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 |
42 in. Giant Tulip Stakes, 6 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
6 pieces
The star. Two thirds of the way up the walk, not down by the sidewalk and not parked against the porch. Go bigger than you would on a normal lot. At 55 ft back, a 6 ft piece disappears.
|
3' 6" H | 1 | $44 |
| B |
18 in. Giant Easter Eggs, 6 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
6 pieces
Sidekick, left. Left of the walk, a few feet behind the centerpiece so the two do not line up flat when you look up the yard.
|
1' 6" H | 1 | $26.99 |
| C |
Pastel Bunting, 30 ft (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
24 pieces
Sidekick, right. Right of the walk, matching the left. Keep both off the driveway edge.
|
10" H | 1 | $18.99 |
| D |
Solar Path Light Stakes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
The approach lights. Both sides of the walk for the last 36 ft up to the door. You do not need to light the whole 55 ft. Starting the run partway up pulls the eye toward the house instead of stopping it at the sidewalk.
|
1' 3" H | 2 | $49.38 |
| E |
Warm White Incandescent Mini Lights, 300 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
300 pieces
Roofline and porch. Gutter line and porch. Use the biggest bulb you are willing to buy. At this distance small twinkle lights turn into a faint smudge.
|
2" H | 1 | $25.99 |
| F |
Bare Arch, Dressed
Build it
The halfway moment. The one theme here where the arch is doing its actual day job, which is the trap: every photograph on the box is a symmetrical wedding arch and this theme is a drift, not a row. Wire the big blooms up ONE leg and across about a third of the crown, then stop. Flowered evenly all the way round it is a wedding; flowered up one side it is a plant that got out of hand, which is the theme. Heavy stems tie to the legs where the load goes into the ground, never to the crown. Put it where the drift is thickest so it looks like the middle of the planting rather than a separate object standing in grass.
|
7' 4" H | 1 | $31 |
1 thing needs an outlet, about 1 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) 1 plug-in piece across 1 spot $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 $196.35 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.