen boughs into the archway to help fill it out.

When you’re finished, you’ll have a Christmas ornament arch that will shock and awe your visitors with the level of work and commitment that you have put into your holiday display. Compliment your arch with a matching ornament wreath or ornament topiaries to pull everything together.

Decorate Traditional Solar Lights

SOLAR LIGHTING

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If you have solar lights sitting in your garage or storage shed, why not pull them out and give them a festive makeover? This is a great way to save money by repurposing items that you already have rather than having to purchase new holiday décor. Add a cute little top hat or a knit hat to the top of each light and stickers to the front of the light itself to create a snowman’s face. The best part is that the hat and stickers can be removed after the holidays are over, allowing you to put your lights back out again when the weather warms up as if nothing ever changed. The same approach can be used to create reindeer, with antlers in place of the hat, or even Santa Claus himself.

Create Dramatic Lighting Displays with Hula Hoops

Hula hoops

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One of the most exciting additions to any holiday display is the bright, colorful lights both indoors and out. However, by putting the same lights up year after year, you might be noticing the magic is fading. This holiday season, try displaying your Christmas lights in a new and creative way. One fun lighting option that you may be interested in trying involves combining LED lights with hula hoops to create large circles of light to accent any space. You can use all soft white lights for a magical winter wonderland aesthetic or embrace your love of holiday color. Try using both adult and children’s hula hoops to add some size variation. These light circles can easily be hung from trees along the sides of your front walk or even secured with garden stakes so that they stand up on their own, creating a decorative fence leading the way to your front door.

Paint Wooden Snowman Garden Stakes

Snowflakes and Snowman Decorations

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Are you looking for a quick and easy DIY to add a personal touch to your outdoor space? All you need for this project is a collection of wooden garden stakes, acrylic paint, and some scraps of fabric that match your holiday décor. Paint all your stakes completely white and allow them to dry. This next step is the fun part, and a great opportunity to involve the whole family. A couple of inches from the top of your stake, paint your snowman’s face. Get creative with this, giving each of your snowmen their own personality. Add three small circles of black paint below to represent the pieces of coal used as buttons on your snowman. When all the paint has had a chance to dry, use your fabric scraps and a glue gun to add a simple winter hat and a scarf to each snowman and you’re ready to put them out along your front walk.

String Up Snowflakes for a Winter Wonderland

Snowflake Decoration

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Transform your front walkway into a Winter Wonderland by stringing up snowflakes of different sizes and shapes. Hang large snowflakes on their own or create vertical strings of smaller snowflakes, hanging one after the other. These strings can be displayed along the edge of your porch or hanging from the trees around your front yard, creating the illusion of a holiday blizzard bringing a fresh coat of snow to your outdoor space. Incorporate other snow-themed decorations to add some extra holiday cheer including snowmen or a large decorative sleigh. Do you live in an area that doesn’t see snow during the winter months? Add a blanket of ‘snow’ using white fabric on your front yard.

Share A Message Along the Walk

Colorful Christmas Joy Message

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Share your holiday message with the world, or at least with your guests this season, with the help of your walkway décor. There are several ways that you can work your message into your decorating plans. One of the boldest ways to share your message is to use oversized wooden letters spelling out a simple holiday-inspired word like ‘JOY’ or ‘SNOW’ across your long alongside your walkway. If that isn’t your style, consider adding smaller letters to the front of holiday planters, creating a custom holiday sign, or hanging a fun festive banner where your walkway meets your front entranceway. If you are the type of person that likes changing their holiday decorations up slightly from year to year, consider creating a stockpile of different letters and spelling out a new message each time you set them up.

Paint Holiday-Themed Signs and Markers

Christmas wooden arrow road sign

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Holiday signs are a cute way to add a festive touch to any space. They are also highly versatile, making it easy to incorporate your holiday decorating theme, whatever it may be. For example, your signs could point out various parts of the North Pole, highlight the corners of your Winter Wonderland, direct Santa to your home, or direct the elves around their workshop. Blank wooden signs can often be found at dollar stores and craft stores for a very low cost, making this a budget-friendly project that will elevate your walkway décor to a whole new level of holiday cheer.

String Lights on DIY Pallet Trees

Wooden Pallet Christmas Tree in the Garden

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Many companies leave the pallets from their deliveries at the side of the road to be taken out with the garbage. However, for those that enjoy a fun DIY project, these pallets are holiday decorations just waiting to be turned into a holiday treasure. Take your pallet and lay it down on the ground in front of you with the inner support beams vertical and the exterior beams, which will form the branches of your tree, horizontal. Make a mark at the top of the pallet in the center of the middle support beam. Draw a line from that point down to each of the bottom corners. Cut along the two lines that you’ve created, and your Christmas tree will start to take shape.

Paint your festive tree in a color (or colors) to complement the rest of your holiday decorations. Your tree can stand alone or make multiple to create a larger display. Wrap a string of fairy lights around your tree for a little festive glow. You can also add to the larger display by placing decorative presents around the base of the tree.

Assemble Simple Traditional Decorative Planters

Christmas porch with planters

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Embrace the simplicity of the holiday season by creating festive decorative planters to line your walkway and front porch. These planters are incredibly easy to assemble. All you need is a large pot, evergreen boughs, pinecones, and holiday ornaments. Depending on the size of your pot, you may also want rocks or other objects to fill in the bottom of the pot and weigh it down in the winter winds. Create a base of fresh evergreen covering the opening of the pot and extending out slightly around the pot to give it dimension. Add pinecones and holiday ornaments in and around the evergreen until you’re happy with the result. When the holidays are over, you can repurpose your pots with some beautiful spring flowers.

Repurpose Old Tires to Build Snowmen

Old tires

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Do you have a few old tires sitting around in your garage waiting to be disposed of? Before you take them to the dump, why not use them to add an adorable snowman to greet your visitors as they step onto your front walk? To create the snowman, you will need to stack your tires from largest to smallest. If you are concerned about your snowman being knocked over, consider attaching them to one another. For your snowman’s hat, either fashion a top hat out of smaller tires or add a hat made from another material, depending on your personal preferences.

