Simple Christmas Yard Decorations

To enhance the look of a home during the Christmas season, many people choose to invest in Christmas yard decorations. However, these can get expensive and elaborate, so choose simple and inexpensive decorations that bring out the best of the holiday without costing too much or becoming too overwhelming.

Use Lights. Strings of lights are an inexpensive and simple way to make your yard come alive for the holidays. Choose features of your home and yard that stand out, and adorn them with lights, such as the big picture window, the columned porch, the nicely shaped tree in the corner or the clean lines of the roof and gables. When you draw attention to the best features of the yard with strings of lights, you create a simple yet lovely holiday look.

Red Bows. Purchase red velvet all-weather bows from a dollar or discount store, and use them to highlight your yard. Place one on the mailbox post, on every window of the house or spaced out along the railing of the porch with green garland swags in between. Other simple dollar-store decorations include plastic wreaths or gold ribbon.

Door Décor. Allow the door to your home to be the focal point by accenting it with a festive wreath. Make your own with Christmas tree cuttings, or get a wreath that can be embellished with ribbon, silk flowers, ornaments, pine cones or other holiday décor. Another inexpensive way to decorate the door is to make it look like a giant present by covering it with a colorful plastic tablecloth and affixing a large weatherproof bow to the front. Don't forget to add a name tag on the "present."

Sidewalks and Driveways. Use luminaries to highlight a sidewalk or driveway. Whether you choose to illuminate empty milk cartons with light bulbs or place votive candles in paper bags filled with sand, luminaries provide a softer lighting option than bright flashing lights.

Stick to a Theme. To keep Christmas yard decorations simple, plan on minimizing the big yard decorations, such as inflatable characters or illuminated deer. Choose a scene, such as "Santa's sleigh" or "Winter Forest," and pick commercial yard decorations that fulfill the theme. It looks cluttered to mix various Christmas themes in a yard, so stick to one theme accented with lights, and your yard will be festive.