Sorry, But Your Holiday Yard Decor Might Be Tacky—Here’s What Designers Want You to Know

When the holidays are in sight, the itch to decorate starts to hit. While you’re busy making your indoor Christmas decor look chic yet festive, you may also think about spreading the cheer to your front lawn.

Outdoor Christmas decor is a fun way to make your home look merry for the season, but you might not be doing a good job showcasing your holiday style (it’s tough to hear, we know!).

To know what makes winter lawn decor look tacky, we spoke to two designers for their professional opinion. Turns out, eight obnoxious winter lawn decorating looks aren’t doing your home any holiday favors.

Oversized Inflatables

Winter is the annual occasion you might think can slide by without a “clean” aesthetic, especially in the yard. Inflatables are a fun way to decorate your landscape for the season, but they can be hard to use in a way that complements your home.

“Oversized or low-quality inflatables tend to dominate the yard and take away from the home’s natural charm,” says interior designer Alexzandra Aguirre. “If you love inflatables, choose one or two high-quality pieces and surround them with greenery or subtle lighting to ground the look.”

According to her, the key is to make your inflatables look balanced with the rest of your yard decor. That way, the big blow-ups won’t cause a lot of negative attention to your setup.

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Overcrowded Spaces

Even if you have a big yard, you can (unknowingly) overcrowd your landscape with too many pieces. What you think is a “festive yard” is actually a big mess.

“In our experience, a gaudy holiday yard décor is mostly the result of too many thousands of moving parts with no proper organization,” Aguirre says. “The overly festive scene becomes a huge visual confusion.”

To make sure your yard isn’t a conglomerate scene, Aguirre recommends sticking to the big three of winter decor styles: rustic woodland, classic holiday elegance, and modern minimalism.

“This can work wonders since a cohesive “Christmas” theme is the main pillar of the decorative piece.”

Too Many Mixed Themes

And speaking of themes, mixing a bunch of themes is one obnoxious winter yard decorating mistake Chris Turner, a landscape designer, really wants you to avoid.

“When people combine reindeer, penguins, candy canes, snowmen, and Santa scenes all in one yard, it creates some visual confusion,” he says. “It’s all winter/Christmas themed, but it’s a bit scattered and can feel unintentional.”

Not Considering Daylight

It’s easy to only think about how your yard decor is going to look at night when the sun has gone down, and the lights come on. But have you thought about how it would look during daylight hours?

Your yard can look really tacky when the lights are off, and natural light shines on your pieces, which is why Aguirre says it’s important to choose quality pieces that still look good when they’re not being used.

“When you are planning the arrangement, envision how it will appear during the day compared to at night,” she says. “Ideally, you want to create a warm and inviting atmosphere that is cheerful and balanced from all perspectives.”

Excessive Lighting

If National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has taught us anything, it’s to not deck your entire yard in lights. Even our pros can’t say this makes their list of obnoxious winter yard decorating. Turner says putting lights on every surface imaginable actually makes your yard look unappealing.

“It just creates more of a glare and looks like you went overboard,” he says. “Instead, just light up one or two architectural elements. This could be a single tree, the roofline, or the walkway. Make sure not to do too much here.”

Cracked or Broken Pieces

Finding your favorite winter lawn piece cracked or broken can be devastating. And if it’s a special piece, it can feel hard to throw it away. But Turner says displaying things that aren’t in shape just makes your yard look tacky.

“You want to keep a smaller display where everything is in good shape, rather than just having a big display where things aren’t in good condition or visually messed up,” he says.

Not Decorating With Your Home’s Architecture

When it’s time to decorate for the holidays, creating a stunning winter yard display starts with knowing how to use your home’s landscape and architecture.

Aguirre says using architectural elements like your front porch, windows, or garden paths to inspire your yard design helps your decor feel like an integral part of the landscaping design, rather than an afterthought.