These DIY Star Hanging Lights were a result of a “compromise” between my husband and myself when it came to decorating the outside of our home for Christmas. He didn’t want to hang lights, I did. The result, hang giant stars from the front porch instead. For more info just keep reading, if you like this project you may also like to see how we hung a few Witch Hats from our porch at Halloween.
Last Christmas as we were getting ready to put the lights on the house I could tell by the look on my husband’s face that he was soooo not in the mood to do it that year. He didn’t want to fight with the ladder, and the lights, and the weather. I didn’t want to leave the house not lit up for the Holiday but also didn’t want to make a big deal out of hanging lights.
A few weeks later we were at the store and I spotted these GIANT stars. They were paper but had a wax coating and I thought that they “might” hold up outside on our porch. I brought them home and we hung them on the porch and I LOVED IT!
You might be asking, “Melissa, why are you posting a Christmas Front Porch Decorating Idea two days BEFORE Christmas?” Well, it’s pretty simple, I just got bogged down this month.
Christmas Porch Decorating Ideas
Normally I try to stay pretty ahead of the game when it comes to blogging, but sometimes I have to tell you that I do NOT want to decorate my front porch for Christmas in October. I just can’t seem to get myself to work that way. So I’m posting this today hoping that you’ll “file the idea away” (or pin it) to remember “to do” next year! (I also think these would look really cool for New Years).
About the Floating Witch’s Hats:
In October after I shared my idea for Witch’s Hat Luminaries, the post went totally viral, much to my surprise. In that post, I stated that we hung the Witch’s Hats on the front porch using the same hooks that we used to hang the Stars for Christmas. Inevitably I got a bunch of emails asking me HOW I hung the stars… So today I’ll share with you how I did it.
How to Hang Paper Star Lanterns on a Porch for Christmas
The stars were purchased at IKEA two years ago, but I’ve seen them on AMAZON and TARGET. They are paper stars but they have a waxy coating to help them stand up to the elements.
Our porch does not get much rain/snow and is well covered. The stars held up very well last year, this year I think we might lose one of them. The stars were not crazy expensive so I don’t mind replacing a few. That being said if your porch gets lots of rain/snow/wind this might not work for you.
Front Porch Hanging Stars Supplies
To hang the stars you’re going to need:
- Command Outdoor Hooks
- Paper Stars Lanterns (AMAZON) or TARGET
- White Light Strands
- Extension Cords
- Twist Ties
Instructions
Step One: Assemble the Stars
Most of the stars are hinged, you fold OPEN the star. What you are going to do is insert a bunch of lights into that hinge.
Step Two: Insert the light bundle
Depending on how far down you want the stars to hang from the ceiling, bundle the end of the lights into a ball (I just left mine bundled the way they came in the box, at the halfway point).
Insert the bundle into the star and close it.
Step Three: Secure the Lights with a Twist Tie
Use the white twist tie in to hold the star closed and to keep the lights inside.
Step Four: Hang the Lights
Hang the command hooks on the porch in the locations that you want the stars. You’ll also want to run a few hooks feeding back to the porch so that the light cords are not hanging down.
TIPS:
Make sure you plan where your cords are going before you assemble your lights. You need them to plug into each other in order and terminate at the same point.
Also, some lights have limits for how many strings you can connect to each other. Make sure you read the manufacturers instructions for your particular lights before you start.
Finishing:
After all of the stars are hung simply plug the lights all into each other and run an extension cord down the porch to wherever your plug is. I’m sure that someone can think of a more “genius” way to run the cords, but we just plugged them all into each other and it worked.
That’s it!! Super simple and easier than hanging TONS of lights on your front porch…
A Few More Christmas Decorating Ideas
DIY Gnome Christmas Pillow Pattern
25+ Cute Things to Sew for Christmas
DIY Candy Cane Marquee Letters
This is so cool! I’ve never thought this is a DIY project. Your Star Lantern looks perfect!
Thank you!
Hi – thanks so much for taking the time to post these cool projects. I am making the hats this weekend. I love the star idea but was curious if it is hard project? I read the instructions and thinking this may be to challenging for a newbie. Would you mind sharing your thoughts? Thanks again!!!!
No, It wasn’t hard. You just need to be patient and get all of the cords going the right direction 🙂
How did you plug them in?
Male to female plug…then third star how do you get length? Did you fold lights in half?
I pulled strand of lights out of star,first two ok.
Run into problems after third star plugging in.
What length lights and how many on string?
How big are your stars??
Hi, Your porch with those stars looks beautiful. I wonder whether they can withstand the winter also form which store you got those stars from.I tried to buy them online but could find only stars made of paper.
Mine are made out of paper. They are “coated” and withstood the weather just fine since they were under a covered porch (also the wind blows from the back of the house, not the front, so they were hardly even wet when it rained)
Just a side note- Dollar Tree sells battery powered strands of 10 lights. We don’t have an outdoor outlet, so these are the perfect solution!
The stars are beautifull for outdoors. Specialy for dark background.
What size are your stars and where can I find the waxy coated ones. I’ve looked everywhere.
Thanks Love this idea. Did it last year after I saw your idea but want to get bigger stars and still having trouble finding 7 point white ones in an 18″ size. So I am wondering what sizes you used in each of the colors.
Hi, Love this!! I am going to do it for my farmers porch. Does each star have to have it’s own full set of lights or did you used a set for several stars? Just trying to figure this out so I only do it once – haha!
Thanks in advance