Protect your outdoor Christmas decorations from theft

If you love to decorate the outside of your home over the Christmas season, you need to be aware of thieves. Here are some handy tips to help you keep your garden decorations secure and protect your items from theft.

Locking cords                                

Extension cords that feature locking plugs will make it more difficult for thieves to steal your Christmas decorations.

Tie downs

If your decorations come with stakes or cables to tie them down, make sure you use them. If your decorations haven’t come with these, landscaping stakes can be used instead. If you have lights strung up in trees, use twist-ties to secure the strand in a few places. 

Go heavy

The heavier your Christmas garden decorations are, the harder it will be for thieves to steal them.

Roof decorations

If you can, keep your Christmas garden decorations elevated and out of reach.

Bring indoors

If you have very expensive decorations, it might be an idea to disconnect them and store inside your garage or garden shed to keep them protected while you are away.

Motion sensors

Motion sensors and outdoor lighting are a good deterrent to garden theft. 

Try and take as many security measures with your property this Christmas as it is one of the most theft prone times of year. 

Make a Santa's grotto for your garden

If you have a garden shed, and want to do something special for your children and your neighbourhood, why not turn your garden shed into a Santa’s grotto this Christmas. 

Before you start to think about decorating or any of the fun things that you can do to your shed, it will need a thorough cleaning. Make sure you take out any contents, give your garden shed a good scrub and sweep the floors.

Paint

Depending on what material your shed is made from, you may want to paint your garden shed to give it that real grotto feeling. However if you have a metal garden shed or paint seems too drastic, this won’t be the best option. Other options are available, such as using sheets to cover the walls to create the desired effect.

Lighting

Place fairy lights inside and along the shed roof to create that magical grotto feeling. A lit path towards the shed door for children to follow will look and feel the part.

Fake snow

Fake snow is the ultimate accessory for your garden grotto. You can’t have a grotto without snow, put  fake snow on your shed roof and around the outside of your shed. 

Don’t forget…..

·         A special chair for Santa to sit on

·         A Santa’s sack full of presents

·         A Christmas tree

·         Santa! And his little helpers

Remember to have fun and enjoy! 

Gardening Christmas gift ideas

We love gardens and anything to do with gardening and with Christmas now approaching, we thought we would help you find some garden Christmas gifts that any green fingered person will love!

Which.co.uk have complied a special list of gardening Christmas gifts, which should help you find a gift for even the fussiest of people.

Town & Country Weedmaster Floral Gloves

These gloves promise to be lightweight and flexible, with enough resilience for weeding. Made from 100% cotton with a protective nitrile coating on the palm to improve grip, they cope well with fiddly tasks such as planting seeds.

Spear & Jackson 6758GS Geared Anvil Secateurs

More and more secateurs and other cutting tools are being made with ratchets and gears to require less effort when pruning. These Spear & Jackson Geared Anvil Secateurs,  promise lasting sharpness and easier cutting. Every gardener needs a pair of good secateurs and we've tried out 13 in our tests.

Harrod Horticultural Slot & Lock Connectors

Harrod Horticultural claims its Slot & Lock Connectors firmly grip aluminium tubing to allow you to create a sturdy frame of any shape, to protect fruit and vegetables or support climbing plants. These connectors won the Product of the Year Award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 and are ideal for anyone with an allotment.

Joseph Bentley JBY0211 Stainless Steel Digging Fork

No vegetable grower should be without a good garden fork and the length of this one will suit most people. It looks great, too. If you're buying for someone smaller or taller than average, check out our full reviews of digging forks to find the ideal one for them.

Haws 8 Litre Slimcan

A modern version of a traditional metal model, this watering can is quite heavy but well balanced. The single handle for carrying and tipping is smooth and comfortable. The spout is long and easy to control with or without the rose and, thanks to the large top hole, filling is easy from a tap or by dipping in a tank (you can get your hand inside for cleaning, too). We've tested this and other watering cans on seedings and flowerbeds so you can find the best one to give for Christmas.

Darlac Children’s Bamboo Garden Tools

With bamboo handles and coated carbon-steel heads, these children’s tools are well finished and robust. Each piece has been hand welded so that the tools are strong and durable. We take a look at the Darlac Children's Bamboo Garden Tools and reveal what our four-year-old helper thought of them.

Trio Top Electric Windowsill Propagator

While windowsills can often provide ideal light conditions for successful propagation, they can also be cool and draughty. This compact electric propagator is supplied with three high-dome propagators, each 23cm long by 17cm wide. We've tested seven propagators so you can find just the right one for a gift. 

All information taken from and provided by Which?