“Can we make it like the Home Alone house?” Clara asked when we talked about decorating the exterior for Christmas. She adores “Kevin and Bros” (yes, Buzz = Bros to her) and even noticed their house resembles ours, only much bigger and fancier. After a family brainstorming session—mostly listening to Clara’s directions—we settled on a simple plan:
- 24″ wreaths in every window tied with gold ribbon (Clara insisted no other color would do)
- lighted garland draped around the front portico
- plug-in candles in each windowsill, like we had at our previous house
- three red lanterns filled with twinkle lights from Ikea
- (Clara’s most imaginative idea: real seals wearing Santa hats on the roof—adorable, but we had to pass for animal welfare reasons)
Here’s the finished look.
My favorite details are the wreaths in every window—they look just as charming from the inside as they do from the street—and the lighted garland on the portico railing.
I also love how the red lanterns glow next to our blue door.
And catching a peek of our yet-to-be-decorated Christmas tree through the bay window adds that warm, lived-in feeling. Side note: I’ve been wanting to repaint those decorative white trim pieces that hang down—they’d look better the same color as the siding while keeping the window trim white.
We scored a great deal on the wreaths by stacking sales and coupons, which is how we ended up with eleven 24″ outdoor wreaths for $53 total instead of $88. They’d been marked down, and with a holiday-decor coupon that applied to sale items, the price dropped substantially. I learned that checking competitor or store coupons on my phone while waiting in line can pay off.
I also bought gold ribbon spools to match, bringing home everything we needed to hang the wreaths in each window. The upstairs windows were straightforward: we slid the wreath out slightly from the top of the window with the ribbon wrapped around it and closed the window onto the ribbon. Pro tip: hold onto that ribbon carefully—dropping a wreath out the window means an extra trip downstairs.
With the ribbon out the window and the window closed on it, the wreath hangs securely. For extra security we used a thumbtack through the ribbon into the top of the wooden windowsill—only a tiny pinprick that the blinds cover—based on a tutorial we’d read online.
The downstairs windows required a different approach. Their taller storm panes meant we couldn’t easily slip the wreaths up and out of the top, so we hung those wreaths from the outside using a ladder. We didn’t want the ribbon to bunch around a single plant hook, since the flat ribbon look upstairs was nicer, so we made simple “trapeze” hangers.
The trapeze hangers were just wooden dowels with small holes on either end and wire threaded through to create a flat plane for the ribbon. John hung each dowel on a plant hook screwed into the window trim and stapled the ribbon ends together to form a secure loop around the dowel. They’ve been holding fine for several days now and we plan to reuse them in future seasons.
For the portico garland, we tried a few different arrangements and finally secured the look we liked with cable ties. We experimented with draping it up to the peak and wrapping pillars, but ending lower across the railing felt balanced with our porch light and allowed the garland to drape naturally down the steps. I bought three lighted garland strands that plug into each other, which made installation easier.
We reused our plug-in candle lights for each window inside—nine total—and filled three red Ikea lanterns with string lights, connecting them into one run. Placing the lanterns on every other step created a cozy rhythm up to the door, and conveniently there was an outlet on the porch for both the garland and lantern lights.
We’ve seen grander holiday displays in our neighborhood and have plans to add more over time—like lighting the holly on the house corner or hanging a large wreath on the front door—but we’re proud of our first seasonal setup here. Neighbors asked where we got the garland and lanterns, which was a fun bonus—apparently I enjoy talking lights as much as installing them.
I worried the decorations might look lackluster by day, but they still read well in daylight. Small fixes remain—like moving an odd doormat I meant to put away—but overall the house feels festive and welcoming. Are you decorating your home exterior this year? Do you follow rooflines with lights or drape trees like luminous weeping willows? Share what you love to see—holiday lighting ideas are always inspiring.