With white spray paint, carefully paint all the tires that make up your snowman being careful to cover every nook and cranny of the tires. Glue black felt circles onto your snowman for the coal pieces that make up his eyes, mouth, and the buttons along his chest. Add a carrot nose, two sticks for arms, and a brightly colored scarf to finish the look.

Build Candy Cane-Inspired Light Posts

The Best Christmas Candy Cane Decorations for Your Yard and Porch

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Make your guests feel as though they are walking through the North Pole as they walk up to your house this season by lining your walk with candy-cane-inspired light posts. To create these DIY lights, you will need PVC pipes, garden stakes, spray paint, and solar lights. To keep the cost down, you can find your solar garden stakes for the top at your local dollar store. Cut your PVC piping to the desired height of your light posts. Paint them all completely white and all the paint to dry before using painter’s tape to create a spiral pattern all the way down the pole. Paint your poles red and then carefully remove the painter’s tape to reveal a candy cane design. Attach the garden stakes to the bottom to hold your poles in place and slide your solar lights into the top of the pipe, allowing the top of the light to become the top of your light posts.

Create Simple Tin Can Vases

Tin can with flowers

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Have you ever considered turning an old tin can into a beautiful decoration? If not, you’re not alone. This is an item that’s often tossed aside without a second thought but after reading this, you may think twice! All you need is a tin can, fully cleaned out and dried, a holiday ribbon in the color of your choice, and a wooden board to act as a backdrop. Spray paint your tin can and the board to fit into your decorating color scheme. Wrap your ribbon around the center of the tin can, tying a large decorative bow in the front. Finally, attach your tin can to the backing board using either hot glue or nails. This simple vase can be hung on your door, on your porch, or on the existing light posts lining your walk. Place some evergreen boughs, festive flowers, and holiday decorations in each vase.

Make Ice Lanterns

Ice lantern

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A beautiful touch that can only be enjoyed during the cold of winter, ice lanterns are a great way to light up your walk with a soft, festive glow. These budget-friendly lanterns are incredibly easy to make. All you need is two containers, one slightly smaller than the other, something to weigh down the smaller container, a battery-operated tealight, and any seasonal decorations that you wish to include.

Fill your larger container approximately halfway with water. Taking your second container, place it in the middle of the first and weigh it down enough that it’s almost all the way to the bottom of the first container, leaving a small layer of water at the bottom to serve as the bottom of your lantern. If you are going to decorate your ice lantern with evergreen boughs, holly berries, or glitter, add these items in at this point. Set your lantern outside overnight, allowing the below-freezing temperatures to freeze them through completely. Carefully remove your lanterns from the containers and set them out along your walkway with a battery-operated tealight in the center of each.

Craft Rustic Wooden Reindeer

Wooden reindeer

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Holiday reindeer are a popular decoration to display in front of your house for all to see. However, the grapevine and fairy light sculpture that can be found in most big box stores aren’t going to match with everyone’s décor. If you prefer a more whimsical and DIY approach, why not transform some wood from around the property into adorable decorations that will bring holiday cheer to every guest that sees them.

For each reindeer, you will need a larger round log for the body, a smaller round log for the head, 4 thick branches all cut to the same length for the legs, a shorter thick branch for the next, two thinner branches for antlers, 3 smaller pieces of wood to use as ears and a tail, two large google eyes, and a round ball in red or black for the nose. When assembling your reindeer, drill a hole large enough for each of the branches and secure them in place using wood glue, so that they don’t fall apart over time. Don’t worry about minor mistakes or imperfections, for these reindeer, that just adds to the character!

Use Animated Lighting

Christmas Laser Lights

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If you’re looking for a fun way to incorporate some movement and personality into your outdoor decorations this holiday season, why not incorporate an animated light decoration? These decorations are made entirely from lights and create movement by having different lights turn on and off in succession to show slight movements. These decorations are generally flat, making it easy to fit them into smaller spaces, and are designed to be viewed from one angle. For this reason, they are a great choice to line your front walkway, offering some entertainment for family and friends as they are making their way up to your door.

Showcase Your Sweet Tooth with Giant Foam Candy Canes

Group of Children with Giant Candy Cane

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There are many ways that you can incorporate candy canes into your holiday decorations, from purchasing candy cane-inspired solar lights and large wooden cut-outs to more subtle displays of the red and white spiral design. If you are on the search for a way to really incorporate your sweet tooth this holiday season while sticking to a budget, you can create brightly colored foam candy canes to display all over your front yard using pool noodles. The best part? This doesn’t ruin the pool noodles at all, so you can set them aside when the holidays are over and pull them back out in the summer.

All you need to make your festive pool noodle is a thick gauge of wire (or a wire clothes hanger), a wooden dowel, a red pool noodle, and white electrical tape. Taking your wire, bend it carefully to create the shape of your candy cane with the bend in the top. Carefully slide your pool noodle over the wire, allowing it to the shape that you desire. If you’re worried about your wire slipping, you can secure it just inside the edge of the pool noodle with a piece of electrical tape. Taking your white electrical tape, spiral it around the outside of your pool noodle to create the traditional candy cane appearance. Your candy cane is now ready to display! Hammer your wooden dowel into the ground where you want your candy cane to stand, with a large portion of it sticking up out of the ground. Slide the bottom of your pool noodle onto the dowel, step back, and enjoy!

If you are looking for a more non-traditional decorating idea or trying to embrace a creative color scheme the breaks away from ‘the norm’, you can easily change the color of your candy canes by selecting a pool noodle of a different color or using brightly colored electrical tape in place of the recommended white.

