DIY Outdoor Christmas Decorations on a Budget

Make your homestead festive with DIY outdoor Christmas decorations made from greenery, scrap wood, and simple materials you already have on hand.

Cozy winter porch with a lit Christmas tree, garland-wrapped white door, string lights overhead, stacked firewood, and a wooden sled leaning near the entry.

There’s something special about decorating the outdoors for Christmas when you live on a homestead. The yard, the porch, the barn doors, they all become part of the season, and you don’t need a big budget (or a big-box shopping spree) to make everything look festive. A lot of what I put out each year comes straight from the woods, the scrap pile, or whatever’s been living in my garden shed for longer than I’d like to admit.

If you want more ways to stretch what you already have, I also share some simple, budget-friendly holiday crafts that come together quickly and don’t require a single trip to the craft store. And if you love decorating inside and out, I’ve gathered some of my favorite frugal holiday ideas in that post as well.

How I Decorate Outside for Christmas Out Here

These are the projects I come back to every year because they’re simple, rustic, and easy to pull off with what’s already lying around the homestead.

Bring the Outdoors… Well, Outdoors

Evergreens are pretty much my go-to for cheap outdoor decorating. I gather pine, fir, spruce, and cedar from my own property, but you can trim branches from the bottom of a Christmas tree or ask a local tree farm for leftover cuttings.

You can turn these into:

thick, rustic garlands
porch planters
mailbox swags
wreaths that look expensive but cost nothing

Fresh clippings last a while outdoors, but they still need a little help to stay looking good. Over at Fletcher Creek Cottage, you can see exactly how they keep their greens from drying out.

Fresh evergreen garland and warm string lights decorating a wooden porch overhang, with small Christmas trees in wooden barrels along the walkway.

If it’s going outside, I use outdoor LEDs. They’re the only lights that survive our weather.

DIY Evergreen Porch Planters (Using Buckets, Crates, or Whatever You’ve Got)

This is one of the easiest ways to dress up a doorway. Any container works: old metal buckets, wooden crates, big coffee cans, or even firewood totes.

How to make them: Pack them tight with foraged greens, tuck in a few pinecones, add some dried red berries, and finish with a simple bow. Out here, regular ribbon just gives up. Wired ribbon is your friend.

Large outdoor winter planter filled with pine and cedar boughs, frosted pinecones, red twig dogwood, and birch branches placed beside a cottage-style door.

Threads & Blooms does a nice job showing step-by-step how they build their winter planters.

Upcycled Farm Tools With a Holiday Twist

Every homesteader has at least one rusty trowel or rake head that hasn’t been useful in years. Instead of tossing them, use them as front-porch decor. I’ve hung wreaths on old rakes, tied bows on trowels, and even piled a bunch of forgotten tools in a crate with some greens.

Rusty garden trowels and hand tools used as outdoor Christmas decor, bundled with evergreen branches, a large pinecone, and a red poinsettia on a porch column.

I’m convinced rusty metal and evergreens are the unofficial homestead Christmas theme. Debra Prinzing has a bunch of ideas using old tools into holiday decorations.

Natural DIY Wreaths (Fast, Rustic, and Surprisingly Pretty)

Wreaths are one of those things that look complicated but really aren’t. Grab a basic frame (even a few bendy branches work) and start tucking in greens, pinecones, or dried flowers.

If you want a quick win, The Sweetest Digs has a tutorial for a rustic, minimalist wreath that doesn’t take long to pull together. They’re perfect for the barn doors or greenhouse.

Homemade grapevine Christmas wreath decorated with pine sprigs, pinecones, and red berries hanging on a dark front door.

DIY Outdoor Signs Made From Scrap Wood

Old pallet boards or leftover lumber make the best rustic Christmas signs. A little paint and a rough stencil job is honestly all it takes. I’ve made signs that say everything from “Joy” to “Tree Farm” to a very questionable snowman sketch my kids insisted on.

If you need more sign ideas, The Garden Glove has a whole collection of them for porches and entries.

A tall wooden porch sign with a large white letter J and Y and a fresh evergreen wreath decorated with red berries, pinecones, and a red bow as the O in JOY.

Wooden signs last much longer outdoors if you seal them. A quick coat of a matte outdoor sealer keeps the wood from peeling or bowing when the weather turns wet.

