Christmas evokes a season of home decoration splendor, as homeowners trim trees, hang stockings and fill the home with holiday cheer. This year, extend the festive atmosphere outdoors by decorating the railings and banisters on the front porch. Choose unique and festive adornments such as potted mini evergreens, nature-inspired decorations and metallic trims.
Decorate railings that have wide, flat tops with potted miniature evergreen trees. For a festive touch, cover the pots with simple metallic wrapping paper. Be creative when positioning the mini trees along the railing, putting small groups of trees together on each end or spacing them evenly along the railing.
Wrap stair banisters and porch railings with flexible willow branches and decorate them with sprays of festive red Winterberries. Secure the branches and berries with floral wire. Use real or craft berries for this project; however, squirrels and birds may feed upon real berries. For homeowners wishing to add a light feature to this type of decoration, consider wrapping strands of rope Christmas lights around the porch railings before adding branches and berries. This will give the effect of illuminating the branches from within.
Hang pinecones painted with glitter for a whimsical look. Combine many different sizes of pinecones for an interesting visual effect. Cover some of the pinecones entirely in paint, and paint just the seed tips of others. Choose a ribbon with a metallic pattern in a tone similar to the glitter paint on the pinecone ornaments. Garden spotlights will help illuminate this project after dark.
When people think of Christmas flowers, amaryllis and poinsettias often come to mind. Purchase silk poinsettia and amaryllis blooms at the craft store. Use hot glue to attach the blooms to individual lengths of floral wire.