Front gate, holiday decor

We live in a gated development, but there are very few homes on our street. Our homeowners association does not decorate for the holiday, so year after year, I have happily taken the job to add some holiday cheer to our neighborhood. I have asked my neighbors and they are thankful rather than upset that I decorate our front gate. I try to keep it "holiday" rather than Christmas. To them, it didn’t cost anything and I store the decorations to put up the following year. I like to do simple and classic decor so that it fits with everyone’s taste.

In our development, we have an in going gate, an outgoing gate, and a pillar in the middle. I have decorated in a couple of different ways over the years and all of it has been done to look clean and elegant, but also doesn't break the bank.

I have made my holiday ornament garland from purchasing plastic holiday bulbs in bulk when the season is over. You can also find simple plastic bulbs here with this link.

Having done this, all I do is take an inexpensive base garland and hot glue plastic bulbs to it. I will say, as I have use this for a few years now, the color bulb that holds up the best is silver.

Here is a link to plastic holiday bulbs as well as an expensive Garland base.

Another way that I have decorated our gate is by using the same trick as my staircase banisters garland. I start with a non-expensive base garland, and I add real greenery to it.

Here's how to lay that out.

• Start with the fake garland on the bottom

• Lay different fresh greenery on top

• come back with floral wire and wrap the floral wire around the whole bundle until they have become one long garland

• You can then attach pine cones or magnolia to add more interest.

I cut down my own greenery from our canyon, (make sure to use good clippers) but you can purchase from your local hardware store or Trader Joe's.

Now I will say when it comes time to putting it on the gate, make sure that you use zip ties or twine to hold it in place. This way no damage at all is done to the gate, it will hold it secure and when you’re done with the season you can simply cut off the zip tie or twine. You then can go over where you attached the garland with some nice ribbon to elevate the look if you would like.

For this gate garland, I just wanted to keep it simple and stay with the natural look.

I used the cedar from my canyon, some eucalyptus from another local tree and then as I didn't have pine cones, I used the pods from my friends magnolia tree. Yes, those are magnolia! I added a string of battery powered lights to each side as well so they are sparkling white at night.

So there you have it, my simple guide to front gate holiday decor. It makes our family and our neighbors feel the holiday spirit when we come home and are greeted with festive gates. It just adds that touch of a happy to welcome us all home. Sometimes doing things like decorating the whole neighborhood gate is just something you have to take the lead on, otherwise it just wouldn't get done. You don't have to spend a bunch of money, you just have to be willing to get creative and take the time to do it. I might’ve been there, and I have done this.

Xo,

Mama