Do it yourself Free
One weekend, a sheet of plywood and some string lights. Costs almost nothing and still stops traffic.
| Spot | What to get | How big | How many | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A |
5 ft Inflatable Meditating Alien (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
The island. Dead center of the island. This is the best spot on any lot shape, because it is the only place a decoration gets looked at from all the way around. Give it a base or a stake plan that survives being walked past on every side.
|
5' 1" H | 1 | $39.99 |
| B |
14 in. Alien Tree Peeker (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
Sidekick, left. This one hangs rather than stands, so it wants a tree trunk, a post or a fence at about head height. It also does not light up, so put one of the green spotlights at the foot of whatever it is peering round. Unlit it disappears completely after dark, which rather defeats it.
|
1' 2" H | 1 | $19.99 |
| C |
8 x 12 in. Alien Warning Sign (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
Sidekick, right. This one is not a lawn object, so do not put it on the lawn. Two zip ties onto a garden stake, a fence picket or the mailbox post, at about chest height, right where the walk meets the sidewalk. Face it up the walk rather than at the road: a warning works on the person deciding whether to come closer, and every visitor passes within a foot of that spot. Eight by twelve inches reads at three feet and at no distance beyond that, which is the whole reason it goes there and nowhere else.
|
1' H | 1 | $9.96 |
| D |
Green Solar Path Stakes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
The loop lights. The outer edge of the front arc only, from one entrance around to the other. Set them back 2 ft from the sidewalk. Anything closer gets clipped by a tire the first time somebody swings wide.
|
1' 3" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| E |
Cool White LED Mini Lights, 100 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
100 pieces
Roofline and porch. Full gutter line plus the porch columns. The loop pulls people closer to the house than a normal walk does, so the porch detail actually gets seen here.
|
2" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| F |
Lawn Crop Circle
Build it
The outside curve. Put it where the plan marks the secondary scene, but treat that marker as the center of the ring rather than the footprint: it is twelve feet across and wants clear grass all round. Keep it off the walk and away from the flower beds, and light it from the far side at ground level so the laid-over grass catches the light. Lit from above it disappears. This one works just as well mirrored to the other side of the walk, so if a tree, a slope or the way you come and go says the far side is better, swap it and swap its partner with it. What matters is that it is beside the path and not standing in it.
|
0" H | 1 | $14 |
| P |
8 in. Area 51 Metal Sign (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
Under the porch roof. On the wall beside the door rather than on the floor, at eye height, straight rather than tilted. This is the cheapest plan in the theme and the porch is the one place where nine dollars can do as much work as ninety: at arm's length nobody can tell what a prop cost, and a sign that says the government has been here does more for the story than a small figure standing in the dark would. Do not light it separately. Whatever is already lighting your door is the right amount.
|
8" H | 1 | $8.99 |
3 things need an outlet, about 1.2 amps all together. 1 of them run all night. Inflatable blowers do not take breaks. That all fits on one 15 amp circuit, you are fine. Outdoor GFCI outlets only, and leave a drip loop in the cord at every plug so rain runs off instead of in.
You will also need
The cord is the part everybody forgets, and stores run out of them at the peak of every season. Outdoor rated only, and plugged into a GFCI outlet.
- 1× 25 ft Outdoor Extension Cord, 16 gauge (opens in a new tab) 3 plug-in pieces across 2 spots $16.98
- 1× Outdoor Timer with Photocell (opens in a new tab) Switches the whole display on and off on its own $14.98
- 3× Garden Hook, 35 in. (opens in a new tab) Only if you have no rail or post to hang from $29.97
About $61.93 of hardware, on top of the $196.89 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.