Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store, but fabulous porch decorations sure do! Make some hot cocoa, put on your favorite ugly Christmas sweater, and give the Grinch something to “loathe entirely” this holiday season by creating the best porch pots Whoville—sorry, cough, Oceanside—has ever seen.

How to Make Your Porch Feel Cozy with Winter Porch Pots

Nothing makes coming home and getting out of the cold better than a welcoming front door. For a super cozy vibe, we recommend adding lots of lush, dense greenery to your winter design, finished with warm colors and colorful ribbons. You can also add accent pieces around the pots to help fill in space, such as mini Christmas trees, lanterns, decorations, and lights. Clusters of decorations will help prevent an empty or sparse-looking porch—after all, does it really feel like Christmas if you’re not tempting the Grinch over to steal your holiday cheer?

The Thriller-Filler-Spiller Method

When designing arrangements of any kind, a great strategy to use is the thriller-filler-spiller method. Thrillers are plants or components that stand tall, adding height and pizzazz to your design. Fillers are dense, shorter plants that fill in the gaps and spaces, and finally, spillers’ spill’ over the edge of the container, creating a well-rounded aesthetic. We recommend starting with the thrillers in the center or back of your porch pot, then adding fillers in the middle and moving outwards before finishing with your spillers at the container’s edge.

Here are some examples of each that you can use to build your winter porch pots:

Thrillers: dogwood branches, birch branches, tall evergreen cuttings, large poinsettias
Fillers: dense evergreen branches, pinecones, berry clusters, eucalyptus, decorative sprays
Spillers: ribbons, draping cedar boughs, ivy, long berry branches, decorations

Winter Porch Pot Designs That Will Really Irritate the Grinch

Now that you’ve got your hands on the basics and some hot cocoa, it’s time to get decorating. Here are some super-cool porch pot designs that the Grinch will loathe—don’t worry, if you belt out your Christmas carols loud enough, you’ll drown out his whining!

Whoville Parade

We’re talking whimsy. We’re talking shiny. We’re talking all-out, no-holds-barred Christmas spirit. We promise you’ll feel like a little kid again making these winter porch pots! Start with a tall evergreen branch or mini Christmas tree with a curl at the top as your thriller; curl it by wrapping the top with wire and bending it into a proper Whoville tree. Next, fill the porch pot with greenery, candy canes, and shiny ornaments, and add ribbon to spill over the edges.

Sugar Plum

Jewel tones are the name of the game with this winter design! Purple, blue, and burgundy are the colors of choice, with fruits and berries as accent pieces. Of course, don’t be afraid to add some glitter too! Start with dark branches as your thrillers, then add evergreen fillers such as cedar, eucalyptus, and spruce. Draping berry branches or jewel-toned ribbons are an excellent spiller. Finish it off with decorative pomegranates and plums or berries, and add some lights for a little extra magic.

Cozy Chic

If that hot cocoa and ugly Christmas sweater inspired you, integrate it into your design with a cozy winter porch pot. This design is for lovers of all things soft and fuzzy, with faux fir, felt, and fluffy cedar sprigs as your filler. Birch branches are the perfect thrillers for this design, with velvet ribbons as your spillers. Wrap your pot in plaid or an outdoor blanket, and add lots of lights for a snuggly design that makes you feel warm before you even get inside. Add a Swedish gnome or Santa Claus beside your porch pot to keep the Grinch away, and you’re all set!

Glitz and Glam

If you want to be “that” house this year, where the parties are grand and the menu is grander, this is the porch pot design for you. It’s sparkly, elegant, and luxurious, the perfect piece of decor to welcome your guests into your next Gatsby-esque holiday celebration. Start with gold-painted branches as your thriller, then add lots of sprays and evergreen boughs to fill any empty spaces. Finally, finish with silver, gold, and black decorations, and add some lights to make that glitter glisten.

For supplies, inspiration, or assistance with your winter porch pots for 2022, visit us at Dees’ Nursery in Oceanside.