String Up DIY Lighted Burlap Garland

Christmas garland with bokeh lights

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Embrace your love of all things rustic or boho by incorporating burlap into your holiday decorations this year. Creating your own DIY lighted burlap garland is easy and all you need is a string of LED Christmas lights and burlap fabric. The fabric can be in the standard tan color or even a variety of different fun colors to match your décor. Cut your burlap into strips and one at a time, tie the strips onto your light string, allowing the ends to hang free. You can add as many or as few strips of burlap as you like to fill your garland to suit your preferences. When you’re done, string up your garland along your porch or frame your walk using shepherd hooks and plug it in.

Hang Brightly Colored Ornaments from Nearby Trees

Colorful ornaments hanging from a tree

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For those that have trees on their property, framing their front walkway, you have the perfect structure already in place for some fun, colorful decorating. Rather than stressing out over elaborate or expensive decorations, you can make a big impact on the space by simply collecting a variety of brightly colored Christmas ornaments and suspending them from the tree branches at different heights. Experiment with different colors, patterns, and sizes to create depth and match the rest of your décor. When hanging ornaments directly over your walkway, be aware of the clearance for any taller guests.

Set-up Mini Christmas Trees Along the Walkway

outdoor christmas tree

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A simple way to decorate your walkway is with mini-Christmas trees. This is a decorating idea that’s super easy to customize to suit any space or style. Depending on the size of your walkway, mini trees can be found at most big-box stores or even at the dollar store for the smallest sizes. They can be decorated with soft white lights for a traditional look or use bright, bold colored lights to bring a pop of color. If you do change your mind in the future and no longer want your trees along the walkway, they can easily be repurposed as decorations indoors or on your porch.

DIY Concrete Steppingstones

Painted stones

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Rather than just decorating the sides of your front walkway, why not incorporate the walkway itself by making some festive concrete steppingstones to add to the path (or create a new path in your yard)? This is a great activity to get the kids involved in your holiday decorating plans. To begin, for each steppingstone you will need a pie tin and a small piece of chicken wire cut to fit inside the tin. Mix up some quick-dry concrete-based, following the instructions on the bag. Spray your pie tins with cooking spray, before adding the concrete. Carefully place the chicken wire in the middle to give it added support.

Once the pie tins are full and you have leveled them off, it’s time to decorate! This is where you can give your child(ren) full creative control. They can draw pictures or write their names with their fingers or a stick, add a handprint, or embellish the steppingstone with holiday-themed decorations like brightly colored marbles, small ornaments, evergreen boughs, and more. Give your new steppingstones a minimum of 48 hours to dry completely before removing them from their tins and placing them on or around your front walkway.

Place Lighted Snowballs Along the Way

SNOWBALLS WITH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

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Are you a fan of thrifting or garage sale shopping? If so, collecting the materials for this DIY may be even more fun than putting it together and putting it on display! To create your own festive lighted snowflakes to place along your walkway, you will need to go on the search for the traditional globe-shaped light covers. These bulbs we placed in the snow with the opening down overtop of a battery-lighted tealight to give it a festive glow. These lighted balls can be placed alone on the sides of your walkway, or grouped together with real snowballs to make decorative snowball piles.

Line Your Path with Lighted Garden Stakes

Solar Lighted Christmas Garden Stakes

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While many garden stakes are spring-inspired, they aren’t all cutesy little ladybugs or spring flowers. There are many different garden stake designs that can easily be incorporated into your decorating plans. Colored garden spotlights can be used to add a festive glow to your walkway while colorful globes can be used to accent other holiday decorations. Pair the colors of your solar garden lights with traditional LED Christmas lights to light up your walkway, welcoming any visitors as soon as they arrive.

Incorporate Santa's Sleigh

gifts in santa sleigh

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Whether you purchase a large, decorative sleigh or use your woodworking skills to create your own, Santa’s sleigh is a great addition to any outdoor decorating scheme. There are many ways that you can work the sleigh into your bigger plan. Consider adding bright lights, including Santa’s reindeer, add a giant sack of gifts in the back or even include the big guy himself. Your sleigh could be a life-size addition to your yard, drawing the attention of everyone in your neighborhood, or a smaller accent to your existing décor, whatever feels right to you!

Create a Trail of Christmas Lights

String of Christmas Lights

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This is arguably one of the most basic decorating ideas on the list, but it’s one that is often overlooked due to its simplicity. This holiday season, rather than complicating your decorating plans, try stringing Christmas lights on the ground along each side of your walking path. This can be done with large LED-style lights if you like the traditional look that these bulbs bring or with simple rope lights. Either way, it will make it easier than ever for your guests to see where they are going as they carry their holiday meals or Christmas gifts up to the front door.

Build Decorative Pinecone Christmas Trees

Tree of pinecones wth shadows

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If you have pine trees in your yard, you may have an abundance of pinecones to use in your holiday decorating this year. While most Christmas lovers incorporate pinecones by placing them in planters and vases or turning them into holiday ornaments, this year you could take it a step further and create a full pinecone Christmas tree. This isn’t just a tree that’s covered in ornaments, this tree is made entirely from a body of pinecones. Feature a single tree as part of a larger walkway decorating plan, or line the path with trees for a fun effect.

To build your own pinecone tree, you will need a collection of dried pinecones, a base or planter, a cone made from lightweight cardboard in the desired size of your tree, and an assortment of festive decorations. One at a time, starting from the base of the cone, attach pinecones around the outside with a hot glue gun. There will likely be small spaces between each pinecone, but you will fill those spots in later. Continue this all the way up the cone, placing the last one pointed upright to represent the top of the tree. Using your glue gun, carefully secure your new tree to your base. Add decorations strategically to fill in any spaces around the tree. You can also use decorations or evergreen boughs to help fill in the planter if you are using one.

