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 |
5 ft Inflatable Meditating Alien (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
The star. Beside the stoop, not in front of it. Seven feet is a hard ceiling and the footprint is about the size of a bath mat, so this is one good piece rather than a scene.
|
5' 1" H | 1 | $39.99 |
| B |
14 in. Alien Tree Peeker (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
The stoop side. This one hangs rather than stands, so it wants a tree trunk, a post or a fence at about head height. It also does not light up, so put one of the green spotlights at the foot of whatever it is peering round. Unlit it disappears completely after dark, which rather defeats it.
|
1' 2" H | 1 | $19.99 |
| C |
Green Solar Path Stakes, 10 pack (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
10 pieces
Fence and path lights. Along the top of the front fence and up the short path. The fence line is the longest straight run you own. Use it.
|
1' 3" H | 1 | $25.99 |
| D |
Cool White LED Mini Lights, 100 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
100 pieces
Doorway and facade. Frame the door and windows rather than chasing a roofline you cannot safely reach. On a narrow facade, outlining the openings does more than a gutter run would anyway.
|
2" H | 2 | $51.98 |
| P |
8 in. Area 51 Metal Sign (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
Under the porch roof. On the wall beside the door rather than on the floor, at eye height, straight rather than tilted. This is the cheapest plan in the theme and the porch is the one place where nine dollars can do as much work as ninety: at arm's length nobody can tell what a prop cost, and a sign that says the government has been here does more for the story than a small figure standing in the dark would. Do not light it separately. Whatever is already lighting your door is the right amount.
|
8" H | 1 | $8.99 |
3 things need an outlet, about 1.2 amps all together. 1 of them run all night. Inflatable blowers do not take breaks. 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) 3 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
- 2× Garden Hook, 35 in. (opens in a new tab) Only if you have no rail or post to hang from $19.98
About $51.94 of hardware, on top of the $146.94 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.