By Of all your Christmas holidays, this year’s is one you will happily stay home to celebrate. Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in Ontario, and the Waterloo Region will be going into a hard lockdown.
With Covid-19 spread indicators worsening, it’s best for everyone to stay home this Christmas. So why not prepare your home and make this Christmas less forgettable than it might be under these difficult circumstances, starting with your wood fence?
So, how do you dress up your wood picket or board-on-board fence to capture the Christmas spirit?
In this article, we will discuss 7 Christmas fence decoration tips for a festive-looking wood fence.
Let’s go.
Christmas fence decorations to consider this festive season
If you have a white picket fence, then decorating it for Christmas will be a dream. For other wooden fence types, the job will be just as rewarding.
Beyond the strings of LED mini lights, scrap wire, decorating materials left over from other DIY jobs, and wire cutters and pliers you likely already have in your toolbox, you won’t have to spend much on these Christmas fence decorations.
1. Drape your fence with a garland of fresh greens
What’s a Christmas fence decoration without a garland of fresh greens?
If you have some plain wire about 1.5 times the length of your fence, some soft tying wire, and access to fresh cypress cuttings, you have all you need to make a garland.
It’s important to make the garland longer than the fence, preferably 1.5 to two times longer because you want it to hang on the fence posts in a ‘smiley’ pattern.
To add that wow factor, decorate some wreaths in a contrasting colour (red works a treat) and hang them on each of the fence posts. Instead of wreaths, you can use red cloths tied around the top of posts in a bow-tie fashion.
If you are not sure how to make one, here’s a short video that shows you how to make a garland:
2. Wish passersby a ‘Merry Christmas’ in lights
A fun idea is to spell ‘Merry Christmas’ in light strings along the length of your wood fence. A board-on-board fence is perfect for this decoration. All you need for this are strings of mini LED lights.
Be careful how you fix the light strings to the fence. Because this is a seasonal decoration that you will soon take down, you don’t want to use big nails that will leave holes that will let in water and cause rot.
You can use tape to affix the mini lights to the fence. If the lights are too heavy, get some plastic hooks and use double-sided tape to fix them to the fence. Done right, this decoration is sure to catch the attention of passersby and help spread that Christmas cheer.
3. Use barbed wire wreaths to decorate country style post-and-rail fences
A winter Christmas out in the country, or some large estate whose border is marked by those post and rail fences you see on paddocks, is the stuff of fairytales.
But what’s also true is decorating a long fence lacking in charm can be a bit overwhelming. But a few strategically-hanged, colourfully-decorated barbed wire wreaths can make a big statement.
Making the wreaths is fairly easy, but be sure to wear protective gloves. Use whatever you have on hand to decorate the wreaths, which could be fresh or artificial flowers, green pine/cypress cuttings, and anything leftover from your Christmas tree decorations.
4. Drape your fence with a mesh of icicle lights
An easy and yet eminently fun wood fence Christmas decoration trick is to dress your fence in a drape of white icicle lights.
Right on theme with a winter Christmas celebration, the icicle lights give the appearance of falling snow. This decoration truly comes alive at night and is fairly inexpensive to execute.
Still on the lights theme:
5. Hang candle lamps along the length of your fence
After a year of sorrows and the dark cloud of uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Christmas represents an opportunity for renewal.
And there is no better spiritual symbol of ‘light in the darkness’ than candlelight. Instead of the standard LED light strings, choose the therapeutic and calming energy of lighted candles.
For the lamps, buy a set of glass storage jars and a corresponding number of thick, slowing burning candles. The jars must have a rimmed top so you can tie a hanging wire around them. Also, make sure the jars are taller than the candles so they don’t blow out.
Hang these lamps on the top of your fence’s anchor posts. Light the candles when daylight starts to fade so they can burn through or well into the night.
And now for the driveway gate:
6. Hang snowflake motifs on driveway gate
You were not going to forget about decorating the driveway, were you?
The driveway gate is where your Christmas guests should get an idea of what the evening will be like. It should set the mood for the rest of the night’s festivities. You want to decorate it well, and you have many options.
We like the idea of placing strings of shining stars and glittering snowflakes around your gate’s frame. This is an excellent way to draw attention to your main gate. Even first-time visitors to your home will not miss your gate.
Why not light your visitors’ way right up to your doorstep?
7. Outline your driveway with pathway lights
This one is an easy fix, but it makes such a big difference.
Pathway lights are available in different designs. But what’s more important, especially if your area receives a lot of snowfall, is how high you set your light stakes. If your area is forecast to snow heavily, choose 15-inch stakes so your lights will always be above the snow.
For something a bit louder, choose starlight stakes in multiple colours. Position these balls of light on either side of your driveway leading up to the house entrance, just as you would with pathway lights. For ease of height placement, choose starlight stakes with adjustable height.
Now that the wood fence looks just as festive as the house and that Christmas tree you worked hard to decorate, what’s the plan for the Christmas dinner?
From everyone here at Jay Fencing, here’s wishing you a merry, cheerful, and Covid-safe festive season. Our sincere wish is that 2021 will be a happier, more productive year for you and your loved ones.
And if, while decorating, you notice that your fence is looking worse for wear and in need of a facelift, repair, or upgrade, we are here to help. Jay Fencing is Southern Ontario homeowners’ choice for reliable fence repair and installation services.