In our first blog of Christmas, we made sure your mobile home yard was ready for winter. What’s next on the list? Maybe your front porch is looking a little bleak. Why not add a touch of Christmas cheer there this year? What you need are some helpful and decorative mobile home porch ideas to utilize this holiday.
Make your own photo backdrop for family pictures this year
We all love taking family pictures around the holidays – everyone’s dressed up and full of holiday excitement, and many of us have family and friends visiting. This Christmas, you can step up your family picture game by creating a festive picture backdrop on your front porch.
First, decorate the front of your mobile home
Since it will be part of your pictures, you’ll need to make the front of your mobile home look great before you set up a photo backdrop. This won’t be hard – you can hang up Christmas lights, put a holiday wreath on your door, light a few candles, or use tinsel to frame your front door. It’s up to you!
Create your backdrop
To do this, you’ll need the following items:
- A small bench to place on your front porch
- One or two Christmas trees
- Some cute throw pillows
- A couple of cozy blankets with holiday patterns
- Other Christmas-themed decorations of your choice
The bench is the central part of the photo backdrop, while all the other decorations should surround and complement it.
Sidenote: don’t be afraid to use whatever types of Christmas decorations you like for this idea. The suggestions shown above are just some general guidelines!
Mobile home porch ideas that will give your kids something to do
Maybe you’re more worried about keeping the kids busy this Christmas than creating a classy, seasonal front porch look. Well, here are some mobile home porch ideas that your kids won’t be able to get enough of!
Chalk and stencils
Kids love playing with chalk. To keep them entertained this holiday season, give them some holiday colors and let them decorate the front porch for you! For an extra holiday touch, pick up some seasonal stencils that your kids can use along with the chalk. Your front porch will be a Christmas decoration in and of itself before long!
Build a fort under your porch
There might not be very much space under there, but if your kids have enough room to play under your porch, they’ll definitely want to do so at some point. You can turn this into a great playtime opportunity – just give them a few blankets and chairs and plant an idea in their heads about making a fort. They’ll be busy for a few hours, giving you time to clean, decorate, or just take a break from your Christmas prep.
Give them cookie cutters
Instead of throwing your cookie cutters out when they get old, give them to your kids. When the first snow hits, send them outside and let them make holiday shapes in the snow on your front porch. It’ll take them a while to tire of this activity!
Hang up a fun doorbell
Maybe you’ve never had a doorbell for your mobile home before – so, do something a little different this Christmas! Find some fun jingle bells and hang them up next to your door for your guests to ring when they come to visit you.
Create a winter container garden
If you thought container gardens were only for the warm months of the year, think again! This year, you might consider creating a container garden for your front porch. From small spruce trees to pansies, there are a variety of plants you can use to create a Christmas container garden. Before you begin your wintry gardening venture, though, you’ll want to keep a few important tips in mind.
Selecting the right pots
You should choose pots or containers made of metal, fiberglass, hollow logs, stone, concrete, or thick plastic. Pots made with ceramic or thinner plastic aren’t likely to make it through the winter. Also, you’ll need to make sure that your containers have open drainage holes and that they’re raised a few inches off of your porch. That way, they won’t freeze to the porch’s surface and crack.
Even though it’s not necessary, you can also choose holiday-themed pots for your container garden. It’ll be a fun touch that will make your porch look even more festive!
Choose the right types of plants
If you’re planning to leave your garden out all winter, know that only the hardiest of plants will survive the harshest winter freezes. So, what types of plants can you use?
Evergreens
Some easy choices for a container garden are evergreens, like small spruce or cedar trees. These can be a central part of your garden, or you can use them to fill the empty spaces between your more colorful selections.
Use plenty of color
Every good holiday container garden includes an exciting range of color. To achieve a colorful, seasonal look, use plants like flowering cabbages, pansies, or perhaps holly plants with their gorgeous red berries.
Make a nature observatory out of your front porch
Warning: you should only do this if you’re okay with your porch being a bit messy. However, inviting the local birds to your front porch can have rewarding results. Who doesn’t love to see the colorful birds that show up when winter rolls around? This year, you can bring nature to you in a few simple steps!
Set up bird feeders
If you want to attract birds to your front porch this year, the best way to do so is by putting up a few bird feeders. You can hang feeders from your roof, or you can use feeders that stand on your deck. Either way, if you put some bird seed in your feeders, you’re sure to attract plenty of birds!
