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 Reindeer Silhouettes
Build it
The star. Out from the porch where the drive opens up. Buy the biggest version of whatever you choose. Everything here is seen from 100 ft away or more, and small pieces simply do not survive that distance.
|
3' H | 1 | $34 |
| B |
White Picket Fence Panel, 18 in. x 36 in. (opens in a new tab)
Home Depot
Sidekick, left. Run the panels at an angle to the street and leave a gap at one end. At 18 in. this is the suggestion of a fence, not an enclosure, which is the whole idea: they wandered in, nobody put them there.
|
1' 6" H | 2 | $15.94 |
| C |
11 in. Solar Flickering Lantern (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
2 pieces
Sidekick, right. Right of the walk, matching the left, staked just as hard.
|
11" H | 1 | $39.99 |
| D |
Solar Path Light Stakes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
The last stretch of drive. Both sides of the driveway for the final 30 ft only, where it opens out by the house. Lighting the whole drive costs a fortune and turns your approach into a runway. Light the arrival instead.
|
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. Full gutter line and the porch. This is what people see from the road through the dark, so use warm bulbs with real output rather than fairy lights.
|
2" H | 2 | $51.98 |
2 things need an outlet, about 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 $191.29 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.