If you are looking for a great way to save money and decorate for Christmas all at the same time – look no further than turning your empty hanging baskets and containers from summer into beautiful, low-cost Christmas decorations!
Decorating for the holidays seems to only get more expensive with each passing year. Especially when it comes to decorating outside. Whether it’s purchasing lights, wreaths, greenery or outdoor ornaments, the prices just keep going up.
At the same time, there is always the question of what to do with all of those decorations after the season is over. After all, you have to have someplace to store them all for next year. You know, the same place you store all of your hanging baskets, pots, containers and other “stuff” from summer decorating.
With that in mind, wouldn’t it be great if you could put the two seasons together? Well, you can! In fact not only is it easy to create amazing holiday decorations from your summertime flowering baskets – it can save you on storage space and your hard earned cash!
Turning Hanging Baskets, Pots & Containers Into Christmas Decorations!
The great thing about creating holiday decorations from hanging baskets and containers is you already have everything you need for success in place. The very same locations you use to hang flowering pots are usually perfect for hanging Christmas basket decorations. As are the areas you placed your flowering containers.
And when it comes to hanging baskets, the hooks are all in place too! Whether it be hanging from your porch, off an arbor, a light post, or even on a shepherd’s hook in the yard, there is no need for extra work, just secure them as you did in the summer using the same hooks.
In fact, the only thing you need to do differently is fill your containers with decorations instead of plants! How easy is that considering there is no need to mess with dirt, transplants or mulch. And best of all, unlike your flowering summer pots, they never need watering!
Creating decorations from our old pots and containers has become a tradition in our family, just like making our favorite Christmas Cookies, or our Christmas Fudge Recipe that has been passed down for generations. And can you ever get creative!
Decorating Hanging Baskets & Containers For The Holidays
The sky is the limit when it comes to decorating your baskets and containers for the holiday season. Whether it’s fresh cut pine, pine cones, garland or lights, anything and everything you use to decorate your home for the holidays is fair game.
With that in mind, here is a quick run-down of some of the best combinations of materials to use, along with a few tips for how to put them together for great looking decorations!
Materials
Decorating your hanging baskets doesn’t have to require a large investment. In fact, you can decorate them entirely for free by collecting what nature provides!
Pine cones are always a great choice. As are fresh pine boughs cut from a tree. Both are more than plentiful in most parts of the country in late fall and early winter. Even better, they can often be found for free, especially if you have a pine tree in your backyard, or friends and family who do.
For that added holiday decorating effect, you can even spruce up your pine cones with a touch of metallic gold or silver paint. Beyond natural materials, simply using leftover tree decorations (bulbs, bows, garland, etc.) can keep costs low.
Wire Hanging Baskets & Lights
Wire hanging baskets are an excellent choice to use for holiday decorating. Simply lay in fresh or artificial pine as a base. Next, add in a few shiny ornaments and bows, and you have a hanging basket that screams Christmas!
Wire baskets are also perfect for layering in battery operated lights. With the push of a button, your baskets can come to life in the evening. Lights are especially great when using glossy or bright ornaments. The light bounces off the baskets adding a perfect holiday glow.
The good news when it comes to battery powered lights is that LED lights have come a long way. Not only are they brighter in baskets, they use little power. With just a few small batteries, they can run for hours and hours to light up your baskets.
When purchasing battery-powered lights for baskets and containers, look for shorter light lengths between ten and fifteen feet. Longer light strands not only use more power, they are also often too big to fit in smaller containers.
Product Affiliate Links – Battery Powered Christmas Lights
- Karlling Battery Operated Christmas Lights,13 ft Short Clear Wire String Led Twinkle Fairy Lights
- LED White String Lights, 30 Micro LEDs on 10Feet/3M Fairy String Lights,
Containers & Large Flower Pots –
Large containers and planters with Christmas decorations can create the same big impact they do in the summer when they are sporting plants and flowers. Large planters filled with greenery, bows and ornaments create a welcoming holiday porch decoration.
For large planters, cut out a styrofoam block and secure it into the container. Then, much as with hanging baskets, fill them with cut pine or artificial greenery. Decorate your pots as you would a Christmas tree – filling them with garland, ornaments, popcorn string or whatever decorations you have on hand.
Covering Old Containers In Christmas Cheer!
If your large containers don’t exactly have the perfect holiday colors, wrap them up! Simply use wrapping paper to cover the containers for the holidays. Since you don’t have to water, as long as your containers are under cover, there is no need to worry about the wrapping paper falling apart.
Another great way to cover old pots in Christmas cheer is with inexpensive burlap. Burlap can be found quite cheaply in large rolls. They are perfect for wrapping the pots up and tying a bit of jute string into a bow. To really spruce it up, add a big red Christmas bow!
Here is to repurposing your flower baskets, pots and containers into incredible Christmas decorations this year. Not only will they look great – your pocketbook will thank you too! Happy Decorating – Jim and Mary.
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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