A few months ago, I redid my front porch– new doors, fresh paint, brass sconces and decorative trim. I all of the sudden had my dream entry! And what better way to celebrate than by decorating it for the holidays?! I’ve never gone all out on a porch for Christmas, but I figured there was no time like the present!
prep
I knew that I wanted garland around the door, so I simply measured around the door- the height of both sides plus the width of the door. From that measurement, I found that I needed 18′ of garland. 
I had some decorative garland on hand that I thought would be pretty to use. Since the garland was in 3 pieces of 6 foot length, I used floral wire to join the pieces. 
To put the garland around the door, I originally put command hooks up, but they wouldn’t hold on the wood trim in the cold. So instead, I ended up hammering in two nails in the same place.
Originally, I just put the decorative garland up, but it looked too thin. To beef it up, I bought live garland and put it up first. It was a little hard to find live garland to buy in my small rural town. I found mine at Lowes for $16 for a 20′ piece. I’ve also heard that Home Depot, Trader Joes, and Costco has some. Sometimes you can find it at places that sell live Christmas trees.
Once the two garlands were up, I added in a few faux poinsettias. Ready to see how it turned out?
AFTER- MY HOLIDAY FRONT PORCH
And here she is all finished up! I brought the potted poinsettias outside for the picture, but they normally live inside (since they sadly won’t survive in the cold).
Here’s a bit of a close-up so you can see how the garland turned out. I love the wispiness of the live garland- it definitely adds some great character! The holiday garland finishes everything up nicely.
My favorite part of the porch are these gorgeous LED lanterns from Kichler! They are also bluetooth speakers! So you can have Christmas music playing outside as guests arrive. They charge with a plug-in cord. Once charged, they’ll run cord free for at least 5 hours! The lights are dimmable and honestly, they’re pretty cool!
Here’s a close-up of the lantern on. I can also imagine these being so perfect in the summer! Can’t you see these being great for a BBQ playing music outside? And when it gets dark, turning on the lantern so the party can keep going. So perfect! Here’s the link where you can check them out.
My bench sits next to the front door. Although no one is sitting there this time of year, I still put out some decorative pillows (specifically that Joy to the World one that’s perfect for Christmas).
I specifically bought this bright fa la la door mat for the front door. I thought it would be so fun out there! But, honestly, it ended up being too much for me with the super classy door and garland and center onlay (the decorative trim above the door). So I switched it up for a safer option.
Much better, right?!
holiday layered doormats
I am still loving the trend of layering doormats. The idea is that you put a 2’x3′ rug down first that has a bit of color and pattern and then layer a coordinating doormat on top. It adds a bit of fun to the porch! Plus 2’x3′ rugs are really affordable, so this is a great way to mix things up! I thought I’d share some fun doormat layering options in case you want to try this too!
1 Joy with Dots / 2 Striped Tassels / 3 Fa la la! Colorful / 4 Pink Gingham / 5 Son of a Nutcracker / 6 Green Striped with Tassels / 7 Peace and Joy Deer / 8 Yellow Buffalo Check
I went with option 3 and 4, though I am wising now that I went with 1 and 4. Here are some more options-
1 Merry Christmas Doormat / 2 Black, Red and White Buffalo Check / 3 Oh What Fun! With Car and tree / 4 White and Black Plaid / 5 Happy Holidays / 6 Pink and Red Traditional / 7 Merry & Bright with trees / 8 Red, Yellow, and White Plaid
Plaid or buffalo check is so perfect this time of year, so I included a bunch of those options.
Can you see how fun and happy this is to come home to?! 
So there you have it! My holiday front porch! I’m super happy with how it came together- even if the fa la la doormat was a bit of a fail. I’m still using it, just by another door. And the LED lantern is definitely my favorite addition since it’s so perfect now and will be all year long. I’d love to hear your favorite part in the comments!
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. Thank you to Kichler Lighting for sponsoring this post.
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