FESTIVE FRONT PORCH URNS

Time to dress up our homes, decorate the tree, do a bunch of shopping, and eat some fabulous food. The holidays are here! And for those of you who are hosting this year, that means lots of company. Ready to spruce up your front porch for holiday guests? 

I have an easy idea to help you create an inviting entrance for the holidays. 

Tall urns live on my front porch just about year-round. They're probably the easiest and most versatile containers for prettying up your porch. A couple of years ago I created a new arrangement for my porch, but I never shared it with you. It's so simple you'll want to try it, too. 

Here's the list of what to round up before you get started:

• 2 tall containers
• Plenty of evergreen branches
• Floral foam or old bricks
• Pine cones (around 20 - medium to large)
• 6 pieces of cut wood, 2-3" wide in several lengths or thick branches
• Decorative stems (to add color)
• Holiday colored ribbon

Decide on your containers. Urns are my first choice. I found mine at Sam's, but old barrels, metal buckets, or even large flower pots would work just as well. 

Gather plenty of your favorite branches. I used Leland Cypress branches from a friend's yard. Lay them out individually and evaluate the lengths. 

Place the floral foam or bricks in the bottom of your container. We had scrap bricks, so that's what I used. This will add the height you're going to want and serve to help position the branches and wood. 

Start placing the branches in the containers, working back to front with the longest branches in the back and the shorter ones towards the front and sides. It's okay if they are not standing at attention. You want them to flop around a bit, so the planter looks full but not stuffed. Now, add an odd number of the pieces of wood or sticks, spacing somewhat symmetrically. 

Once it's nice and full and fluffed to your liking, it's time for the accessories. Add the pine cones for texture and interest. Fill up the front area of the arrangement. This may take around ten cones. Some of them may sink down, but that's okay. Just pile them on top of one another until they are showing well.

Next, I stuck in just a few stems with red berries for color. Get creative here! Just about anything with color will work.

For the final touch, add Christmasy ribbon. There are several ways to do that. It could be tied around the container, but I chose to make a large bow. After making the bow, I attached it to a straw. It was then easy to simply stick the straw down in the arrangement. 

All done! A lot of glam for your porch without spending a lot of time and money.