Choose Comical Lighted Characters

Lighted Flying Pig

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DIY decorations can be a lot of fun for those that enjoy crafting, however, they aren’t for everyone. If you’re looking for something fun and festive to display this holiday season without the additional work, you may want to add some lighted characters to your walkway. There are many different options available depending on your decorating style include your favorite movie or televisions characters, or even the big guy, Santa Claus himself! There are even some smaller character sets that are specifically designed to line the walkway, lighting the way while also bringing a smile to your face.

Transform Wooden Logs into Rustic Candle Displays

Christmas gifts, decoration and candle on wooden log

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The beauty of rustic Christmas décor is the way that it pulls the natural world into your holiday celebrations. One way that you can do this is to create a rustic candle display using logs of wood, twine, evergreen boughs, and pinecones. To begin, you will need to choose three logs, each a slightly different height. Carefully cut the top and bottom of the logs to make them flat, allowing them to stand up on the end while supporting a candle on top. To hold your candles, mount a clear candle holder in the center of each log, either attaching them to the top or drilling into the log a little to set the candle holder in.

To create the overall decoration, place your three logs together strategically to fill the space either by your front door, the entrance to your walkway, or somewhere along the path. Create wreath-like arrangements out of the evergreen boughs, tying them with the twine. Mount these on the front of each log to decorate the front. Using your pinecones and any extra evergreen boughs, decorate the ground around the logs to complete the look. Place a pillar candle in each candle holder and your new rustic candle display is ready to add a festive glow to any space.

Hang Festive Bells from Simple Plant Hangers

Jingle Bells on Blurred Christmas Lights

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Another simple walkway decorating idea for those that already have shepherd hooks in place is to use those hooks to hang large festive bells and other holiday ornaments. Choose larger ornaments that will stand out as a statement piece on their own and suspend them using colorful Christmas-themed ribbon. To complete the look, tie a decorative bow to be displayed at the top. If you can’t find a larger ornament that fits with your other holiday décor, consider stringing a few smaller ornaments together at different heights to create a fun display. Decorate multiple shepherd hooks with the same ornaments or alternate to add multiple colors to your front walk.

DIY Outdoor Candle Lamps

Lamp in the form of candles

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Do you love the traditional look of a festive candle but need something larger to fill the space in your outdoor display? These DIY candle lamps may be the perfect solution. Made from pieces of PVC pipe, they are large enough to make a statement on your front porch or alongside your front walk. To begin, cut a piece of PVC pipe to the desired height of your candle. Drill a hole large enough for the cord of your light to fit through near the bottom. Paint the pipe with the main color of your candle and allow it to dry fully.

In a bowl, mix equal parts Mod Podge and white acrylic paint. Add glitter to the mixture to give it a little shine and paint this around the top of the pipe to create the icicle look. If desired, you can add extra glitter to the wet paint before allowing it to dry fully. If you do add additional glitter, take the time to paint a layer of Mod Podge on top to create a protective barrier and keep the glitter in place. Take a light socket from your local hardware store and feed the cord through the pole so that the socket sits on top of the end with the icicle painted on. Glue this socket in place to keep it from moving. Feed the cord at the bottom through the hole that you previously drilled.

To display your large candles, you may choose to add a garden stake to the bottom or attach the bottom of the pole to a larger base such as a block of wood. The use of a base will allow your candle to be displayed on a porch or other solid surface. To play into the candle look, choose a candle-style lightbulb to represent the flame. Decorate around the base of your candle by placing it inside a wreath, adding evergreen boughs, or stacking decorative presents.

Enjoy a Light Show with DIY Sparkle Balls

Christmas Plastic cup light ball

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Sparkle balls are hanging decorations constructed from cheap plastic disposable cups and LED Christmas lights. While the materials for this project are incredibly low-cost and readily available at your local dollar store, the end result is one that will impress your visitors as it lights up your front walkway this holiday season. To make your own LED sparkle ball you will need a string of 50 LED Christmas lights and 50 clear plastic cups.

Carefully drill or cut a small hole in the base of each of the cups just large enough for the bulbs on your string of lights. Taking 12 cups, create a circle with the base of the cups in the center, stapling them all together. Add a second circle on top of the first, this time using 9 cups, stapling these cups both to each other and to the first circle. Fill the center of the second circle with 4 cups creating a dome of cups all stapled together. Repeat the same process to make the second half of your sparkle ball.

One at a time, poke the bulbs of your string of Christmas lights through the holes in the bottom of each cup. Bring the two halves of your sparkle ball together stapling them so that the end of your light string hangs outside of the ball to power the lights, but everything else is securely tucked in the center. When you plug in your lights, the light from each bulb will reflect off the sides of the cup creating a unique sparkly effect. These can be done all in one color or using multi-colored lights for some additional holiday fun. Hang your sparkle balls from trees, posts, or shepherd hooks along your walkway, or display them across your front porch to welcome any visitors.

Purchase a Bold Christmas Runner

Merry Christmas Door Rug (Doormat)

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Many of the options on this list are designed to bring some holiday cheer to long walkways with plenty of space for elaborate decorations. But what about homeowners with a smaller area to work with? Whether you have a short front pathway or live in a shared living situation where your only ‘front walkway’ is the hallway outside of your apartment door, holiday area rugs are a great solution. They are available in a wide variety of different sizes from small front door mats to long decorative runners, making it possible to find a rug to suit just about any space. This is a great way to decorate with minimal effort while still celebrating the holiday season.

Go Traditional with a Wooden Fence and Fresh Greenery

Wooden fence with festive garland covered in snow

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If you have a wooden fence already in place along the side of your walkway, why not embrace the aesthetic in your holiday décor? One of the easiest ways that you can do this is to decorate with fresh greenery. Traditional holiday garland and evergreen wreaths will make your front walkway look like a scene straight out of a Hallmark holiday movie. Tie it in with the rest of your holiday décor with a matching wreath on the front door or holiday garland strung along your front porch railing. Add a little holiday magic by including soft white fairy lights or create a more rustic appearance with buffalo plaid ribbons and pinecones.

