Outdoor Decorating with Garland

Amanda from Kansas asked for some ideas for outdoor decorating with something that the birds won't eat up right away (unlike cranberry-popcorn garland). Below are some links to various projects the whole family can help with, creating garlands to make the exterior of your abode as festive as the the inside.

• Outdoor Christmas Decorating with Garland: Some great ideas for creating a homemade, natural garland that can be used to frame windows, line railings, and more.


• Christmas Ribbon Garland or Chain:  The idea here is to create a "paper chain," but make it out of ribbon (red and green, for example) instead.


• Homemade Recycled Holiday Luminaries for Thanksgiving or Christmas: This version is made from ordinary used food cans. See video below, which illustrates the effect they create.


• This short instructional video outlines how to make luminaries to line  your driveway. These are strictly for outdoors in dry/non-windy weather, as they are made from paper bags and incorporate a votive candle in each bag. I had never seen them before (I live in the northwest U.S., where it is virtually guaranteed to be inclement in the month of December, which explains why luminaries are popular mostly in the south), but apparently they are made quite often, and give a very cheerful effect, as the photo below illustrates.