One of the most daunting tasks of the holiday season is decorating the outside of our home. Indeed, the activity is so daunting that I have yet to do so in the going-on five years we have lived here. I’ll put up a Christmasy wreath and our “Santa Stop Here” sign, but that’s usually about it. Until this year.
I know I keep mentioning the self-imposed budget I’m on, and I really will expound upon it one day. But for now, let me just say I’m on a budget and had to get creative. While my DIY decorations will not grace the cover of House Beautiful, I think they turned out OK for the amount of money I invested in them—a grand total of $20.
Now I’m going to take a moment and point out that the title of this post is not “DIY Outdoor Christmas Decorations for $20.” Because when you total up the cost of the items I already owned (the wreath, the planters, the lights, etc.) the cost is more than $20. But considering the fact that all of my decorations are either from (1) Walmart or (2) the outdoors, these are definitely budget-friendly options.
I posted about my DIY Grapevine Christmas Trees a few weeks ago. Since that time, I’ve become something of a grapevine hoarder. I’ll be walking along a trail, see a grapevine and then yank it down, roll it up and smother my kid with it. Just kidding about that last part.
Sort of.
The Garland
The truth is, I NEEDED those grapevines to enhance the 12-foot Rochester Pine Artificial Christmas Garland I purchased from Walmart.
Despite its controversial origin, the garland is actually quite nice. The “pine needles” look real, and they are threaded along a nice-gauge metal wire that can be easily manipulated to get the look you want. And you can’t beat the $8.94 price tag.
I basically hung each one of the garlands from the top of my entryway arch using one of these nifty brick clips from the Home Depot. These brick clips
I also added little pinecone “ornaments” to the garland to give it more texture.
The kids and I have been collecting pinecones for a few months now, and I was happy to use our stockpile.
The Archway Wreath
For the wreath on the archway, I took a thick grapevine and tied it into a circle. Then I wrapped more grapevines around the thick vine along with a whole strand of twinkle lights and added a red bow.
It, too, is secured by the same brick clip that I used for the two garlands. It took me about 5 minutes to make, which is why I don’t have a photo of the process.
The Door Wreath
The wreath on the door is technically from Kirkland’s (linked here). I bought it earlier this spring and have had it on my front door all year. However, Walmart has an almost identical wreath for sale at a fraction of the price. And it really is incredibly simliar. When I saw the wreath at Walmart, I was kicking myself for paying the higher price.
I usually hang my traditional Christmas wreath (gold ornaments, ribbon, glitter) on the door for the holidays, but I liked the simplicity of the faux green magnolia leaves. It goes well with the not-so-heavy-looking pine garlands.
The Grapevine Christmas Trees
This is the link to my blog post on the DIY Grapevine Christmas Trees in case you want to see how I made these.
A Budget-Friendly Outdoor Christmas Entryway
And that’s it! I had a lot of fun using items I already owned to create new Christmas decorations. Because I only needed to purchase the garland, I invested a total of $20 into this decorating project. Not bad when you’re on a budget!
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