Winter holiday outdoor deck-orating

Hi everyone! As a part of the Baby it’s cold outside tour, I wanted to share with you how I do a little winter holiday outdoor deck-orating! I have to say I got a little decorating help and a complete gift from God for this post! Snow!

Last year, my mom lost a really big, old pine tree in her yard in November. Instead of sending it to the wood chipper, I decided to snag it for myself and decorate my back deck. Chicago in winter can look a little blah, so I thought it would look pretty when I looked outside.

And when the snow fell, I just fell in love with having it there!

I can’t have a lot pine in the house because of allergies so it was kind of fun to have a real tree in  some way! And, since I loved it so much, I actually spent the $30 to do another one this year.

I also decided I wasn’t going to spend much beyond that, and I wanted to decorate as naturally as possible, so  I gathered all kinds of pretty things and materials from my property to spruce up my pine tree! The best part was, I set everything up on Saturday and the weather said we might get “a little” snow. Maybe 2 inches. I thought great, I’ll shoot it in the morning, and grab some nice snowy pictures. Well , I am glad I grabbed them early and throughout the day cause by 4 pm, there was SNOW. So, you get the fun of seeing what everything looks like at different stages, from plain and bare, to a small snowmaggedon.

Even with out the snow, I love having something to cover up the bare spot on my deck. In the summer, the birch tree is so full, I have a planter there, but in winter, it just gets blah. I added some $6 garland from Trader Joe’s. Man, do I love Tj’s.

I added some galvanized tubs and buckets I had and grabbed an urn from my garden. I filled them with wood from our wood pile,dogwood branches from our bushes, some birch branches I save from year to year, extra pine cuttings from the bottom of the tree,  and boxwood clippings from my yard.

I also had a vintage sled I propped up against the deck.

I love these candle containers from Ikea! I have a few of them and use them quite a bit! I thought they would be pretty for the pictures, but I am such a safety freak (hello, ex-firefighter!) about this stuff,I have to say, Ms. Safety says never leave a candle burning unattended!

And then the snow came!  And it covered everything with a soft layer.

I decorated our tree with small red twig dogwood bushes from your yard, and some dried hydrangeas. The snow looked so pretty when it landed.

Especially on the lacecap hydrangeas.

It was like  Christmas card, and I kept taking pictures.

It’s funny how snow makes everything look pretty for some real natural holiday outdoor decorating!

The dusting was pretty, and then as it kept snowing, then everything started filling up. I think they had miscalculated those 2 inches.

And then,we had SNOW. 🙂

And everything became kind of magical!

I am never one to look a gift horse in the mouth! So even though I groaned outwardly when we had to hit the roads later that day, and they hadn’t plowed or salted yet, and it was like a skating rink, inwardly, I was secretly pleased. 🙂

Thank you so much for letting me share my outdoor decorating with you! Make sure you visit the other homes on the Baby, it’s cold outside tour! And if you need more holiday inspiration, you can see the 2016 Holiday housewalk!

Lots of home tours are centered around the mantel, the dining room table or the family room.

We thought it would be fun to tour the areas outside of the home…porches and patios and beyond. 

Please join us…but bundle up because “Baby It’s Cold Outside!”

~Monday~

The Chelsea Project  ||  Worthing Court  ||  In My Own Style  ||  Duke Manor Farm

~Tuesday~

**(Tuesday posts go live at 6am EST)**

 ||  Happy Happy Nester

  Jen Rizzo Designs  ||  Cedar Hill Farmhouse

~Wednesday~

**(Wednesday posts go live at 6am EST)**

  ||  Atta Girl Says  ||  Hymns & Verses 

  Sondra Lyn at Home  ||  On Sutton Place