If you treat outside Christmas decorations as you would your inside holiday décor you will not go far wrong. While Christmas decorations outside may not be visible for all that long, they will undoubtedly be seen by far more people than those lucky visitors who go inside, so you want to create the right effect.

A Christmas wreath is a great way to decorate your front door in a timeless and classic manner. You can weave ribbons into the foliage to create exactly the right color combination and make a unique and personalized welcome for all your visitors. Try using ribbons in pink or purple to create a contemporary and stylish result. You can be sure that you house will stand out from the many red, gold and plaid variants you will typically find at this time of year. You can also of course thread foliage through outdoor railings or fencing and place bows at intervals along the perimeter. Make sure that your bows are weather proof as there is no sadder sight than sodden ribbon hanging in the freezing rain.

There is a jolly lighted snowman outside a house near where I live. The dog didn’t like it at first and growled at it every time we passed it. It appeared immediately after Thanksgiving, a time some may feel is a little early for extravagant outdoor decorations. Nevertheless it gives the house a warm and inviting feel and, although I don’t know the people who live there, I can imagine the kind of welcoming jolly people they are. This snowman has a broad grin and twinkling eyes and he lights up the yard in which he sits as well as the path beyond.

He does exactly what outside décor should do, which is to make people feel the spirit of the Christmas season without imposing on them in any way. He is made of fiber glass and although some of the recent winds have temporarily knocked him over, you always feel sure he will get up again. There is another snowman a few houses along and the winds, or maybe some passing animal, caused him to lose his left arm which hung limply for a few days before its owners managed to mend it. He is not quite so cheerful and looks too fragile to withstand the rigors of a Mid West winter. This makes any passers by more acutely aware of the discomforts of the weather and fails to lift the spirits at all!

Twinkling Xmas lights are another great way to remind your neighbors of the time of year. You can also hint at your good taste by avoiding the more garish color combinations and going for subtle tones of blue and green or the ever classic silver or gold. If you have small children, then more obvious colors and decorations are entirely understandable. If you do not then it is probably a good idea to avoid the temptation to cover the entire yard with Santas and reindeers and models of baby Jesus!

Warm welcoming and tasteful and you can’t go wrong. Good luck and happy Christmas decorating!