Craft a Peppermint Pathway

Peppermint Candy

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Lead your guests up to your front door with a peppermint pathway that will appeal to their sweet tooth. These simple holiday decorations are surprisingly easy to make and budget-friendly. All you need for supplies is a roll of cellophane, small pieces of ribbon, wooden skewers, plain white paper plates, and a red marker. On the back of your paper plate, draw and fill in the red stripes on your peppermint candy. Cut a piece of cellophane large enough to wrap around your candy with enough hangover on each side to represent the candy wrapper. Tie a piece of ribbon on each side to hold it in place. Finally, hot glue one end of your wooden skewer to the back of the candy and use the other end to stake it in place alongside your walkway.

Pumpkins Aren’t Just for Halloween

White Decorative Pumpkins

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A fun way to incorporate your love of Halloween into the holiday season is to decorate pumpkins to add to your Christmas display. Paint your pumpkins using bright, bold holiday colors that compliment your outdoor décor and add festive images or messages. Alternatively, if you really want to embrace the Halloween spin, carve your holiday pumpkins with festive imagery. You can create a Santa pumpkin, Frosty the Snowman, a reindeer, and more. Light up your holiday pumpkins by placing a string of LED Christmas lights inside or use color-changing LED tea lights to give a festive glow that matches the color scheme that you’ve incorporated into the rest of your holiday decorating.

Make Simple Mason Jar Luminaries

Still life of Elegant Autumn decor on a stone hearth with heirloom pumpkins

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Line your front walk this holiday season with a festive candlelit glow by making your own mason jar luminaries. This is a simple DIY project that can easily be customized to match any decorating color palette or style. To create your own, you will need mason jars, battery-operated candles, and vase filler in your color of choice. If you’re unsure about what color to incorporate, a white vase filler can be used to create a beautiful snow-like effect. Space your luminaries out along the side of your walkway to guide your guests towards your front door with their festive glow.

Paint Branches White for a Festive Display

Modern White Painted Branch Christmas Tree

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A beautiful holiday display doesn’t have to break the bank. This holiday season, decorate your walkway by collecting branches from the trees around your yard. To make these decorative planters, you will need a selection of branches, white spray paint, soft white fairy lights, evergreen boughs, pinecones, and other rustic decorations, and a large vase. Paint all your branches white and allow them to dry fully. Placing the branches into your vase, carefully arrange the evergreen boughs around the outside. String your fairy lights in and around the branches, tucking the battery pack into the boughs where it won’t be seen. Finally, complete your display by adding decorations to the evergreen boughs including pinecones, Christmas ornaments, and stems of artificial red berries.

Get Creative with Light Projectors

projector lights

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Light up your walkway this holiday season with the help of festive projection lights. While these lights were designed to project festive images onto the walls of your house, but they can be repurposed in new and creative ways if you’re willing to think outside the box. Mount your light projector up off the ground in a tree or on a wall, directing the light down onto the surface of your front walk. You can choose a static lighted design or change it up with twinkling lights or other movements. Just be aware of where you are mounting the lights in relation to the faces of your visitors so that you can avoid shining light directly into their eyes.

Make Use of Large Galvanized Utility Pails

Christmas Apples in a Bucket

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Are you drawn to some of the planter-based decoration ideas, but you can’t find a planter that first your rustic décor? Trade in the standard pots and planters for a galvanized utility pail. Not only do these pails stand up well to being outside in the elements throughout the winter season, but they are also highly versatile with the ability to be customized to match nearly any décor. Wrap a colorful ribbon around the pail and tie it with a bow to tie in your color scheme or incorporate brightly colored ornaments into your holiday display. Consider placing a small spotlight in the bottom of your pail planter, aimed up to light up your display and add a little holiday flair.

Get Creative with Your Wheelbarrow

Retro Wheelbarrow with Christmas Decorations

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Another fun planter alternative, pull your wheelbarrow out of your garden shed and put it to use this holiday season. Create a beautiful holiday display with a large base of evergreen boughs. Incorporate decorative accents such as pinecones, branches, bright red holly berries, Christmas ornaments, and fairy lights. This is where you can customize your display to suit any style through your choice of colors and decorative elements. Does your wheelbarrow need a little sprucing up? Use this as an excuse to pull out the paint and bring it back to life. Not only will it look sharp for the holidays, but it will help to extend the life of your wheelbarrow moving forward.

Make a Statement with Light Balls

Hand Pointing at a Light Ball

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If you are working with a long walkway surrounded by a large yard, you may be looking for some easy ways to create a big, dramatic statement. Rather than just stringing lights up this holiday season, why not make some beautiful light balls using chicken wire and LED Christmas lights? These holiday decorations look impressive, but they are surprisingly easy to DIY. To begin, you will need a rectangular piece of chicken wire cut in a 2:1 ratio. The size of your chicken wire will determine the size of your finished light ball. Bring the ends of the chicken wire together and carefully wire them in place creating a cylinder shape. Carefully fold the ends in turning your chicken wire structure into a ball shape. When you’re happy with it, grab the lights and string them all around the ball so that the entire surface glows in your color of choice.

Stack Decorative Presents to Make a Holiday Display

sleigh with gift boxes, presents and decorations

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Create a fun display to welcome friends and family to your Christmas party this year by incorporating decorative presents. For a short-term decoration solution, wrap empty boxes with a weight inside to keep them from blowing away. If, however, you plan on leaving your decorations out longer than a single day, you may want to use something that is better suited for the weather like brightly colored wooden blocks tied with ribbon to create a present. Place your presents around your front porch, yard, and walkway as a simple decoration, or stack them to create a taller statement piece. These stacked presents are a great option for highlighting your front door or the entrance to your front walk.

