I had managed to get almost all of my inside decorating done before I headed north to my parents’ for Thanksgiving. My thought was that I’d come home to a lovely house decorated for Christmas and be ready to celebrate the holiday season. Because of a business trip to DC and deciding to stay at my parents’ house through their annual holiday parade, I didn’t end up returning home until after the first full week of December was almost finished. So I was late getting my lights up. My neighbors were going crazy with lights this year, so I was really feeling pressured to get started. Finally, on a chilly day towards sunset (a good time to do it so you can see how the lit lights look), I got out my stepstool and headed outside.
I was excited to find out that they have outdoor electrical timers – I should have assumed as much, but I’d never really thought about it. So I found one that senses dusk and dawn, and set it to come on at dusk and go off after six hours (around 11PM). I snaked an extension cord from the back of my house (where the only plug – a GFI one – resides) and figured out where it would need to sit to plug my various lights into. I had lights for the bushes and small fir tree out front, as well as for around one of the porch posts and icicle lights for the top of the little porch (for the first time, I was SO excited!). My neighbor came outside as I started to put up the icicle lights and suggested that I use outdoor screws instead of nails, which won’t rust. He had a few and helped me put them in (I couldn’t get the leverage I needed on my little step stool to put them in myself) and I hung up the icicle lights – perfect! He had already decorated the middle post between the two (I basically live in a semi-detached house, though they call it a condo, so we share a porch), so I ran some lights along my post and connected them to the lights on the bushes. It sounds like it went quickly, but it really took me about two hours, between hanging the lights, finding out some were burned out (check your strands BEFORE putting them up!), replacing the bulbs and adding extra strands to the bushes. But when it was finished, it looked lovely!
Lookin' good!
Icicle lights are the best!
I also have a beautiful, huge real wreath on my front door. I love it, and it smells divine, but it’s placement between the storm door and my front door along with the full sun for most of the day is killing it quickly. My neighbor is trying glass magnets to hang his wreath on the outside of the storm door, so we’ll see if that makes a difference this year. But I can even smell it from inside when I walk past the front door, so it just makes me happy. I’ve also since added three little snowmen angel lights to light my sidewalk at night. Ideally, I’d have six, but I’ll just have to wait until next year to get those!
My wreath at night.
