The spring refresh: what comes down, and what should stay
Spring is a storage job with a decorating job attached. Do the first one properly and the second one is three pieces.
By Sawyer V. · Published
Spring is the quietest decorating season of the year and the most important storage one, because it is when the entire winter collection either gets put away properly or gets put somewhere. Whichever of those happens in March decides what condition everything is in next November.
So this page is two things in the order they actually happen: the reset, then the small number of pieces that fill a porch between the winter greenery coming down and summer starting.
Wreath & Watt earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links on this page. It costs you nothing and it does not change the order of the picks — here is exactly how we are funded.
The reset, in the order that works
- Lights off the structure first, and onto reels. A strand that comes down into a box comes out as a knot. Reels are the single highest-return storage purchase on this site — the picks are on the best light storage reels and the method is on how to store Christmas lights.
- Wreaths into rigid containers the same day. Not into a bag, not onto a hook in the garage. The sizing is on wreath storage containers.
- The tree, disassembled, in a bag sized on real dimensions. The method is on how to store an artificial tree.
- Everything labelled on the end that faces out. A stacked box only ever shows you its short end.
- Nothing on a concrete floor. The one rule that outranks which room you use — the reasoning is on attic, garage or basement.
What should never have come down
Some of the winter porch is not winter at all, and taking it down is a habit rather than a decision. Three things are worth leaving up:
Lanterns. A metal lantern with an LED candle is a year-round fixture with a seasonal trim, and the trim is the only part that is seasonal. The 15-inch metal lanterns ship with an autumn teardrop wreath attached; take the trim off and what remains is a plain lit lantern that suits March as well as October.
The lighting layer. Path markers, step lights and the timer in front of them are not seasonal at all. They are the reason a porch is usable after dark in February.
Any patio or festoon lighting. It stays up permanently by design, which is covered on patio string lights.
Filling the gap with neutral pieces
Spring is genuinely under-served by this category, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. There is no deep Amazon catalog of specified spring decor the way there is for Christmas lighting, and inventing one would mean recommending things we cannot describe with published figures.
What does work is a small number of pieces that read as green and lit rather than as any particular holiday:
| Piece | Published spec | Why it reads as spring | Season it also covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar pre-lit garland | 9 ft, faux cedar and pine mix | Softer, looser foliage than stiff pine | Late autumn and Christmas |
| Battery pre-lit wreath, 24 in | 24 in, 50 LED, battery | Plain lit greenery, no seasonal trim | Any season, on any door |
| Metal lanterns, 15 in | 15 in, metal, LED candles, 2 pack | The trim comes off; the lantern does not | All four |
| Pleated fan bunting, 6 pack | 1.5 ft x 3 ft each, 18 ft coverage | Colour on a rail without a holiday attached | Summer, and the 4th of July |
Every one of these is a piece bought for another season and used here. That is the point — a spring porch is best served by things you already own rather than by a fifth collection.
Source: Manufacturer listings on Amazon.com, retrieved 2026-09-04.
The arithmetic
- Four seasonal collections bought separately: 4 sets to store
- One structural set plus swapped trim: 1 set plus 4 small trims
- Spring, on this plan, buys nothing new at all
The spring porch is the season where the year-round approach pays for itself: no new collection, no new storage.
The door, in spring
A plain lit wreath is the whole answer. The 24-inch battery pre-lit wreath is 50 LEDs on plain greenery with no seasonal trim attached, which is exactly why it works in March — it reads as a lit door rather than as a holiday you have not put away. Battery is the right format on an exterior door for the reasons set out on battery vs plug-in decorations, and the sizing is on our wreath size guide.
Where you want more than a wreath, the 9-foot cedar garland is the softer, looser foliage that does not read as Christmas the way stiff pine does. Work out the length before you buy it — a standard doorway needs two 9-foot lengths, and the arithmetic is on how much garland do I need.
Then summer arrives
The spring scheme is deliberately thin because it is a bridge rather than a destination. When the evenings get long enough to use the porch, the bunting goes on the rail and the festoon does the work — that plan is on summer porch decor, and the Easter-specific pieces are on outdoor Easter decorations.
Our picks for this
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No imageCedar pre-lit garland, 9 ft9 ft cedar-style foliage | A softer cedar texture rather than stiff pine | 3.8/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 2 | No imageBattery pre-lit wreath, 24 in, 50 LED24 in, 50 LED, battery | A second door or a window | 5.0/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 3 | No imageNEEDOMO fall lanterns, 15 in, 2 pack, with LED candles15 in metal lanterns, 2 pack, LED candles | A porch that stays dressed from September to December | 7.0/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 4 | No imagePleated fan bunting, 1.5 ft x 3 ft, 6 pack1.5 ft x 3 ft per fan, 6 in the pack | Window boxes and small railings | 7.5/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
Scores are our own weighting of published manufacturer specifications, explained in full on how we research. They are not test results. We have not tested these products.
