North Poles
We created these years ago and used them in two different ways, inspired by the iconic North Pole:
Down the Sidewalk:
Around the perimeter of the yard, bringing a touch of the North Pole to your home. This will be the perfect north poles decoration:
They’re a relatively inexpensive and good-looking decoration to use, reminiscent of installations in the north poles.
Needed Supplies:
The materials below are all you’ll need to create your own version of North Pole decorations, effectively creating north poles replicas:
- 4” wide PVC pipe cut to a two foot length. (Home Depot)
- 4” wide PVC collar (Home Depot)
- 6” plastic globe (1000bulbs.com)
- Create your own cords!
- Porcelain lamp holder (Home Depot)
- 15 watt bulb (Shop around for best price)
- 1” blue painter’s tape (Shop around for best price)
- Fire Truck Red Plastic Spray Paint (Shop around for best price)
Painting You North Poles
Sand the printing off of your tube (use fine paper and no electric sander). Avoid using an electric sander because you could tear up your tube! Perform this step as part of your project.
Wrap your PVC pipe with blue painter’s tape to create a “candy cane pattern”. You can use different size tapes if you’d like to create a more realistic effect. This mimics those found at the north poles.
Spray the tube with your red spray paint.
Wait for the paint to dry. Pull off the tape carefully (left) to reveal your candy cane pattern (right): resulting in striking north pole-like visuals.
Take your extension cord and clip off the female end. NOTE: Many people reuse these ends on other projects, so cut about an inch or two from the plug. Perform this as part of your north poles assembly.
Installing Light Fixtures on Your North Pole
Take your extension cord and clip off the female end. NOTE: Many people reuse these ends on other projects so cut about an inch or two from the plug as part of your north poles assembly.
NOTE: You can also make your own custom cords, an option especially suited for north poles decoration. Learn about that by clicking here.
Drill a 5/16” hole six inches from the bottom. Do this as you proceed with setting these up. After drilling, run your wire through it up to the top of the pole.
Strip ½” of the wire and screw it down to the terminals. Then plug in to test, ensuring your north poles work effectively.
Place the light fixture on top of the tube. (You can add a junction box to the bottom of it if you choose). Regardless, it will fit inside of the 4” PVC tube. At that point, you should place the 4” collar over the tube and light fixture. This placement will hold the light fixture snug between the collar and the tube, completing this part of your north poles design.
Place the Globes
This picture on the left shows what your pole should look like at this point. Now you should place the globe over it, embodying the theme.
Place a small amount of silicone around the globe edge. Do not use too much silicone, for 2 reasons: First, it’s simply unattractive. Second, it is easier to simply twist the globe and break the silicone if/when you need to change the bulb. These steps can craft perfect North Pole replicas for your yard. This uses an iconic design.
Placing You North Poles In Your Display
We’ve had questions over the years about how to place these in the yard:
Option 1: Dig holes 6″ deep and sink the poles in them. We did this our first year but found a much better way the second year…
Option 2: Glue a 1″ piece of PVC inside of the pole. Once dry you simply push your rebard into the ground and then slide the pole over it, using the smaller tube over the rebar to hold it upright, an efficient method for setting them up.
