Reindeer Pen

I have been planning and dreaming about what to do with our outdoor courtyard space. The idea of a reindeer pen has been cooking for a few years now, but our outdoor decor was always left to last. This year I vowed to make it a priority. So here we are, December 5th, and the tree sits in its stand bare as the day Jesus was born. Not a single light, ornament or bow on it. Our Elf on the Shelf tried to give me hand the first night.

We all agreed that his clumps of lights weren't really gonna work. Thanks for trying though...

While we were out getting the tree I gathered a ton of fresh greenery. Two kinds of pine and cedar all are in abundance in the mountains just a few scant miles away from home. I LOVE living near the mountains...no mountain hassles but all of the benefits :) Cutting fresh trees for $10 is definitely one of them!

This girl is gonna be gorgeous decorated!

At any rate...The courtyard has officially become a reindeer pen. I have a few things to add out front for theme purposes, but the courtyard is done!

With two big puppies hanging out in this space regularly, I decided to decorate small areas to create an overall feel. This little corner gets beautifully lit by the white lights wrapped in the japanese maple that has graciously spread its branches directly above. The wood pile resides on the other side of the walkway leading to the door with its own light wrapped maple. Its beautiful at night and I MUST remember to get a picture for you.

The front door alcove gets a little love.

Back to the corner under the maple, its all in the details..

I have had all of the snowmen and snowflakes for years.

You may be asking, where are the reindeer?

Reindeer Porter. My 150 lb Bernese Mountain Dog. Maybe I should call it a moose pen?

Our latest addition to the family...Reindeer Maximus. Our not quite yet 5 month old Landseer Newfoundland puppy. He's only about 60 pounds, but should top out around 170. Moose pen for sure next year! Please ignore the extension cords. My glue gun got quite the work out and I didn't put it away before pulling the camera out. Light was a wasting!

I had to add feed bags, one for each of my reindeer. Don't want them going hungry!

Who's Jack? Jack is the six toed Mainecoone who believes he's a dog. No really he does, except that he hunts for the pack. Either way, he decided he was above posing for photos yesterday. So no pic of our third reindeer.

I also transformed the tiki torches that we use during the summer. Thank you Dollar Store! 

And since this is turning into a monster of a post...I will have more details on that in a separate post, here. Along with the gate and front window box on the casita. 

Until then, Happy Holiday Decorating!

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