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 |
54 in. Witch Cauldron on a Tripod (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
The star. It stands chest high, so give it sky behind it rather than a hedge. A tripod silhouetted against the house reads from the sidewalk; the same tripod in front of a shrub disappears. The green eyes in the pot are a detail and not a light source, so put a stake in the grass angled up through the legs and let that do the lighting. The legs spread wider than the pot, so keep it a good foot off any path edge. 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.
|
4' 6" H | 1 | $31.99 |
| B |
Pre-Lit Witch Hat Garden Stakes, 3 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
3 pieces
Sidekick, left. These stake into the ground rather than hang. Space them unevenly along one side of the walk and use whatever slope you have, so no two sit at the same height. Three hats evenly spaced on level ground stop being a coven and start being runway markers.
|
1' 11" H | 1 | $54.99 |
| C |
12 in. Solar Jack-o-Lanterns, 2 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
2 pieces
Sidekick, right. Right of the steps, matching the left. Keep clear of the driveway edge.
|
1' H | 1 | $17.21 |
| D |
Green Solar Path Stakes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
Walk and stair rail lights. Up both sides of the walk, then wrap the stair railing. Lighting the rail is the one move that makes a raised entry look intentional instead of steep.
|
1' 3" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| E |
Orange Incandescent Mini Lights, 300 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
300 pieces
Roofline. Full gutter run. On this shape the roofline is genuinely high off the ground because the whole house starts half a story up, so borrow a taller ladder than you think you need.
|
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
- 1× AA Batteries, 8 pack (opens in a new tab) 5 AA needed, none included $8.99
About $40.95 of hardware, on top of the $208.15 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.