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 |
Plywood Tombstones
Build it
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.
|
2' H | 1 | $28 |
| B |
Lighted Graveyard Fence, 8 panels (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
8 pieces
Sidekick, left. This is 11 in. tall, so it is an edging rather than a barrier. Run it along the front of a bed to draw the boundary of the graveyard, and let the line of it curve. Lean a panel or two and leave a gap where something came through. It charges by cable rather than taking batteries, which is the good news and also the thing to remember: top it up in the afternoon on the 31st, because there is no swapping in fresh cells at eight o'clock.
|
11" H | 1 | $53.99 |
| C |
13 in. Ground Breaker Hands, pair (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
2 pieces
Sidekick, right. Put them in front of a tombstone rather than out in open lawn. Hands coming up beside a headstone tells a story; hands coming up in the middle of the grass just looks like somebody lost a glove. Push them in at different angles and scuff the grass around each one so the ground looks disturbed.
|
1' 1" H | 1 | $29.99 |
| D |
Green Solar Path 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 | $51.98 |
| E |
Orange 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 | 2 | $51.98 |
2 things need an outlet, about 2.2 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) 2 plug-in pieces 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 $215.94 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.