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    Home » Holidays » Christmas

    Hanging Star Luminaries; a Christmas Porch Decorating Idea

    Updated: Nov 28, 2022 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 12 Comments

    These DIY Star Hanging Lanterns resulted from a “compromise” between my husband and me when decorating the outside of our home for Christmas.  He didn’t want to hang lights, but I did. The compromise was to hang giant stars from the front porch ceiling 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. 

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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, the lights, and the weather.  I didn’t want to leave the house not lit up for the Holiday but I also didn’t want to make a big deal out of hanging lights.  

    Table of Contents
    • Christmas Porch Decorating Ideas
    • How to Hang Paper Star Lanterns on a Porch for Christmas
    • Front Porch Hanging Stars Supplies
    • Step One: Assemble the Stars
    • Step Two: Insert the Light Bundle
    • Step Three: Secure the Lights with a Twist Tie or Cable Tie
    • Step Four: Hang the Lights
    • TIPS
    • A Few More Christmas Decorating Ideas

    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!

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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 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 Year).

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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.

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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 or Cable Ties

    Step One: Assemble the Stars

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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.

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    Step Three: Secure the Lights with a Twist Tie or Cable Tie

    Use the white twist tie or cable tie to keep the star closed and the lights inside. It has been my experience that the lights don’t stay together well with the manufacturer-provided closure. I prefer to use my own to make sure they are secure.

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    Step Four: Hang the Lights

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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.

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    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. Pay attention to the location you are going to plug in your stars.
    • Also, some lights have limits for how many strings you can connect to each other. Make sure you read the manufacturer’s instructions for your particular lights before you start.

    Finishing:

    After all of the stars are hung, plug the lights 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…

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    A Few More Christmas Decorating Ideas

    DIY Gnome Christmas Pillow Pattern

    25+ Cute Things to Sew for Christmas

    DIY Candy Cane Marquee Letters

    How to hang Star Luminaires on your front porch- what a clever idea for decorating your porch for Christmas

    More Projects You May Enjoy

    • How to Make a Retro Diorama Ornament
    • How to Make String Christmas Ornaments
    • Hot Chocolate Christmas Neighbor Gift Idea
    • Peeking Rudolph Christmas Pillow Pattern

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    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Heart says

      December 27, 2015 at 10:10 am

      This is so cool! I’ve never thought this is a DIY project. Your Star Lantern looks perfect!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        January 07, 2016 at 8:39 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Richelle says

      September 10, 2016 at 9:37 am

      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!!!!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        September 12, 2016 at 1:45 pm

        No, It wasn’t hard. You just need to be patient and get all of the cords going the right direction 🙂

        Reply
        • Renee says

          November 16, 2016 at 6:38 pm

          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?

          Reply
    3. Amy says

      October 18, 2016 at 9:42 am

      How big are your stars??

      Reply
    4. Raina says

      November 01, 2016 at 10:02 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        November 09, 2016 at 1:21 pm

        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)

        Reply
    5. Cheryl Jolley says

      August 08, 2017 at 12:47 pm

      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!

      Reply
    6. Susana says

      August 26, 2017 at 11:17 am

      The stars are beautifull for outdoors. Specialy for dark background.

      Reply
    7. Sharon says

      November 19, 2017 at 3:31 pm

      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.

      Reply
    8. Carol says

      December 14, 2018 at 5:00 pm

      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

      Reply

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