When people think of decorating outdoors for Christmas, they’re usually thinking of stringing lights along the front of the house or dangling them from the trees and bushes in the front yard for all the neighbors to see. But, why not consider decorating your backyard instead to have your own personal winter wonderland in which to celebrate the holidays? This can be done inexpensively, while still providing a little winter respite from the hectic pace of the season. Read more »

Most of us like to see outdoor Christmas lights up around the streets. It all adds to the Christmas feeling and the children’s sense of anticipation builds as Christmas gets closer. But Christmas yard lighting can be expensive to buy and expensive to run, so is there  anything you can do to get the cost down, and still have  lights in the yard this Christmas? The best advice that anyone can give about outside Christmas lighting is to choose what you want in your display early – preferably in Sept/Oct the year before  i.e. 15 months before the Christmas you are choosing lights for! I know that sounds very early, but unless you are going to change your theme every year and  most people do not. Then you can afford to put some thought into the plan and it will last you a number of years. Once you have an idea of what sort of outside Christmas lights you want, you can start looking for where to buy them. Read more »