Columns serve as ready-made structures for supporting Christmas decorations, indoors or out. Outdoor Christmas column decorations display holiday cheer to guests and passersby, making your home's entryway appear even grander than usual.
Make sure decorations are securely fastened in place on either indoor or outdoor columns to prevent their falling down, or, if they're outside, from blowing away.
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No matter which decorative items you use to jazz up the two outdoor porch columns flanking the steps or an entryway, dress them in identical decor for optimal Christmas porch decor symmetry and curb appeal.
Pine garland Christmas column decorations
Wrap strands of pine garland diagonally or candy-cane style around indoor or outdoor columns, securing the top with a thumbtack or tying it in place with a wide green or red ribbon. You can add large red bows for some added Christmas cheer.
Indoors, hang unbreakable Christmas ornaments that match your holiday home decor and Christmas tree decorations from various locations on the garland to dress it up, using standard ornament hangers to hold them in place.
Tip
Do not hang decorations or ornaments so that they're covering entire columns indoors if toddlers or pets may be tempted to tug at the decorations. Simply leave the lower portions of indoor columns undecorated for the holiday season.
Plastic outdoor column ornaments
Use festive plastic Christmas column decorations outdoors, or hang another pine swag in arcs across the boards above the columns, adding a large red weatherproof ribbon bow in the center. Tack the arced garland in place.
Yummy candy cane columns
Dress up columns with an illuminated candy cane appearance by alternating strands of red and white LED Christmas lights. Wrap one color of string lights tightly around the column to create several layers of lights; then connect a strand of the next color, alternating colors all the way up for a striped appearance.
For a candy-cane diagonal styling, wrap a red strand of lights diagonally around each column, holding the top of the strand in place with a ribbon tied around it. Pair it with a strand of white, if desired, or leave it as-is. Indoors, use white or gold twinkling lights without pairing them with a second color to match your holiday color scheme for a glamorous column dressing.
Tip
Use lights rated for outdoor use when decorating the columns outside.
Shimmering ice columns
Give the columns an eye-catching icy winter wonderland effect by wrapping them completely with an iridescent translucent cellophane film, such as the type used to wrap gift baskets. The shimmery blue effect is reminiscent of ice. Wrap the top and bottom of each column with a strand of round white, blue or silver garland to top off the wintery scene.
Snowmen and snowflakes and bears, oh my!
For a humorous effect children may enjoy, secure paper cutouts of abominable snowmen, paper snowflakes or polar bears to the columns before wrapping them with the cellophane. You can even have your family help make the paper cutouts as a part of a DIY Christmas craft day. The images will be visible through the film, as if the Christmas column decorations have been frozen in ice.
There are countless Christmas decorating ideas that you can employ to decorate indoor and outdoor columns and porch railing on your front porch. You can use greenery and pinecones for a more natural look or add color and glitter with ribbons and ornaments. You can make the front door with a Christmas wreath and decorated columns the focal point of your outdoor Christmas decorations, or decorate the columns to complement your other yard decorations.