Holiday Decorating with a Military Cookie-cutter home!

It’s every military family’s ultimate challenge – decorating on a budget while moving post to post, coast to coast. - Military Wives Decorating Quarters on Dimes

Every Lady has challenges when it comes to decorating on a budget! And, so while the above quote maybe true for us Military Homemakers, there are a few other challenges that we deal with as well! But, none of the challenges stop us gals from fulfilling that God given need to beautify our home! 

If you have never seen housing on a military installation the first thing you would notice is every home is a cookie-cutter home! The entire neighborhood looks exactly alike so Ladies have to really get creative in order for the area not to look boring! Another challenge is that every 2 to 4 years, many of those that live on a military installation are never sure what shape or size home they will have next time they move. This keeps Ladies on their toes! They have to be adaptable, artistic, and also keep their mind on what is necessary when it comes to decorating and how to store their seasonal decor! 

Now, you would think moving around and having not enough storage area would cause many of these ladies not to decorate outside their home but actually it is just the opposite! The military community puts a lot of thought into decorating their homes for the Holidays! And, this is also helped along by the Military Housing who often holds Holiday and "Keep Up Your Yard" competitions. ;)

There hasn't been a season that has gone by with out the place almost saturated with decor items! During Christmas time almost every house is decorating inside and outside. You could spend hours just going from Housing area to Housing area just looking at lights! Halloween decor is big too! I scout out which directions not to drive during this season!   Easter Decor is important as well. There are a lots of plastic eggs hanging from trees and many Christian Symbol type Easter Flags flying! Saint Pat's day has the green flags coming out! And, during Football Seasons people put out their favorite team flags! You don't have to be a football fan to know which big teams are playing that Saturday!  One thing that we are advised NOT to do when living off a military installation but we are allowed to do on a military installation or a compound is express when the Men are gone on a War deployment. Since the installations and compounds are typically locked up to most outsiders we can have deployment flags in the windows, yellow ribbons on the trees, and "come home soon" signs. Lately, there has been many "Welcome Home, Dad" signs being put up and down. 

This sign was in another housing area!

You can even find decor items for other countries too! Ladies who have married American soldiers often decorate with their Country flags on their National Holiday. Canada Flags on Canada Day, Korean Flags on their National Holiday, etc!  Military Unit Flags are also waved high too!

HOWEVER, There is one Holiday that  typically stands out as the most interesting on a military instillation! And everyone joins in! Yes, the 4th of July!  There are snippets of Americana decorative items everywhere and it is fun because they are tucked in almost any spot!

Already, there is a flag hanging from every house in my neighborhood!!

We counted over 50 when I took the Children around for our Americana Scavenger hunt just in our little area and more door wreaths than we felt like counting! ;)

I think it is really fun to see how all the Ladies have been putting their Americana touches outside their home. I wish you could see it! Every home has something unique going on outside for the Holiday! Here is just the houses around my block.