Christmas For All: Christmas Lighting: Outdoor

Christmas without sparkling lights is hardly imaginable. I have often wondered how it would be like catching a glimpse of the beautiful starry ground while flying in a helicopter on Christmas eve. The sight will be a one in a lifetime experience for sure. Who knows, I might even come across Santa riding on his sleigh waving a grand Ho ho ho to me. Dreams apart, I am all set to begin lighting my yard this evening.
Thought I would share some tips with you all:

The most common color combinations appropriate for the Christmas season include red, green and copper lights that denote festivity; blue and green lights for more subdued arrangements; novelty combinations such as blue and red lights; mauve, blue and copper lights.

Create an Arbor Of Lights

Directions:

Cut 8 or more trees, 9 ft tall, 1-2 inches in diameter. Make holes about 6 - 10 inches deep every three feet on both sides of your walkway with a steel bar, wide enough for the trunk of the tree. Make sure the distance on the holes from left to right is about 6 feet. Place trees in holes and bend left and right sides together creating an arbor, and tie together with wreath wire or twine. Weave the branches from trunk-to-trunk to try and close-in the canopy and tuck-away or cut any branches hanging down obstructing the walkway. Decorate with clear order colored mini lights. String the lights randomly throughout the canopy.

Grapevine Garland

Directions:

A very nice way to decorate a doorway, inside or out, is to take grape vines, bundled together with string or baling twine, and drape them over doorways. Make them about 6 - 8 inches wide and about 14 feet long for standard door (18 feet for a double door) Hang them on small cup-hooks or finish nails. 3 - 4 fasteners should work on a standard 36" doorway. Next add mini-lights to the vines. Weave them in and out in a random but even fashion. Use 1 - 2 sets of 100 light mini-lights. Also add a mini-star wire garland (gold or silver). Lights can be any color, but clear or white frost gives it a nice old-fashioned Christmas look. You can add red berries also.

Using a live Christmas tree is the best outdoor Christmas decoration you can have. LED lights or fiber optic artificial trees work well for Christmas outdoor decoration.

Animated Snowman Sculpture
He merrily tips his hat to passersby and shines in glorified grandeur with 150 clear and multicolored lights attached to his powder-coated frame.

Acrylic-Wrapped Light Arctic Penguin and polar bear create a beautiful crystal-glow effect when lit.

Polar Bear or North Pole Sign
A cute lighted polar bear and a sign indicating the region he inhabits, North Pole. Thats sure to baffle your guests as they walk through the arctic wonderland.

Lighted Santa Sleigh with Horse
Ready for the big night? Well, Santa is with his long drawn sleigh packed with Christmas gifts and faithful reindeer all set to travel and adorn the dark firmament.

Outdoor Walkway
Line your walkway with beautifully lighted mini Christmas trees that can be driven into the ground on either side to create a welcoming aisle of greenery.

Topiary Animals -Each captivating creature shines brightly with clear miniature lights to bring a garden or atrium of life.

For an Oriental, meditative flavor, Chinese lanterns can be purchased in various colors. Any of this outdoor garden lighting can be hung from shepherd's hooks, available at most nurseries. Simply insert votive candles and close up the lantern securely.

Christmas Net lights are great for blanketing bushes and trees with hundreds of mini lights at once. Simply lay the net over bushes or wrap it around tree trunks.

Christmas Icicle lights are meant to replicate the look of icicles hanging from the eaves troughs. These lights come in a strand of 100 or 150 lights, usually in clear, white or pale blue bulbs. Most Christmas icicle lights have blinking capabilities to create the illusion that the icicles are melting. Hang icicle lights from the eaves trough gutters, railings or fences.