Outdoor Holiday Decorating Ideas for This Year

While many homeowners focus their attention on interior holiday decor, giving your home's exterior a festive upgrade will help ensure it's a showstopper the moment friends and family pull into the driveway. We talked with lifestyle blogger Liz Marie Galvan to get her top outdoor holiday decorating tips.

Outdoor Holiday Decorating Themes: What's Trending?

Before diving into the logistics of color schemes to match your siding, let's take a look at a couple of general trend forecasts for this holiday season. 

Natural Elements – Like we've seen in years past, natural elements continue to be a top trend for holiday decor. Incorporating elements such as pinecones and garland helps create a warm and inviting vibe. Consider mixing pinecones, twigs and bark-like textures around your home or adding them to ornaments hanging on your Christmas tree. Nestling pine cones next to candle lanterns will create a more rustic feel, and adding vibrant evergreens to your front porch is a timeless way to tie in this trend and add a little bit of color to your home's exterior.

Metallics – The age-old rule that warns against mixing metals is a thing of the past. While gold certainly had its moment in 2020, silver is making a re-entry into holiday decorations with its cool-tone shine. From jingle bells to tinsel, these metallics are an unexpected combination that work to balance each other out. 

Why Your Exterior Holiday Décor Color Scheme Matters

The face of your home is its exterior, and the holiday season provides an opportunity for creative expression. Getting a head start on planning for the holidays can help you achieve a cohesive and festive look that is reflective of your style.

In addition to creating a uniform look, "the most important thing to take into consideration is the climate and weather that your home is located in," says Galvan. It is important to choose holiday decor that can hold up and withstand different weather conditions, just like your siding, given the unpredictability that winter weather can tend to bring.

Holiday Decorating Your Exterior Color Scheme

1. Keep Your Holiday Decorating Theme Cohesive

"It is always great when you are able to bring the outside in and the inside out to make your holiday decor cohesive with the rest of your home decor and style," suggests Galvan. Before tackling your exterior holiday decor, take inventory of your interior style. Do you lean toward classics such as greenery paired with red decor? Or is your style more rustic, incorporating neutrals and natural textures? Whether it's bright and colorful or modern and minimal, knowing your holiday decorating style will help inform your exterior holiday decor.

2. Neutral Siding Pairs Well With Pops of Color

Lighter, more neutral siding such as LP^® SmartSide^® ExpertFinish^® in Snowscape White, Desert Stone and Sand Dunes is an excellent base for playing around with holiday colors. Consider attaching red bows to your wreaths, placing brightly colored holiday decor pieces on your porch, or venture into colored lights for a playful exterior. 

Pro Tip: Make sure you know how to properly hang things on your siding before stringing up any decor! 

3. Dark Siding Goes Great With Neutral Holiday Decor

If you have darker siding such as LP SmartSide ExpertFinish shades Abyss Black or Cavern Steel, opt for lighter, brighter neutrals to finish off your holiday look. White and tan are great options to pop against deeper color schemes. There are so many variations of white holiday lights available from icicles to bulb lights, and using them to outline your home's perimeter will make your structure stand out. If you love greenery and want it to pop against your darker exterior, choose flocked garlands and wreaths. For a bolder take on flocked greenery, add a flocked Christmas tree to your front porch decorating plans.

4. Blue Siding + Gold Accents 

Not ready to part with gold holiday decor? We get it. Pairing gold accents with muted, moodier blues, such as LP SmartSide ExpertFinish in Rapids Blue, is a unique way to incorporate colors beyond red and green. Dress up your home's exterior with gold garland. For a more subtle theme, add gold ribbon to any wreaths you may hang on your door or windows.

Now that you have these top outside holiday decorating ideas for inspiration, it's time to get festive, break out your decor and start stringing lights. Happy Holidays!

For more inspiration, check out our Holiday Decor Guide!