Lit wreaths on doors and windows
The front door wreath is the one everyone sees, so make it bigger than you think. A wreath that looks right in the store usually looks small on a full-size door. On a two-story colonial, a wreath centered in every front window, upstairs and down, lines up the whole facade and reads from the street even before the roofline is lit.
Lit wreaths are the norm now. Downstairs, they can plug into a nearby outlet. Upper windows usually get battery-operated LED sets on a timer, since running cords up a wall looks messy and invites a draft. Wreaths hang from door hangers, window hooks or ribbon tied from inside, never from nails in the trim. Ask how they're secured at the bottom too, so a January gust doesn't bang them against the glass.
Garland on porch railings, columns and lamp posts
Garland is what separates a house with lights from a decorated house. The common spots:
- Porch railings, draped or wrapped along the top rail
- Porch columns, spiraled from the floor to the beam
- The door frame, run up one side and across the top
- Lamp posts at the end of the driveway or front walk
Installers attach garland with zip ties or wire rather than nails or staples, so it comes off clean in January. Spacing matters on columns: tight spirals look full, loose ones look like you ran out. Keep railing garland on the top rail and clear of the steps, where the snow shovel will catch it.
Porches are where this pays off most. The Victorian porches on North Broadway and Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs and the iron stoop railings on Troy rowhouses both look made for lit garland. A plain front step doesn't need much: two planters and a door wreath do the job.
Holiday decorating service for planters, entryways and walkways
A holiday decorating service can also handle the pieces between the door and the street. Planters on either side of the front steps get filled with greens, branches and a strand of mini lights. Bows go on the lamp post and the mailbox. A walkway lined with low lights or lit greenery leads people to the door, which matters on a dark December evening when sunset comes before 4:30.
Keep it to one entry. Decorating the front walk, the side door and the garage spreads the effect thin. Pick the door guests actually use.
Pairing wreaths and garland with roofline Christmas lights
Wreaths and garland look best with lights above them. Most installers book the two together, so the roofline, the door and the porch go up on the same visit and use the same timer. Match the color: if the roofline is warm white, keep the wreaths and garland warm white too. Mixing a cool white wreath under a warm roofline looks like two different houses.
Start with the roofline Christmas lights, then add a door wreath and garland on the porch. Year two, add tree wrapping if you want more.
Questions to ask a Christmas decorating service before you book
The answers vary a lot from one installer to the next, so ask:
- Lit or unlit? Pre-lit greenery is neater than lights wrapped on afterward. Ask whether the lights are LED and what powers them.
- Real or artificial? Real looks and smells better for one season. Artificial comes back every year.
- Who supplies it? Some installers lease wreaths and garland for the season, some sell them, and some will hang decor you already own.
- What happens in January? Ask whether takedown is part of the price and, if you own the decor, whether it gets boxed for your garage or stored elsewhere.
Our Christmas light installation cost guide explains how these choices show up in a quote.