As I child, I told myself that if I ever lived in wooden house, come Christmastime, I would decorate it as a gingerbread house, bucket sized gumdrops and all. There would be a motorized train in the driveway and I would hire college students to dress as gingerbread men to dance on the lawn each night. Neighborhood children would come to affectionately refer to our home as “The Candy House” for years and years, long after the holidays were over.
Reality check: WTF was that all about?
Decorating the outside of a house is hard. Ladders are dangerous. Lights are expensive. And what parent is going to let their kids play with drunken college kids dressed as creepy gingerbread men?
Still. I couldn’t kill the dream. I had to try. This is my first attempt at Candyland:
Props to all y’all who go whole hog decorating the outside of your homes for Christmas. I had no idea how much effort was involved. Now I know!
Well, seeing as this was my first time decorating the outside of a full sized home, I set myself some parameters to keep me on track:
- It had to look good in the daytime, not just when the lights are on at night.
- It had to be something that could grow a little ever year.
- All materials had to be inexpensive/widely available/crap I already owned.
- No scary ladder climbing.
The end result is a far cry from my childhood visions of grandeur, but as a first attempt, I am very happy! It was easy to do, and didn’t take a lot of time or money.
The candy lights are my favorite. I may string those up in my studio after the holidays. And they were crazy easy to make too— you have got to see the original tutorial from Brittany Jepsen on featured on Oh Happy Day last week. It’s pretty much amazing!
Side Note 1: Per the original tutorial, I couldn’t find corsage boxes for less than $2.00 a piece, so I substituted by stapling together a pair of clear plastic bowls. Now I realize I also could have used plastic bottles with the ends removed, or clear plastic take-out containers. Oh well, next year!Side Note 2: With bulbs this tiny, I’m not worried about overheating, however, some kinds of cellophane will degas toxic fumes when exposed to heat for extended periods of time. I used no-heat LED lights just to be safe, especially since these may be used indoors in the off-season.You decide for yourself 🙂
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Merry Christmas! |
Oh my heck! I want to live in your candy house! It’s FABulous!
This is so cool! How creative.
peaches, it’s a glorious start! how about using some big cardboard boxes cut into gingerbread men & covered in outdoor mod podge or something? then you don’t have to pay college students?
pure genius! I love it all!
Love these ideas! I am going to make the giant lollipops. I just have to tell you I love your blog, your sense of humor and your creativity. You are a breath of fresh air!!! **Helena
What fun! I love it!
How cute! I love all the colors! This is definitely something that can be added to each year.
Love it!! And the candy cane columns are GENIUS!!
When I look at your blog I’m always drifting into decorating frenzy… but, as I live in an attic that cannot be seen from outside (well, can be seen from the sky, hello aliens!) I have to restrain myself and do just the inside.
Today I’ll head to the country and collect pine branches, cones and other free natural stuff!! 🙂 Thanks Peaches!
The car in the top photo appears to be speeding up. (“Oh look it’s the candy house! STEP ON IT.”)
Wow. Your childhood fantasies were specific. Mine consisted of me not getting beaten up by a redneck (though sometimes a specific redneck).
As an employee of the nation’s foremost public safety whatsis, I recoil in horror at the thought of wrapping Christmas lights in plastic without submitting the entire assembly to a rigorous test protocol (including abnormal heating, moisture resistance, and other testy-sounding tests). What is the flame rating for that plastic? 94 HB? (shudder…)
Looks great, though! Stay off of ladders. While we’re being safe, you should also avoid turkey fryers. And, whatever you do, don’t put a turkey fryer at the bottom of a ladder.
This is a good idea indeed! Although, how do I make them dance? House aint a home til it gets some backup dancers.
Shucks, Thanks Blondie!
Way ahead of you — we did our turkey frying in the forest this year. There was some unauthorized shrimp dipping, but, we brought safety goggles for the woodland creatures. You know, you can never be too careful.
That looks amazing!
This is totally awesome. I can’t wait to see how it grows every year.
where are the instructison for the lollipops? All so cute and creative!
THANKS FOR THE LIST ON HOW TO MAKE THEM.