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 |
Leaking Barrels
Build it
The star. Set them down at different angles, not squared up to the house. Nothing about a spill is tidy, and three drums lined up parallel to the kerb reads as a delivery rather than an accident. Turn the split drum so the glow faces the sidewalk, and run barrier tape from the drums out to a stake so they read as a cordon rather than as three objects.
|
2' 6" H | 1 | $78 |
| B |
Barrier Tape, 2 rolls, 164 ft each (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
2 pieces
The stoop side. Two rolls in the box and they are different, red DO NOT ENTER and black CAUTION. Use both and mix them: two authorities having been here reads as a real incident, one tape reads as a party. Wind it round a post, run it between two stakes at an angle across the lawn, and take one line diagonally across the walk at about waist height where people will duck under it. Sagging is right. Tape pulled taut looks like a fence; tape that droops looks like it was put up in a hurry. There are 300 spare feet in the box, so be generous.
|
2" H | 1 | $3.99 |
| 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 |
Orange Incandescent Mini Lights, 300 count (opens in a new tab)
Amazon
300 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 | 1 | $25.99 |
1 thing needs an outlet, about 1.1 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 $133.97 of decorations. Buy it once and it comes back out every year.