How can I decorate for Christmas when I don't have any outdoor outlets?

Question

I would like to decorate for Christmas outside but I don't have any electrical outlets outside to put up lights and things like that. Do you have any ideas on other ways that I could make my place look festive? I do have some bushes and a porch that I could spruce up, but without lights I need different ideas. Thanks!

I live in an apartment and we don't have a garage.

I don't particularly want to leave my window cracked open since I do have an electric bill to pay and it gets pretty chilly and windy here.

Answer 1

1. Red bows
2. Wreaths (you can get battery-operated lights for the wreath; you just need to remember to turn it on and off)
3. Garland wrapped around poles or hung above the garage
4. Large ornaments hung from trees
5. Christmas flag
6. Wooden reindeers
7. Wide red ribbon wrapped around poles to look like candy canes
8. Plastic candy canes lining the walkway
9. Wooden nativity scene
10. Lighted Christmas tree inside your house in front of a window
11. Fake electric candles in the windows or lighted decorations of any kind hanging in your windows

Answer 2

Actually, plugging the Christmas lights into the adapter on your porch light sounds just fine so long as you don't mind the cords/wires running up to the light. I live in a house and don't have an outlet in the front yard. I plug my lights into an extension cord that runs from a garage outlet. I can close and lock the garage door with the cord in place. One year, I ran a string of lights from an extension under my front door. Again, I could close and lock the door with the cord in place. Just be sure that 1. The extension cord is large enough to power your lights safely; and 2. If you close and lock your doors over the cords, the door doesn't pinch the cords and cause damage to the cords or over-heating of the cords. A fire could result.

Answer 3

Well for one you still can put up lights out side you would run an extension cord from the window to outside, you would have to (A) cut an hole in your screen or (B) take your screen out. You can put tinsel outside your apartment and on the bushes and you can buy other decoration to hang in the windows or you can put the light on the inside of your apt. around the windows.

Answer 4

I had the same problem what my hubby did was screw in an outlet in the porchlight,it has a chain on it,leave the switch on inside.Of course the globe won't go back on so we used a large icecream bucket cut a slit and slipped it on over everything,keeps the rain out and everything still works.Happy decorating.Be sure to use outside extension cords,not the house kind.

Answer 5

If you have an outdoor light you can get a piece that will convert the extension cord to be able to be screwed into your outdoor light. You get to flip in on from inside your house. Take to the guys at home depot they will know what I am talking about.

Answer 6

You can use inside lights just put them up on the inside of your windows they will show on the outside.

You can also use metallic wrapping paper and put it up on our front door with a large bow so your front door looks like a big christmas gift. I did that when I lived in an apt. and I had people that were walking buy stop and knock on my door just to tell me how fantastic it looked.

You need to use the metallic paper so it won't rip and just tape it over the edges onto the inside of your door or wrap both sides.

Answer 7

bummer, no outlets? can you hang lights inside around your windows? they can be seen from the outside? I made some snow men out of white fleece and put them on upside down tomato cages, out on my proch, they show up, and if you turn on your proch light, maybe use a colored light bulb you could make it festive....good luck!

Answer 8

Everything everyone else said plus you can hang window clings in your windows and put a green bulb in your porch light.

Answer 9

i don't have outdoor outlets either. but i throw an extension cord out all my windows and light the yard up like the Vegas strip.

Answer 10

you can put lights on the inside of your windows. it will have the same effect as having them on the outside. also, big red Christmas bows can be attached on the outside of your home. also, you might try some sort of nativity scene, as well as garland or tinsel.