Bonus tip: sunflower seeds are a favorite with many birds. So it’s a good idea to include sunflower seeds in your feeder if you want to see a variety of gorgeous birds. However, sunflower seed also attracts birds that many consider pests, like starlings and grackles. An easy way to solve this problem is to simply put your sunflower seeds into feeders made for smaller birds, so that the larger pesky birds can’t access it.
Include a suet feeder
In order to get a look at birds that are less attracted to seeds, you can also hang up a suet feeder. This will attract birds like woodpeckers, flickers, and nuthatches. You should be able to buy a suet feeder (which usually looks like a small cage) and a cake of suet at any store that sells birdseed.
Homemade suet
You can easily make suet at home as well. Simply melt some lard and combine it with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, or dried fruit. Then, freeze the mixture into a cake. The birds will be flocking to your porch in no time!
How to deal with squirrels
Chances are, you’ve heard plenty of stories about pesky squirrels getting into bird feeders and stealing all of the bird seed. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this! If you have a problem with squirrels, it might be time to invest in a squirrel baffle or two for your feeders.
Stand feeders and squirrel baffles
If you have stand feeders, you can buy a baffle that attaches to the pole and stops squirrels from reaching the feeder. You’ll need to attach the baffle high enough on the pole of your feeder (higher than four feet.) Otherwise, a squirrel might be able to jump on top of the baffle and continue the climb to the top of your feeder.
Other feeders
With other kinds of feeders, such as those that hang from your roof, you might need to purchase something a little more complex. For example, you could try a weight-sensitive bird feeder. When a squirrel jumps onto one of these feeders, its weight will cause the doors built into the feeder to close, meaning that the squirrel will not be able to access the bird seed.
Another type of bird feeder designed to baffle squirrels is the cage feeder. This bird feeder features a cage built around the feeder itself. It’s designed to keep squirrels away from the birdseed while allowing birds to help themselves.
To add a little entertainment to the process, you can even buy a battery-powered feeder that will begin spinning when a squirrel gets on it. The squirrel will get flung off the feeder eventually, and the birds can go back to eating!
What about other animals?
What if raccoons start getting into your bird feeders? Well, squirrel-proof feeders often work for raccoons as well. Of course, there are other things you can do to deter raccoons from robbing your birds of their treat. For example, taking your feeders inside overnight won’t give the raccoons a chance to steal your bird seed away.
Birdbaths
Did you know that you can use birdbaths in the winter? Some birds will bathe in a birdbath during winter, while others will just come for the drinking water. Either way, birds are usually very attracted to a birdbath during the colder months. However, keeping the water from freezing might be a problem.
To combat this, you might want to buy a heated birdbath that you can power using your mobile home’s outdoor outlet. Or, you can DIY your heated birdbath by using a light bulb to keep a dish of water warm. Whether you choose to buy a heated birdbath or make one at home, you’ll definitely attract some beautiful winter birds.
Keep ice from building up on your front porch
When winter rolls around, you’re going to need some practical mobile home porch ideas, too – not just ideas for decor. For example, you might need some tips for keeping ice from building up on your porch this winter.
Salt
Salt is one of the most popular ways to de-ice porches, sidewalks, and driveways, so it might not be a bad idea to grab a few bags of salt before winter begins this year. For the best results, you should sprinkle plenty of salt on your porch and porch steps before any ice starts falling.
Other things that you can use to de-ice your porch
- Fertilizer: It contains ammonium sulfate, which acts on ice.
- Baking soda: Since it has sodium in it, all you have to do is sprinkle some of it over the slick areas of your porch and watch it thaw the ice.
- Rock salt and water with calcium chloride: This might be the best ice-melting solution yet. Why? After you apply this mixture, the calcium chloride prevents ice from building up again.
- Vinegar and water: This one is extra useful – you can use it for your porch or for your car windshield.
Non-slip for your steps
While it won’t melt ice or prevent it from forming, some non-slip traction treads for your steps might be helpful during the winter. They are available at most hardware stores and are easy to use – all you have to do is peel and stick them.
If you want to give your whole deck a little more traction, consider using some anti-slip coating. While it might not completely eliminate a buildup of ice on your deck, it’ll certainly help with the slipperiness.
Make your porch shine this Christmas
Does your porch look bland next to all of your other Christmas decor? This year, make your porch shine for the holidays (or at least let the kids have fun with it) with these mobile home porch ideas. If you’re more of an inside person during the cold part of the year, we have tips for that too. One way or the other, make sure to enjoy the time with family and friends, the beautiful decorations, and everything else that the Christmas season brings!
And don’t worry, we didn’t forget about those Christmas lights. Come back to read about them in our 3rd blog of Christmas!