Light the Pathway with DIY Wine Bottle Lights

Wine bottles with Christmas Lights

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Repurpose your empty wine bottles this holiday season by creating glass bottle lights to accent your front walkway. This is a great choice for wine lovers, tying your drink of choice into your holiday décor. Alternatively, these can also be made using glass soda bottles or beer bottles if that’s more your style. To assemble these simple lights, you will need a collection of glass bottles that have been washed and allowed to dry out fully, a string of LED Christmas lights, enough corks for each bottle, a hot glue gun, and something decorative that will help to weigh your glass bottles down.

Start by adding the weights to all your bottles. Some great options for weights include copper-coated BBs, decorative aquarium stones, heavier vase fillers, or even sand! Cut two notches into the sides of your corks directly opposite one another, large enough to accommodate the light cord. Starting at one end of your lights, tuck a couple of lights into the bottle before putting the cork in place and adding a couple of beads of glue to keep it from coming out. Skip 2-3 lights before adding the next bottle and continue in this way all the way down your string of lights.

Place your lighted bottles along the sides of your walkway, spacing them out as your string of lights will allow. Plug it in and watch as your DIY wine bottle lights come to life. This is a great way to welcome your guests while also hinting that there’s a glass of wine waiting for them when they make it to the house!

Spotlight the Walkway

Electric Pathway Lights

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Do you have a walkway that’s slightly uneven? Are you worried about the risk of a slip and fall from an ice walk after the natural light has faded and night has set in? Rather than focusing on creating decorations that simply make the space look nice, why not focus on spotlighting the walk in a way that your guests can see where they are going. You don’t have to sacrifice the holiday fun to keep everyone safe this season. Set up colorful outdoor LED spotlights and set the colors to fit with the rest of your outdoor décor. Stick with a single color or alternate colors along the path.

Fashion a Gumdrop Trail to Your Gingerbread House

Gumdrops

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We have already looked at several different ways that you can incorporate candy into your holiday decorating, embracing the gingerbread house aesthetic. But what gingerbread house is complete without gumdrops? While it wouldn’t be advisable to use real gumdrops in your decorating plans, you can make your own using plastic sand pails or wastebaskets, Mod Podge, and clear glitter. Select pails that are all one color to match your décor or mix it up and include all the ‘flavors’ by using a variety of different colors. One at a time, cover the entire outside and bottom of the pail with Mod Podge before coating it with clear glitter. The glitter will give your gumdrops the texture and appearance of sugar. When they have completely dried, place them along your walkway and secure them using garden stakes.

Incorporate Seasonal Garden Flags

Christmas Garden Flag

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Garden flags are a fun way to decorate your yard or walkway for any season. With minimal effort, you can switch from one holiday to the next by simply changing the flag that you display. You can display a single flag, marking the start of your front walk, or frame the walkway with flags on each side. There are many different flags on the market to match any style or theme, from a flag featuring Santa Claus himself greeting your guests to a holiday-themed flag that wishes every person that walks past a Merry Christmas. When the holiday season ends, trade out your Christmas flag for something flashy to ring in the New Year.

Create Lighted Presents to Line Your Walk

Christmas elements and backgrounds

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A fun way to incorporate lighting into your walkway decorations without the standard solar lights or decorative light posts is to line the path with lighted presents. While you can purchase your presents, the cost can add up quickly. Luckily, this is a simple DIY project that anyone can tackle confidently – even the first-time DIYer. All you need is PVC piping, elbow connectors, sheer fabric or sheet vinyl, LED Christmas lights, and ribbon.

To begin, cut your PVC pipes to the desired size of your present and assemble them into a 3-D box using the elbow connectors. When you’re happy with the size, you can use a little hot glue to secure everything so that it won’t fall apart while you’re doing the rest of the steps. Attach your string of lights with a small piece of electrical tape to one corner of the present and start stringing the lights across filling the center of the box. Use tape as needed to secure the sides while you go. Continue until your entire light string is suspended inside the box with the exception of the power cord.

Carefully wrap your present using the fabric or vinyl sheeting. This will be the main color of your present, so choose something that will match your holiday décor. Make sure that it’s thin enough that the lights can shine through when they are plugged in. Finish the look by tying your ribbon around your present and topping it with a large, decorative bow. Make a full set of matching presents to line your front walk or change it up by creating different sizes or colors.

Include the Whole Family with Giant Stockings

Christmas Stocking

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Wooden cut-outs are a fun way to add some festive cheer to your walkway décor, providing large, colorful images for your guests to enjoy. A fun way to incorporate the whole family is by creating a row of oversized stockings along one side of your walkway. Add the names of your family members to each stocking and you can even customize the decorations to suit each individual personality. Don’t forget to include the furry family members, they are looking forward to getting something special on Christmas morning as well! If you host a holiday party every year with the same guest list, you may even want to welcome your guests by displaying stockings with their names. Imagine the joy as they discover their stocking while walking up to your door.

Showcase Santa's Elves Hard at Work

Elves Christmas yard decor

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Holiday displays often feature the image of Santa and his reindeer, delivering presents to all the good girls and boys around the world. But what about the work that happens behind the scenes? This year, showcase the hard work of Santa’s elves by setting up your own version of Santa’s workshop along each side of your front walkway. You can include various stages of the process from elves working hard at a workbench, building toys, to an assembly line of elves transporting wrapped presents from the workshop to Santa’s sleigh ready for delivery. You can even invite your guests to join in the fun by setting up a festive photo prop for your guests to take pictures of themselves as a member of the elf team. Purchase lawn decorations of elves or create your own using wooden cut-outs or dressing up figurines to position where needed.

Assemble Festive Hanging Baskets

Hanging basket

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We have explored many different ways to incorporate shepherd hooks into your holiday decorating, but now we’re going to take a moment to go back to the basics. Why not use your shepherd hooks to hang decorative planters as you would all year long, but with a holiday twist? Arrange a set of holiday planters using evergreen boughs, pinecones, Christmas ornaments, and battery-operated LED Christmas lights hanging baskets. They can all be identical or slightly different with a unifying factor of some sort, like matching color schemes. Hang each planter from one of the shepherd hooks along your walk and allow the lights to shine. Your arrangements can be super traditional with soft white lights and gold ornaments or experiment with color to give them a unique personality.