The picks, in detail
#1 — A softer cedar texture rather than stiff pine
Cedar pre-lit garland, 9 ft
9 ft cedar-style foliage
3.8
/ 10
A texture choice, not a spec choice. Nothing about it is published in numbers, so buy it on the photograph.
Published specifications
- Length
- 9 ft
- Foliage
- Faux cedar / pine mix
- Branch tips
- Not published by the manufacturer
- Light count
- Not published by the manufacturer in the listing title
Our scoring
- Published tip count
- 1 / 10
- Density per foot
- 6 / 10
- Light provision
- 5 / 10
- Spec completeness
- 3 / 10
Good
- Cedar foliage drapes more naturally over a mantel edge than stiff pine tips
Watch out
- Neither tip count nor light count is published, so nothing here is comparable
Description from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0DHXLXZMN), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#2 — A second door or a window
Battery pre-lit wreath, 24 in, 50 LED
24 in, 50 LED, battery
5.0
/ 10
The budget second wreath. No tip count published, so expect a visible frame.
Published specifications
- Diameter
- 24 in
- Lights
- 50 LED, battery operated
- Branch tips
- Not published by the manufacturer
Our scoring
- Published tip count
- 2 / 10
- Light quality
- 6 / 10
- Convenience
- 8 / 10
- Spec completeness
- 4 / 10
Good
- Cheap enough to put one on a back door or a window as well
Watch out
- No published tip count at all
Description from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0D9B7G1ZM), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#3 — A porch that stays dressed from September to December
NEEDOMO fall lanterns, 15 in, 2 pack, with LED candles
15 in metal lanterns, 2 pack, LED candles
7.0
/ 10
Buy these as porch infrastructure rather than fall decor. The lanterns outlast the season the trim belongs to.
Published specifications
- Height
- 15 in
- Quantity
- 2
- Material
- Vintage metal, distressed finish
- Lighting
- LED candle included
- Trim
- Fall teardrop wreath with pumpkins, pinecones, berries
Our scoring
- Published dimensions
- 9 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 7 / 10
- Storage friendliness
- 6 / 10
- Lighting control
- 6 / 10
Good
- Strip the fall trim and the metal lanterns carry straight through to Christmas
- LED candles mean no flame on a wooden porch
Watch out
- Battery candles need changing mid-season
Size, materials and contents from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0D226Y3XN), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#4 — Window boxes and small railings
Pleated fan bunting, 1.5 ft x 3 ft, 6 pack
1.5 ft x 3 ft per fan, 6 in the pack
7.5
/ 10
The small-scale option. Right for windows, wrong for a wide porch.
Published specifications
- Size
- 1.5 ft x 3 ft each
- Quantity
- 6
- Style
- Half-fan pleated
Our scoring
- Published dimensions
- 9 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 6 / 10
- Storage friendliness
- 9 / 10
- Coverage
- 6 / 10
Good
- Six small fans distribute better across windows than two large ones
Watch out
- Too small to read from the street on a large frontage
Dimensions and pack size from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0CY55FX5M), retrieved 2026-09-04.
Questions
›When should I take down winter decorations?
Whenever suits you, but do the storage on the same day rather than moving everything to a corner of the garage. Lights onto reels, wreaths into rigid containers, the tree disassembled into a properly sized bag — all on the day it comes down.
›What should I leave up on the porch all year?
Lanterns, the lighting layer and any patio or festoon lighting. All three are fixtures with seasonal trim rather than seasonal items, and taking them down is habit rather than a decision.
›How do I decorate a porch for spring without buying a whole new set?
Use the neutral pieces you already own: a plain lit wreath with no seasonal trim, soft cedar-style greenery rather than stiff pine, lanterns with the autumn trim removed, and small bunting for colour. Spring is the season that should cost nothing.
›Is there much specified spring decor available?
Not compared with Christmas lighting, and we would rather say so than fill the gap with products we cannot describe from published figures. The pieces above are things bought for other seasons that genuinely carry into this one.
Sources
- Cedar pre-lit garland listing (ASIN B0DHXLXZMN) — 9 ft, faux cedar and pine mix
- Battery pre-lit wreath listing (ASIN B0D9B7G1ZM) — 24 in, 50 LED, battery
- NEEDOMO lanterns listing (ASIN B0D226Y3XN) — 15 in, metal, 2 pack, LED candles
- Pleated fan bunting 6-pack listing (ASIN B0CY55FX5M) — 1.5 ft x 3 ft each, 6 pack
We have not tested these products. Every figure above comes from a published manufacturer specification or from arithmetic shown on this page, and anything a maker does not publish is printed as unavailable rather than estimated. How that works, and what we will not claim, is set out on how we research.