9 Christmas Decoration Ideas: How to Dress Up Your Backyard for Xmas

If you have to say so yourself, your living room is looking super festive, with that fabulously bedecked Christmas tree standing in the corner.    But there is one area you have likely left to the last minute to decorate. It’s your yard.    Save for a colorfully decorated wreath on the front door, your yard is looking anything but festive.    Your deck looks rather plain, and so does your pergola, and your whole backyard, if truth be told.   Santa won’t be too impressed. But not to panic, there is still time. Here are cheap but tasteful yard Christmas decorations to bring festive cheer to your home, starting with the mailbox:   Letterbox Christmas Decorations   As far as holidays go, you wouldn’t immediately think of your mailbox, but that’s exactly where you should start.    Not only is your letterbox the first thing your visitors see, but a cheerfully decorated letterbox is an enduring Christmas tradition and something that will be sure to melt even Santa’s heart.   Not sure where to start decorating your letterbox? We have got a few ideas:   1. Give Your ‘Letters to Santa’ Mailbox a Fresh Coat of Paint   If you have a dedicated ‘letters to Santa’ letterbox sitting somewhere in your garage, it’s time to dust it up for a fresh makeover.    After a quick dust-down, give the old mailbox a fresh coat of paint. You could paint it a color you prefer, but brilliant white and the traditional Christmas red always work a treat.    With the mailbox painted all white, give it a cheerful contrast by inscribing ‘letters to Santa’ in red across the front.   2. Add Colorful Swag to Your Mailbox   Christmas mailbox swags are an old holiday decor idea that never disappoints. You could buy the swag ready-made, or you could make your own.    For your DIY Christmas mailbox decoration, you will need fresh pine swag, which is nothing more than fresh pine cuttings joined by some craft floral wire and made to drape either side of the mailbox.   You will also need:   Shatterproof Christmas balls Ribbon and a couple of pre-made bows Artificial white and red mums flowers Some glue   For the tools, you will need wire cutters, a glue gun, and scissors. Here’s a nice video tutorial on how to bring everything together.   Driveway Gate Christmas Decorations   With your mailbox looking festive, you should make sure your driveway gate looks bang on-theme, too.    3. Double Wreaths for your Bi-parting Swing Driveway Gate     Evergreen wreaths, with a touch of red, are a familiar sight on driveways during the festive period. That’s because they always add tasteful decor cred to your home.   Wreaths work best on bi-parting swing gates. And instead of one wreath, make one for each gate leaf placed centrally and towards the top of the gate.    If yours is a sliding gate, hanging the wreaths directly on the gate will be impractical. Instead, fix them to the pillars on either side of the gate. They will look just as festive.    And for something off-beat:   4. Repurpose Old, Empty Picture Frames Into Colourful Wreaths   You have likely spent a lot of money already on Christmas gifts and decorations. This holiday display trick could save you a few bucks.   Look around your garage for empty picture frames you no longer use and repurpose them into wreaths to hang on your driveway gate.    To fashion the disused picture frames into real show-stoppers, select a few good ones and paint them into different colors.    Paint a couple in white, some in red, and a few others in bright colors of your choosing.    Decorate them as you would your standard wreaths, with red ribbon, and fresh pine cuttings and cones. Then hang them on your gate in any configuration you desire.   Gazebo and pergola Christmas decorations   Weather permitting, you should take your Christmas celebrations outside this year, if only for some time.    As there is likely to be above normal snowfall in Southern Ontario this Christmas, you should still want to be protected from the elements.    We suggest fastening a canvas cloth over your pergola and using the ideas below to turn it into a winter wonderland.      If you own a gazebo, the covered roof will give you better protection from the weather.   5. Light Up the Pergola/Gazebo With Christmas Lights     With some weather protection, your pergola is the perfect outdoor space to enjoy your Christmas dinner. We bet you would also relish the experience of opening your Christmas gifts under the stars.   A fun idea is to arrange some cozy seating, with plenty of plush cushions around the Christmas tree placed in the center of the pergola or gazebo. You will also want to make sure the space is as bright as day, with plenty of lighting.    Hang strings of icicle lights right around the pergola, making sure the light strings hang down to the floor. For even more pop-out cheer, wrap light strings around the pergola’s corner posts.   6. Glowing Wreaths and Garland for a Pop of Colour     Wreaths and garlands really are the utility Christmas decor items. Wherever you hang them, they always look the part.    For something understated, opt for a glowing garland wrapped around the pergola’s posts and under the beams.    As you should also do with the garland, wrap stretches of light strings right around your wreaths. The lights make sure the fresh green color of the greenery and the red decorations come alive in spite of the dark. Deck Christmas Decorations If you have invested in a deck, this is another perfect outdoor place to decorate for the holidays. Here are a few ideas:   7. Take the Christmas Tree Out to the Deck Have you likely always celebrated Christmas indoors? If

