How to Decorate a Garage Door for Christmas: 10 Festive Tips
Deck the halls, the shrubs, and the garage door, too
The tree is up, the cookies are baked, and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. While hanging Christmas decorations inside is easy, showing your holiday spirit with exterior decorations can be more challenging. Hanging lights often requires a tall ladder and careful balance and coordination, and you need to select outdoor decor wisely to find items that will stand up to the elements.
If you want to add extra cheer to your outdoor space or you’re looking for an easier way to decorate, look no further than your garage. Here are some holly-jolly tips on how to decorate a garage door for Christmas.
1. Unravel the Ribbons
Ribbons are a colorful, easy way to decorate everything from staircase railings to the Christmas tree and even the garage. Look for outdoor, weather-resistant ribbon fabrics that won’t fade in the sunlight or become ruined by wet snowflakes.
Then, it’s time to secure the ribbons to the door or frame. To make your garage door resemble a wrapped gift, use nails, staples, or hooks to adhere ribbons over the trim or across the garage door.
If you decide to add a bow to the garage door to complete the look, make sure the bow doesn’t jut out too far, or it could cause a frustrating garage door problem.
2. Add Trimmings to the Trim
When decorating your garage door for Christmas, a simple, rustic look will go a long way in improving your home’s wintery curb appeal. Hang strands of evergreen garlands from hooks on the trim around the garage door for a farmhouse-inspired decoration. Feel free to weave in boughs of holly, ornaments, or festive bows to add more flair.
3. Keep It Simple With Wreaths
If you only have a few minutes to decorate, opt for wreaths. Wreaths aren’t limited to decor for the front door. You can also hang wreaths above the garage door or, depending on your type of garage door, on the door itself. Wreaths can go on tilt-up or side-hinged garage doors without interfering with the door’s ability to open and shut.
Look for wreaths made with natural materials or materials that can withstand moisture, cold temperatures, and sunlight. For crafty homeowners, you can make a winter wreath to decorate your garage door for Christmas.
4. Try a Decorative Garage Door Cover
Deck out your garage door with a large, mural-type cover for the holiday season. You can create a customized design or choose a ready-made option that suits your style. Then, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to hang the cover over the door or adhere it to the garage door.
5. Hang String Lights
Don’t grumble and groan about the thought of hanging outdoor string lights just yet. You can add holiday cheer to your property with less effort by hanging string lights just around the garage door if you don’t want to deck out the entire house. You can also install garage door Christmas lights to complement the rest of your home’s lights.
Of course, if you dread hanging the string lights, you can also hire a pro to hang Christmas lights for the ultimate holiday hack.
6. Stick-On Decals
You can stick decals on your home’s windows and your car, and now there are seasonal decal options available for garage doors. Look for reusable decals, which you can use year after year to decorate your garage door for Christmas. To apply decals, simply:
Clean the garage door to ensure the stickers adhere properly to the door.
Peel the decals carefully from their packaging.
Adhere the decals to the door. For larger decals, they may include fastening tape or other specific attachment instructions.
You may want to use a credit card to smooth out any air bubbles on the surface.
7. Apply Magnets to Metal Doors
Like decals, magnets are a great way to spruce up your garage door for the holiday season with the lowest amount of effort. Magnets will only work for metal garage doors, but they are a good option if you have a sliding, sectional, or roll-up door that won’t work with big wreaths or ribbons as decor. Look for magnets made with weatherproof materials and ink to keep colors from fading or running.
8. Install Projection Lights
Not into hanging string lights? No problem. These days, there are tons of fun projection lights, which flash colorful lights onto your garage door for a festive display. To save money on Christmas lights, choose options with LED bulbs and timer functions.
When it comes to projection lights, the bright, flashing lights could be a nuisance to neighbors if you install them carelessly. Be sure to point the lights directly at your garage door so they aren’t projecting over into your neighbor’s bedroom window. If there’s a timer function, consider setting them to shut off at a certain hour, so the lights aren’t lighting up the neighborhood late into the night.
9. Create a Family Mural
If you’re looking for a DIY Christmas project that’s high effort and high reward, a family mural lets you celebrate the holidays while also showcasing your loved ones. Your artistic ability may be TBD, but with the right tools, you won’t have to worry about your mural fading before the end of the holiday season.
To create your family mural, prep your garage door. You’ll want to get rid of dirt and dust by cleaning and washing it. Afterwards, you can move on to the most exciting part, the paint. Now, we wouldn’t recommend painting over a wooden door, because it can become an entire project—with paint stripper, sandpaper, and more—to remove, but some other garage door alternatives will work for your mural.
Oil-based or acrylic latex paints are ideal to use outdoors because they repel water. Even with a water-resistant paint, add even more protection by sealing your garage door with a spray varnish or acrylic emulsion.
10. Gingerbread House
For those of us who are young or young at heart, transforming your garage into a gingerbread house is one way to brighten up your home for the holidays. No gingerbread house (or garage) is the same. The design is up to you and your family, but there are a few supplies you’ll need to bring this holiday treat to life.
It helps if your garage is a gingerbread color. If it’s not, drape the area surrounding your garage door with a waterproof fabric like polyurethane laminate or nylon to keep the fabric from getting soaked. Use foam board to create snow and flattened, multi-colored plastic cups to adorn it
DIY Garage Door Christmas Decorations vs. Hiring a Pro
With most Christmas decorations, you can piece them together into a successful DIY project. Your options include hanging wreaths and classic string lights to installing projection lights. And while you don’t need to be an experienced do-it-yourselfer to get the job done, you might consider hiring a professional for the jobs that require more finesse, like dealing with the electrical components of installing lights or climbing to the top of your garage on a ladder.
If you decide to leave the “doing” in the hands of a professional with the equipment, expertise, and experience to decorate your garage door in style, you can hire a decorator, handyperson, or holiday light installer.