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 |
North Pole Signpost
Build it
The star. Dead center on the front walk, 8 to 10 ft back from the porch steps. Pick something with actual sides to it, not a flat cutout. One of your two streets is going to be looking at the back of this.
|
7' H | 1 | $38 |
| B |
Giant Peppermint Candy Stakes
Build it
Sidekick, left. Left of the walk, 5 ft out from the edge. Keep it under about 60 percent of the centerpiece height.
|
3' H | 1 | $22 |
| C |
21 in. Lighted Candy Canes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
Sidekick, right. Split the four canes into two pairs, one either side of the walk, leaning slightly outward.
|
1' 9" H | 1 | $20.99 |
| D |
Candy Cane Pathway Markers, 12 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
12 pieces
Path and perimeter lights. Both edges of the front walk, then keep the line going along the side yard. Do not stop at the corner of the house. This run is the thing that ties your two street faces together.
|
1' 4" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| F |
Warm White Incandescent Mini Lights, 300 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
300 pieces
Roofline and porch. One continuous run along both street-facing rooflines. Skipping the side roofline is the number one corner-lot regret.
|
2" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| G |
Bare Arch, Dressed
Build it
Side yard scene. Wrap both legs in candy stripe, barber pole fashion. Red tape or weatherproof ribbon spiralled up bare metal costs a couple of dollars and reads better from the road than anything moulded. This theme is a whole place rather than a motif, and a place needs a way in: put the arch at the sidewalk end of the walk rather than up near the house, so people pass through it on the way in and everything else in the yard is inside. A sign on the crown if you have one, and nothing else on it.
|
7' 4" H | 1 | $31 |
4 things need an outlet, about 2.3 amps all together. 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) 4 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
About $31.96 of hardware, on top of the $215.95 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.
A couple of spots do not have a pick at this budget yet, so the plan leaves them empty for now:
- Nothing in The North Pole fits spot E (The corner moment) at this budget yet.