15 Deck Decorating Ideas for Christmas

In my years of experience in the decking industry, I often see homeowners needing to remember to decorate under their decks for Christmas. As the founder of Trex RainEscape, I know firsthand the importance of ensuring your deck’s underside is safe from water seeping in. A dry underdeck space will protect your holiday haven from moisture and getting ruined. A little festive décor will put you and your family in a holiday mood. Plus, your guests will love it!

1. Great Greenery

Whether you have plants, a Christmas tree, or a few big wreaths, seize this opportunity and fashion some bright red bows to capture the Christmas colors. Scatter a few pinecones around the bottom of your outdoor planters and use a waterproof decoration or three to complete the look.

2. Reign in the Reindeer

You’ve seen them before – wire rattan reindeer. Some even move mechanically! While you don’t need to go out and get the mechanical ones, think about placing a few wire reindeer (available at your craft store) around the base of your deck. It will transform your deck and yard into nature’s bounty.

3. Winter Wonderland

Make it snow! This is when snow is good under your deck. You could go out and get a few bags of fake snow, add a few Christmas decorations, use your existing planters, and place some snow all around. Incorporate a few holiday ornaments, and you’ve got a snowy dreamland.

4. Color by Ribbon (and Bows)!

I like this because it’s fairly easy to do. Gather some oversized bows and decorative ribbons, and use extra tree ornaments to hang around your deck. A bit of creativity can go a long way here. People use themed decorations, such as rocking horses or birdhouses, for a creative Christmas-y look.

5. Sensational Lighting

Colorful string lights, LED lights, and bright spotlights will help illuminate the underside of your deck and yard. Go all out and get a spotlight projector. These can be positioned in the yard so they shine their moving shapes and colors on your house and deck. Just don’t aim them towards people’s windows or the street.

6. Lights That are Low Key

Not much into the bright light idea? That’s perfectly okay. Capture the quiet ambiance of the holidays by placing a few candles (lit with careful supervision), several strands of well-placed string lights, and simple holiday decorations, which will spread the cheer in a more mellow way.

7. Santa’s Helpers

Be as creative as you would like; it’s not always elves at work in Santa’s North Pole toy factory. He likely has a whole menagerie of animals up there. This is where forgotten-about animal figurines can come in quite handy. Along with Christmas decorations, utilize those old figurines here.

8. Country Rustic

I’ve often seen this timeless tradition. It brings a smile to people’s faces as they check out your deck decorations. An old wooden sled, worn ice skates, or stored skis are all ideal for this theme. Perhaps a little red wagon filled with either Christmas decorations – like toys – or holding a few plants will do nicely.

9. Bedazzling Balls

It happens to all of us. We have a ton of those shiny ball ornaments. We admit some have sentimental value, while others are just shiny ornaments. Take those shiny Christmas balls and hang them under your deck. Mix in some beaded garlands, and now you’ve got colorful and creative holiday decorations!

10. Seasonal Planters

This is something that my family does that is an easy and natural way to enhance your deck for the holidays. Decorate outdoor planters with festive ribbon. As mentioned before, hang ornaments from them. You can also further accentuate your outdoor plants by hanging some metallic tinsel from the leaves or branches. Please make sure your pets leave the tempting tinsel alone.

11. Poinsettia Pretty

One of my favorite things about the holidays is all the poinsettias. They are available in so many colors and always look great. Get a bunch of poinsettias in lots of different hues and put them around your deck. Poinsettias are fairly hardy in warmer zones and can tolerate some cooler temperatures. Just remember to protect them if it dips below 50°F.

12. Garlands Galore

Those metallic garlands that sit in a box in the closet can come out and deck your deck’s underside. They’ll make your guests get in a celebratory mood when they see you’ve taken the time to welcome in the holiday spirit. Remember to wrap the garlands around the legs of your deck.

13. Gingerbread House

Yum! You don’t need a real gingerbread house for this one. In fact, it’s probably ill-advised to have real food outside – as the squirrels, chipmunks, and birds might take advantage. A gingerbread theme house with oversized candy canes, lollipops, and peppermints will be perfect and entice your friends and guests to eat some more goodies this holiday season. We will make a gym resolution in January. We promise.

14. The Train Goes’ Round

Have a toy train set? Even if it’s not a complete set or in the best shape, now is the time to dress up your deck in this classic railway theme. Better yet, your fantasy train can take you, your family, and guests anywhere you like. Some of the best toy trains go through a country mining town, a tropical paradise, a toyland, or an abominable snowmanland.

15. Silver Stars – and Bells

This can be open for interpretation—place silver (or gold or whatever color you like) large ornamental stars around your deck. Bells are great for this, too. They can be in all sizes and many colors. What better way than this to have a holiday theme?  

Christmas time is so many things for lots of people. I’ve seen homeowners dress up their decks with traditional decorations. I’ve also seen some innovative and highly creative holiday outdoor ideas. Whether it’s making popcorn garlands and cutout snowflakes or all-out Christmas “decking,” one thing remains constant – the spirit of giving resonates with almost everyone. Seeing people happy and celebrating is what it’s all about.