I've enjoyed Christmas decorations all my life. I fondly recall piling in the car and Daddy driving to town just to look at the way folks decorated the outside spaces of their homes. I grew up on a farm and we lived a long stretch from the road. So, we didn't do a lot of outdoor decorating. Going in to town was a real treat and getting to see the decorations made it even more so!
When the children were small, we decorated a lot. We would add to our decor each year. It isn't something their father really enjoyed doing but I guess I guilted him into it for the children's sake. I kind of lost sight of that childhood joy for several years. Then, I moved into a new house and rekindled that love. A few years later, with a new grandchild to enjoy it, my joy seemed to grow even more. Then, Mike and I married and I had a new house to decorate and decorating became something that was a newfound delight. I just wanted to make hour home welcoming to his family and mine.
Last year I admired so many homes decorated for the season each day as I went in to work. Many of the areas that I traversed daily were bordered by large homes and people paid somebody else to do the decorating. Some of them were lavish and some of them were relatively simple but all of them made my heart sing.
One especially inspired me with plank fencing all around and lights strung across the top plank to frame the home and surrounding area. I told Mike I'd love to do that but the initial expense is just really prohibitive. So, we decided to just take on a wee bit this year with hopes of adding a bit each year. This year, I decided to tackle the entrance to our farm. I noticed that Mike had some old ring clamps that used to hold a top on a barrel and thought they would make perfect forms for a wreath. So, that is how my inspiration grew from a seed to a product.
First, we gathered the supplies. I picked up a couple of the rings, we rode round the fences and trimmed off some cedar clippings. Then, I got some twine and scissors and began to craft some wreaths.
I started by simply lowering the tailgate of the ATV and snipping some lengths of twine. Then grabbed a branch of cedar and tied it on. After a few branches were added, I hung the partial wreath on a branch of a crepe myrtle that stood nearby and kept adding sprigs of cedar with twine until I had the ring covered.
We loaded the pair of wreaths onto the ATV again and gathered some heavier twine to hold them in place. Then, off to the end of the driveway we trekked. I tied the simple wreaths to the top plank of the fence on either side of the driveway entrance. Rustic, charming, simple, and most importantly - FREE!
A week or so before, I had ordered these relatively inexpensive, solar, string, fairy lights and thought I'd give them a try as a start for lining our top plank on the fence. So, I gave the wreaths a couple of swirls around and stretched the tiny lights down the top plank for a space and doubled back to the wreath in hopes that doubling up would give the little tiny lights enough umph to shine brightly and not be lost in the broad open space. I hadn't set the solar panels out to charge, hadn't tried them out at all, just decided to give it a go.
I completed the first side of the driveway and began working on the other. I had just clicked the on/off switch and the mode switch a few times and hoped for the best. I used the small brown twine and stretched the cord taught to hold the lights in place across the top plank of the fence. Just as I was finishing up the left side of the driveway, the right side came on! I quickly began clicking the on/off and mode switch of the left side to get the lights from blinking to a steady glow.
I was almost giddy with excitement! While it isn't blindingly bright, the solar lights provided a soft glow and really look pretty to my old childish eyes.
I dashed across the highway to snap a quick photo to show Mike before I made my trek up toward the house. I was truly excited and quite pleased with our first step of holiday cheer! I was so excited that Mike climbed into the ATV and we rode back down so that he could have a first-hand look. We decided that the daytime version needed a little punch of color. So, I've ordered some red ribbon that was advertised at clearance and plan to add a big red bow to the wreaths. Stay tuned for an update!
I was not compensated for this post. I'm simply sharing how we add a little glowing Christmas cheer with some inexpensive solar lights, a discarded metal ring, and some free cedar clippings.
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