Construct Large Ribbon Christmas Trees

Christmas ribbon tree bulb ornament lights

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Ribbon is arguably one of the most versatile holiday decorations available, and yet it’s often overlooked outside of adding bows to wreaths and garland. For this project, you will need a roll of sheer, extra-wide ribbon, a tomato cage, LED Christmas lights, and small pieces of thin gauge wire or pipe cleaners to connect the various elements. To begin, turn your tomato cage upside down so that the round opening is on the ground and bring the stakes together, securing them with a piece of wire. This will create the cone shape that is often associated with Christmas trees. Wrap your string of LED lights around inside the cage, using the wire to help hold them in place. Leave the power cord out to make it easy to plug your tree in when you’re finished.

Starting at the bottom of the tree, tie off the edge of your ribbon with your wire. Make a loop with your ribbon, bring it back to the base of the cage again, and secure it. Push this secure point closer to the first one so that it gathers relatively close together to give it a full appearance. Continue doing this all the way around to complete the base of the tree. Continue this process up the tree, creating loops and even twisting the ribbon to give it volume. Tie off your ribbon when you reach the end of each roll and secure a new one to keep going. Complete the top of your tree with a loop or two that points upward to cover the top points of the tomato cage. When you plug your tree in, the lights will shine through your sheer ribbon to create a beautiful glow.

Set-up Multiple Lighted Archways

Christmas Light Walkway

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If a tunnel of lights is a little too much for your taste, there are ways that you can scale it back slightly to still make a bold statement with your holiday lighting along your walkway this season. This is also an important consideration for those that may feel overwhelmed by being surrounded by lights as they would in a tunnel, like those with sensory sensitivity. To do this, you would create your archways just as you did in the light tunnel using wood or PVC piping, but they are not going to be connected. Create several individual archways and place them spaced out along your path. Using standard LED Christmas lights, decorate each archway by wrapping them with lights, hanging a lighted wreath at the top, or incorporating holiday garland. You can make your archways identical, or get creative with each individually, there is no ‘wrong’ answer.

Repurpose Stair Rails to Make Festive Candle Holders

Stair Railing Closeup

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Homeowners that have recently undergone some sort of renovation may be intrigued by this DIY option. All you need to create a set of beautiful festive candle holders is old stair rails or porch railing, wooden boards to make bases, battery-operated pillar candles, evergreen boughs, and decorative red bows. To begin, separate out your rails so that you have the individual spindle for each candle holder. Attach a board to one end to create a base that it will sit on. Paint or stain your candle holder to complement your outdoor décor. You can also try doing an antique technique when painting to give it a little extra character.

After your candle holder has dried fully, stand it up on the base ready to be decorated. Arrange the evergreens on top of the candle holder so that they extend out on each side and secure them using a hot glue gun. Be careful to leave enough space for your pillar candle in the center of the boughs, so that it can sit securely on the wooden base. If it helps, you can set it there and decorate around it, but make sure that it can be removed to turn it on/off or change the batteries. Finish the look with a red bow on the front center of the evergreens and light it up! These will create a magical pathway evenly spaced leading up to your front door.

Stage a Festive Scenario in Your Yard

Fairytale house decorated for winter holidays season

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Do you enjoy setting up large, over-the-top holiday displays? If so, here’s a fun challenge to consider when deciding how to decorate your front path this Christmas. Rather than just bringing together beautiful decorations, why not tell a story? By staging a full scenario (or several scenarios) alongside your walk, you can entertain your guests during their short walk to the front door. This could include creating a little holiday village, offering a look indoors as a family decorates and prepares for the holidays, a holiday celebration in the forest with all the wildlife, or anything else your can dream up. Include festive signs, holiday lighting, animated figures, or whatever your heart desires! The secret to success when decorating in this way is to pay attention to the fine details so that friends and family can discover something new every time they come to visit. The only problem that you may run into is convincing your guests to come indoors.

Craft Paper Luminaries

Christmas Candle Illuminated Paper Lanterns

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It’s an incredibly simple DIY project and one that has been used for different holidays and events over the years. The best part is that it’s incredibly budget-friendly for those that are looking for a way to save this holiday season. To get started you will need a package of paper bags. You can stick with the normal brown paper bags or add a holiday twist by incorporating colors such as green or red paper bags. Cut a piece of cardboard the right size to slide it inside the bag, protecting the back. Draw or print a design onto a sheet of printer paper and set it on top of the paper bag. Carefully poke holes using a small needle along the lines of the pattern, making sure that each hole goes through the bag into the cardboard. When you’ve completed your design, remove the cardboard, stand your bag up and place a battery-operated candle inside. During the dark of night, the candle will shine through the holes in the bag revealing your design. This is a fun DIY project that can be enjoyed by the whole family, lining your walkway with a variety of different designs and patterns.

Embrace Holiday-Themed Flowers and Plants

An Outdoor Holiday Planter covered with Snow

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Rather than repurposing your planters this holiday season, why not use them for exactly what they were designed to do? There are many different plants that will continue to grow throughout the holiday season if cared for properly including Winterberry Holly, Japanese Yew, Christmas Cacti, Winter Heather, and the Christmas Rose. These hearty plants are able to stand up to the elements during the colder winter months, adding a pop of color and life to your outdoor garden or to your festive planters while still giving the gardening lover an opportunity to grow something year-round. If you’ve never grown a winter garden, reach out to your local garden center to discuss your options and which plants are most recommended for your area.

