Do you decorate the garden?

[gardenmusic]

Just been down the Pinterest rabbit hole, looking at home made decorations and saw ice luminaries.
I don't usually decorate the garden, but I think a row of these either side of the path to my front door would look good.
Free, too. It's a cup within a cup - they added some leaves and rosehips, water between the two, freeze, then remove the containers to leave an ice cup, then you put a little tea light in them.
Wondering if it would stay cold enough here in S.E. to keep them frozen.
Do you decorate the garden?

Struggling to envisage what youre suggesting.

Round here (Manchester) that would be a puddle. I think you'd need to live in Norway or something.

No.
Did you mean to post a photo?

We do ice decorations at school in Reception class if it’s due to be frosty. We don’t do the cups though - just usually a fairy cake tray or paint mixing tray with bits of gathered leaves or berries, add water and leave it to freeze outside overnight. We put a loop of string in and hang them in a bush in the outside classroom. Occasionally they will last a few days but it’s usually just one day.
We usually put a Santa Call Here sign in the garden and outside lights, but don’t go in for loads of light up Father Christmas’ or sleighs etc to decorate the garden.

Though loads of people put plastic decorations up in the garden.

Most I go for is a wreath and some fairy lights.

ZenNudist, YourMumDressesYouFunny

Sorry, cannot post a pic. Imagine this:
You have a or paper cup. You put a smaller disposable cup inside, so there is a space between the two.

Stuff something interesting into the gap. Fill the gap with water. It will also go under the smaller cup. Freeze the lot.
Remove the cups. you are left with a cup made of ice.
You then put a tea light, battery one probably better, in the ice cup.
I think it would have to be quite cold for it to work outside for more than half an hour!

ThursdayTomorrow

That sounds lovely. I struggle to get a frost here.

Some houses round here put lights in the trees, and that looks magical. My shrubs are too short for that, though.

Unless it's below zero (which it rarely is at Xmas) That's going to last approximately 2 hours and be completely underwhelming surely?!

If it were thicker, maybe? I have seen them made as big as an ice bucket?
They looked very impressive.
I'm not planning on keeping them long, just as a lit path for a party

Just twinkly lights, and my girls collect pine cones, spray paint them red & gold and hang them with the lights across the driveway.

I don't, but a nearby farmer hangs lights in some of the large trees around his farmhouse, which looks wonderful.

@gardenmusic I've seen those ice bowls done for parties, used to serve for instance, a welcome drink. They had slices of orange and herbs encased in the ice.

No.

My dm and gm had very strong opinions on the class connotations of outdoor lights 🙄and it took me til my late thirties to shake off the effects of their brainwashing!
But then I got to worrying about the effect of garden lights on nocturnal wildlife. And I don’t even use garden solar lights or heaters anymore.

Total overthinker. 😩

My garden is not really suitable for decorating but my front railings are, so along with my door wreath and gutter lights I have net lights over a couple of bushes and a 2D sleigh and reindeer light set on the railings.

I saw these in Aldi this week and I'm going to find a space to hang them like giant baubles.

www.aldi.co.uk/crane-led-waterball/p/836516788540200

Try Homebase for garden decorations. I have the angel. She's going on my side gate.

Yes, we have trees, bushes that my dad and grandparents bought and planted. We just use tinsel (which luckily is waterproof)

AdaColeman
Yes, I saw those bowls, they were stunning - also saw an ice bucket made of ice.
I have to think very carefully about what I put in the garden, as I have a lot of wildlife here, and I don't want to find anything caught up - and there is a fox that chews things. There is a house in the next street which is dressed in white lights, which is very pretty.
I have two door lights which I switch on if I know someone is coming (it's a long driveway) and I am thinking of making a greenery/pinecone spray to hang from each.

In December my garden looks like Rudolph vomited up Christmas.

My attempts at sophistication a la Pinterest are usually thwarted by over enthusiastic DH and DCs. I kind of love it though.

SlatternIsMyMiddleName,

One day, when the children are grown you will have your Pinterest Christmas. Husband will just have to suck it up.
Get it in quick before grandchildren!

Gable lights, a wreath, and silvery icicles in the holly tree by the front door.

Meadowfinch,
Sounds so pretty.

DH used to decorate trees and shrubs in our front garden. I always told him that it looked like he'd stood on the doorstep and vomited them lol!!

Almost everyone in our street has outdoor decorations. I have a lovely lighted wreath (bought years ago on sale after Christmas on House of Fraser!) for the front door. I've a wall Christmas tree (another HoF post-Christmas sale buy) and another wall decoration for the other side of the house. I've box shrubs in planters either side of the door all year round, and I put little lights on those.

I know what you mean with the ice bowls @gardenmusic

When my DC were young I made one with two plastic freezable bowls , some boiled cool water ( so it is clear not so cloudy) and ivy from the garden.

In the bigger bowl , freeze a solid base , a good couple of inches of ice , then add the smaller bowl , put the ivy strands down the side, water , something to weight the inner bowl and freeze till it's needed . We had a chest freezer in the garage/shed

I put it on the patio table with a night light in a glass jar , it was pretty , basically free and just needed cleared up when melted .

70isaLimitNotaTarget Thank you!

Yes, I am going to try - your method is better than mine.
So, the idea is to do it on a smaller basis for the path lights one evening (I am doing a dinner) then a big bowl with decor which I will use for 'something edible'

You are good at this. I have a sneaky feeling you are Mrs. Christmas. Own up.

I might've collected small glass jars and put them down the path with LED tealights in them to make a "runway" for Father Christmas to land .

And taken my then 3yo son down the garden to the wooden playhouse with a candle jar lamp to peer at the Sleeping Elf ( made from a bathtoy in a cardboard box bed ) who was really really tired and Father Christmas would pick him up when he visited .

But I am not in the least bit artistic , that talent was bestowed on my sister and cousins but bypassed me

That's so lovely!
I'm going to nick the post and add it to one asking for advice on a child's christmas. Hope you don't mind me moving it.

I bought a massive tub of silver glitter when the DCs were little. Every year on Christmas Eve I would get DHs work boots, put them on the door mat, shake the glitter all round them. Remove the boots et voila, evidence of Santa coming in sprinkling his magic dust as he goes.

I did the front door as no chimney, but it could be replicated anywhere. Bonus points for extra footsteps going into the hall.

DCs are teens now but told me a few years ago they genuinely thought it was real.

Happy memories.

i still do it every year at teens’ request.