Lanterns, Light Jars, and Glowing Pathways

Lanterns are my go-to for lighting walkways once the snow starts stacking up. You can use mason jars, old candle holders, thrifted lanterns, or anything with a glass front.

Between Naps on the Porch uses cranberries inside the jars for a pop of color. It gives a nice contrast with the evergreens. I also love these along stairs or lining a porch railing.

Outdoor Christmas entryway with garland, wreaths, and mason jar lanterns filled with cranberries and white candles lining brick steps.

For something sturdier than jars, Designed to the Nines shows how to make a full-on light post.

Old Sled or Sleigh Displays (A Homestead Classic)

A weathered sled against the porch is one of those decorations that feels timeless. You can leave it as-is or dress it up with greenery, bows, or a small sign.

An old wooden sled propped in front of a snowy woodpile, decorated with twigs, pinecones, and wood-slice ornaments that read joy, peace, and noel.

Lora Bloomquist shows a bunch of different way to dress up a sled, for indoors or out, and it’s fun to see how many styles one old sled can pull off. If you happen to have an old child’s sleigh lying around, those make great planters too. Redo It Yourself shows how to attach pots to turn one into a winter display.

Wooden Reindeer or Yard Silhouettes

If you’ve got a jigsaw and a sheet of plywood, you can make reindeer silhouettes that look store-bought. These last for years, and they’re easy to freshen up with a new coat of paint whenever you feel like it.

It’s not cheap lumber, but once you make them, you won’t have to redo them any time soon. The key is sealing them before they go out and again when you put them away for the season.

A Rustic Outdoor Pallet Tree (Simple, Charming, and Kid-Friendly)

If you’ve ever eyed pallet trees and thought they were a lot of work, trust me, they’re not. Just add LED lights, a few wooden ornaments, or even bird-safe treats to keep your feathered neighbors happy. My kids still expect these to go up every year. It’s kind of become a must-do around here.

Rustic outdoor display of handmade wooden pallet Christmas trees painted white and natural wood, surrounded by small evergreens and vintage-style holiday decor.

We make these little seed ornaments for our chickens and for the wild birds and hang them on our pallet trees.

Looking for More Simple, Low-Cost Holiday Projects?

If you’re in full holiday-crafting mode, I’ve got even more ideas that won’t blow your budget. Everything from quick tabletop decor to simple projects using what you’ve already got.

And after the season is over, upcycle your Christmas cards, from simple bookmarks to keepsake boxes and handmade ornaments.

Common Questions About Decorating Outside for Christmas

A few questions come up a lot, so let’s go through those quickly.

Stick to weather-resistant materials: evergreen cuttings, metal, sealed wood, and ribbon meant for outdoor use. A coat of matte outdoor sealer can make wood signs and silhouettes hold up better, and LED lights outperform traditional strands when snow and moisture are involved.

Planters and wreaths are the easiest wins. You can’t really mess them up. Both take only a few minutes, and they look great even if you’re not precise with arranging things. Lanterns also add a lot of impact with zero crafting required.

Use what you already have: branches, pinecones, old tools, scrap wood, leftover ribbon, mason jars, and anything that looks rustic when dressed up a little. Some of the best-looking stuff starts with clippings and old junk you already own.

Absolutely. Wreaths, natural garlands, wooden signs, pinecone planters, sled displays, and rustic silhouettes all look festive without a single bulb. They’re nice to have, but not essential.

Choose wired outdoor ribbon. It holds shape better, dries faster after snow or rain, and doesn’t fray as quickly as craft-store ribbon meant for indoor use.

Check your local tree farm for free clipping piles, or use dried grasses, branches, and seed pods instead. You’d be surprised how much you can gather just by poking around outside.

Pin this to keep all these simple outdoor Christmas decorating ideas handy for the holiday season.

Outdoor Christmas porch decorated with evergreen garland around a white barn-style door, a small wreath, stacked firewood, and a wooden sled for a simple rustic holiday look.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after years of decorating out here, it’s that simple always wins. You don’t need a hundred lights or anything store-bought to make your place feel festive. A few small touches (especially the ones made with what’s already around you) go a long way. Try one or two, play around with them, and don’t worry about making it picture-perfect.

Have a favorite DIY outdoor decoration I didn’t mention? Tell me about it below. I love seeing what other homesteaders create.

DIY Outdoor Christmas Decorations You Can Make With What You Already Have