Create a Whimsical Candy Cane Archway

Festive Candy Canes Background

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Set the tone the moment that your guests arrive by creating a large candy cane archway to mark the entrance to your front walkway. There are different ways that you can make this work, depending on how crafty you’re feeling and what budget you’re working with. If you’re looking for something that’s quick and easy to set up with minimal effort, a simple inflatable archway is a great solution. While these decorations can be a little pricy compared to a DIY solution, they can be set up in just minutes.

If you prefer something a little more cost-effective and are willing to put the effort into a DIY, why not make your own candy cane archway using PVC piping. Combine straight pieces of piping with 45-degree elbow connectors to create an arch shape to extend over your walkway. Paint your entire archway white to hide any marks or writing on the piping. You can either add the red swirl pattern for your candy cane arch with red duct tape or tape off the white areas with painter’s tape and add your red with an additional coat of spray paint. Add garden stakes to the base of each side to secure your archway and keep it from being carried away in the next big wind. You can decorate with light-up candy canes, snowmen, or any other holiday décor around the base of the arch on each side.

Include Some Practical Pieces

Ice Bucket

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Decorating your home usually involves focusing 110% on the overall appearance, but what about the practical items that you need for your home to function properly from day to day? Get creative and tie these necessities into your overall decorating plan to create a beautiful and cohesive design. When discussing walkway decorations, the necessity that instantly comes to mind is a de-icing product. After all, you don’t want your guests to fall or get injured when they are visiting. No one wants to see a bag of de-icer taking away from the festive vibe, so why not make a decorative place to store what you need. This could include a galvanized pail with a large decorative bow, an old milk jug, or a planter with built-in storage. You have put so much time into planning out and creating your holiday décor. Take the time to remove the eyesore and allow your creativity to really shine.

Welcome Guests with a Gingerbread Family

Christmas Festive Greeting Card

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Are you looking for a way to represent the whole family in your holiday décor, but the stockings that we previously shared just aren’t fitting with your holiday décor? Why not create a festive gingerbread family to welcome your family and friends. You can create your own wooden cut-outs, or purchase pre-cut gingerbread men to decorate. Plan a fun family night with Christmas music, hot chocolate, and all the supplies necessary for each family member to decorate their own gingerbread man (or woman). This includes paint, fabric accessories, glitter, and more. This could be the start of a fun holiday tradition where you place your gingerbread family outside together each year, adding to it or updating them as needed throughout each stage of life.

Light the Space with Elegant Ice Globe Lanterns

Candle through ice

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Ice globe lanterns look beautiful at night, glowing along your front walk, but did you know that they are incredibly easy to make? You wouldn’t think it, to look at them. This holiday season you can impress your guests by lighting their way with these elegant ice globes. To begin, fill a series of water balloons to the size that you want your finished globes and set them outside in the snow. Check them periodically to see how far they have frozen. The goal is to allow the outside edges to freeze thick enough to stand up on their own, but not to freeze through entirely. Pop your balloon carefully, as the center of your globe will be freezing cold water, allowing the water to pour out. Carefully remove all the pieces of the balloon and clean up the bottom opening, if needed, to remove jagged edges and make it so that it will sit up. Line your walk with these globes, placing a battery-operated candle inside each, and watch the magic come to life.

Purchase Oversized Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights on Table

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Is your favorite part of holiday decorating the brightly colored lights? If so, embrace this love and go all out with your light display this season! We have discussed many different lighted pathway markers, but this set of oversized Christmas light bulbs might be the perfect solution for you. Mounted on top of each secure garden stake is a 6.5-inch-tall Christmas bulb, glowing and lighting the way for your guests. Each connectable string is over 6 feet long with wiring connecting them to make powering your lights easy. The end-to-end connection makes it easy to accommodate longer walkways, bringing the bright colors of the holidays into any space.

Set-Up a Playful Christmas Tree Lot

Christmas tree lot

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Turn your yard and walkway space into a fun and whimsical area this holiday season by transforming it into an adorable Christmas tree lot. This will require a little scouting on your part, to find a variety of different Christmas tree decorations. You can include any type of decoration, mixing and matching them to add to the fun, including an inflatable tree, spiral lighted Christmas trees, miniature lighted Christmas trees, and more. To tie everything together, assemble a wooden booth with a sign announcing your Christmas tree lot, wrapping it in LED Christmas lights to help it stand out and be noticed. Your guests will love walking through your lot, checking out all the different trees. This is an idea that can be made as big and elaborate, or as simple and quaint as you prefer.

Candles, Candles, and More Candles

christmas candles outdoors in snow

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While most people prefer the bright, bold display created by Christmas light strings, those who are drawn to a more traditional look may enjoy the subtle glow of candles above all else. If this sounds like you, don’t fight it! With battery-operated candles now widely available online and in your local big box stores, it’s easy to enjoy the magic of candlelight without worrying about the potential fire hazards. There are even remote-operated candles that will make it easy for you to light/turn on your candles from a distance without having to go candle to candle turning them all on. Create clusters of candles along the side of your walkway or display them with evergreen boughs in planters, wagons, and other features.

Define the Space with Decorative Fencing

Picket fence and Christmas decorations

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Decorative fencing pieces are small sections of fencing that are designed to be displayed for a short period of time. Unlike normal fencing, they are specifically focused on your holiday theme, not on containing your dog in the yard. One great way to do this is by repurposing pallet wood to create a small display. Combine 10 or fewer boards with vertical support boards to build a fence display that can be put up during the decorative season. It can be made even more festive by incorporating holiday colors or creating a candy cane-like red and white display. Add holiday garland or LED lights to really tie in the holiday spirit, setting your fence up as a dividing point to separate your holiday walkway from the rest of your property.

Ring in the Holidays with Your Festive Christmas Walkway Ideas

Whatever your style or holiday décor, your walkway is the perfect opportunity to create a festive display to welcome friends and family. Light up the pathway, tell a story, or simply shock and awe your guests this holiday season with our many fun and festive walkway decorating ideas. Whatever you choose, your guests are sure to be impressed b your creativity and holiday spirit!