How to Decorate Planters for Christmas

Christmas is a time to "deck the halls" and the living room, entryway and even the kitchen, if you like, but don't ignore your outdoor spaces. Christmas "Tis the season to be jolly," so take your festive decorating efforts beyond the ornaments on the tree and the lights outlining the roof to include almost any element, indoors and out, that can hold a ribbon, garland, lights or ornaments. Spruced up with country charm, outdoor planters seem to say “Fa la la la la, la la la la” or simply "Merry Christmas" to guests and passersby alike.


Remove old or dead plant growth from a mid-sized planter or pot around mid December. Leave the soil in the pot.


Spread open an empty burlap sack, such as a coffee-bean sack or a grain or feed bag. Set the planter inside the sack to use as a rustic or country-Christmas element.


Cut a 2-foot length of wide, burgundy, gold or cream-colored velvet ribbon. Tie it around the bagged planter just below the rim to secure the sack in place. Form a neat bow. Trim any excess from the bag a few inches above the pot’s rim, using scissors.


Collect a dozen or so, 2 to 3 foot long pine or cedar boughs, berry branches or other decorative stems or twigs from a tree or shrub.


Insert the bough or branch stems a few inches into the planter’s soil. Neatly arrange the greenery placing the tallest ones in the center.


Stuff craft moss, such as Spanish moss, around the foliage base to cover the dirt.


Hang silver, gold or red Christmas tree ornaments on the greenery, using Christmas-tree-ornament hooks or string.


Drape the branches evenly, yet randomly with a 4- or 5-foot strand of clear, solar-powered, exterior Christmas-tree lights. Alternatively, set the pot by an outdoor outlet and use a traditional set of electric exterior Christmas-tree lights to decorate the planter’s greenery.


Fill other planters or pots using the same method. Decorate each one with different colored ornaments, ribbons and lights for variation.