Good Fences Start With The Right Contractor

When choosing a fence for your suburban property, between looks and security, what do you consider to be most important? At Jay Fencing, we believe you don’t have to sacrifice curb appeal for security, or vice versa. The right fence will offer the exact level of security, aesthetic appeal, privacy, or whatever attribute matters to you. In this regard, the right fence for a given property is a function of many factors. As you will see later, merely selecting a type of fence over another does not mean you will get the right quality fence. The fencing contractor you choose from the many that call Waterloo home is the foundation a good fence is built on.   Prioritize the fence qualities that matter to you     Your property is not quite complete without a fence. You may have a feeling of being too exposed. The property itself may look plain, devoid of a wow factor. Or, you may be concerned with the lack of privacy.   So, considering the above concerns, a fence will look like the perfect solution. And it will be. But you can easily get a fence that, though secure, is as plain as the house and offers little privacy. Chain-link fences fit that description.    If privacy and aesthetics aren’t that important to you, perhaps because yours is a commercial property, a chain-link fence will work just fine. As security will likely be important, these fences deliver on that, too.   Some fences look as good and last as long as they are well-maintained As a property owner, you may be more concerned with security, looks, and privacy, but as an experienced fence installer, we have learned to appreciate that the durability and maintenance of the fence are just as important.    On the projects where we have been contracted to replace broken, corroded, and collapsed fences, a common thread we have picked is the frustration that property owners have with fences that flattered to deceive.    We have learned that a fence may not return the expected long use-life, not because of poor quality materials, but because of a lack of maintenance. This is true for wood fences that have to be resealed and vanished regularly. Of course, there are fencing materials, like vinyl that require very little if any maintenance.   The right fence does not have to cost a fortune Despite all we know about secure, good-looking fences that offer enough privacy, why do homeowners end up with fences that barely deliver on these qualities?   The answer supposedly has to do with the budget. But the budget isn’t entirely the challenge. A chain-link fence can offer acceptable privacy and score just as high on the aesthetic scale. All it takes is some imagination and creativity.   For example, you can easily dress up your plain-looking, see-through chain-link fence by planting some flowering vines through it. With keen maintenance, the vines can transform the fence into a head-turner that offers complete privacy.   The appearance of wood can work as well as the real thing Wood fences are popular for a reason. They have a natural charm and warmth that is hard to beat. Sustainable and natural, wood is an opaque fencing material that guarantees privacy and security.    While wood fences are good-looking, they come with a huge maintenance burden. Without regular maintenance, they will not look as good for long and will rot and fall apart in no time. Hardwoods produce stronger fences, but they come with a suitably prohibitive price tag.   If you like the look and privacy quality of wood, perhaps you don’t necessarily have to install a wooden fence. A vinyl fence can give you the look you are after, without the burden of heavy maintenance. It will last many times longer, too.   Vinyl manufacturing technology has advanced so much that you can get realistic-looking wood-like vinyl fences in any shade you like. It is indestructible by wood’s archnemeses, termites and rot. Remarkably fire-resistant, vinyl is an install-and-forget fencing material every busy homeowner will love.   Admittedly, vinyl costs more than wood. But that’s when you only consider the cost of materials without lifetime care and maintenance costs. When you factor in all the costs and its remarkable durability, vinyl is likely much cheaper than wood and other fencing materials.   Why choosing the right fence installer matters in Waterloo A fence is as secure and durable as the quality of its installation. All the hard work of choosing the right fence type and material for your type of property and security needs can be undone by choosing an inexperienced fence installer.   Beyond qualifications and professional memberships, choosing a local contractor is acutely important. An experienced local contractor will know Waterloo’s codes and fencing regulations and isn’t going to install a fence that is taller than what is allowed for your area.   The City of Waterloo regulates fence installation based on the yard or property type. The fence bylaw places restrictions on fence height depending on whether it is a corner or interior lot. It also lays out specific guidelines for Driveway Visibility Triangle (DVT) and Daylight Visibility Triangle (DLVT).   Failure to meet fence bylaw regulations may attract a fine on top of being asked to take the fence down. So choosing an experienced local fencing contractor who is well-versed with local bylaws will help you avoid unnecessary headaches and costs. Choose Jay Fencing for the best fence installation services in Waterloo, ON.   It is not enough to look up a fencing contractor online and reading reviews left on their website. To be sure they are as good as they claim to be, it is best to check out, in person, the projects they have done.    Looking at a prospective contractor’s work up close helps you decide if the quality of their work fits well with your expectations. Do their fences hold up? What do their former clients have