Front Porch Living Room

• Paint an old ladder red or white for a front porch Christmas scene.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Create a cozy living room on your front porch. Place a lit Christmas tree on the porch and use multi-colored lights to create a warm ambiance. Add a ladder next to the Christmas tree and place a stuffed Santa on the ladder as if he's climbing the tree to decorate it. Position an up-light on Santa to highlight the scene.
  
  For a fireside effect on a covered front porch, make a fireplace out of a large cardboard box. Paint it with a brick pattern and set it against a wall near an outlet. In the center of the "fireplace" add natural logs, which serve a decorative function and keep the fireplace from succumbing to winter winds. Cut a small hole in the back of the box. Place colored large-bulb (retro) lights amidst the logs to represent fire, and string them through the back of the hole where you can plug them into the outlet.
  
  You can place an outdoor chair with a cushion next to the fireplace for added holiday atmosphere, or set small, lit pine trees nearby.
  
  

Twinkling Planters

• Fill baskets with seasonal ornaments for added interest.Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images
  
  For empty hanging wire or twig baskets, lay a string of white lights inside them and push bulbs between spaces from the inside out for a twinkling display. Opt for battery-operated lights, or use an inconspicuous extension cord leading from the baskets to an outlet. Fill the baskets with large ornaments in metallic colors for additional light reflection.
  
  Give winter planters and pots new life with evergreen trees covered in white lights. Look for Norfolk pines, or use dwarf Alberta spruce trees for transplanting in the yard after winter. Wrap the trees in a spiral fashion with white lights. Look for mini-lights on a green cord to blend with the trees and purchase lights with a slow chasing or twinkling pattern for a glistening snow effect.
  
  

Color Themes

• Look for vintage sleighs in antique shops.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Go coastal with aqua blue and white lights on every tree in your front yard. Decorate tree branches with large seashells and position an up-light on the shells to draw attention to a seaside theme.
  
  For a more traditional color scheme, wrap red and white lights in alternating rows around the tree trunks in your front yard. This look is ideal for yards featuring more than ten trees as it creates a winter wonderland effect with a hint of the North Pole. For the ultimate display, add a large sleigh outlined in white lights and fill it with presents made from empty boxes wrapped in colored cellophane.
  
  

Kid Creations

• Carefully supervise children as they decorate.Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  If you have children, "lighten up" and let them run with their own light decorating ideas. You act as the safety supervisor, but let your children get creative with outdoor Christmas lights.
  
  Get started by taking your kids to the store to pick out new lights, or just "shop at home" with the ones you already have. Avoid the tendency to make everything match as children often prefer a variety of colored and mismatched lights (think back on your own fond memories).
  
  After your excursion, give your children a safety lesson on connecting and plugging in lights, or have very young children observe as you light up their display yourself.
  
  From the tiniest tree to the highest bough, let your kids have fun, and they'll always remember how exciting it is to decorate for Christmas. Though it may not look exactly as you'd hoped, praise your kids anyway and tell them it's the most festive light display you've ever seen.