Decorating your house or condo for the holidays can easily wind up costing you a pretty penny, that could be better spent on other forms of merriment (drinks, festive markets….)
Our tips show you how you can decorate your place without breaking the bank.
1) Buy A Lot, but Don’t Spend A Lot
Like most people, we can’t justify spending a lot of money on decorations that will be on display for a month or so at most, so finding great deals on decorations is key. Since you can buy just about everything you could need at Homesense, that’s our go-to – even for wrapping paper and gift bags.
2) Get Crafty with What You Own
One idea is to get crafty and use what’s already around. You don’t have to buy something for the sake of having holiday decor, unless you really love it. It can be as easy as displaying a DIY centerpiece, or as simple as arranging dry florals and branches into a makeshift wreath. Both of these ideas can be unique to your home and different each year, so they’ll always feel “new”.
3) Celebrate Your History with Collectibles
Family heirlooms and collectible items are great ways to celebrate your history while decorating for the holidays. Using these items as part of your decoration will make your home anything but cookie-cutter around the holidays. Overtime, as you collect, they’ll become more and more a focal point at gatherings, so you’ll always have something neat to talk about with guests. Your history is representative of what makes you, you, so why not show that in your home? It can also be a great conversation-starter.
4) Table and Mantel Displays
There are numerous ways to create beautiful holiday displays for your table or mantel by using or re-purposing supplies found around your home. Consider filling a clear vase with glass ornaments and tie a wide ribbon around it. Alternatively, place a small rocking horse in the center of your table and use wood blocks to spell out phrases like “Merry Christmas” or “Noel.” You could even create displays using candy canes, Christmas mints, or colorful seasonal fruits.
5) Hit Up the Thrift Stores
Thrift store holiday decor can sometimes make you feel like you’ve opened a time capsule from your childhood, but there are always goodies mixed in. You won’t be surprised to find big boxes of plain bulb ornaments from anywhere between $3 and $5. Look for neutral colors that will go with everything. Only found orange and green? Spray paint them gold, white, black, silver, and gray. Pretty, right?
6) Candles – Everywhere
Lighting a candle or a group of candles in some holiday decor can really bring ideas for decorating for the holidays to the next level. Candles look great as centerpieces on tables, vignettes & on any piece of furniture in your home, & as a bonus the holiday ones smell great and set the mood with great scents like cinnamon & baked goods. Use candles you already have around the house & surround them with some holiday elements to create the perfect centerpiece that didn’t cost you a penny.
7) Bring Out Some Throws & Holiday Pillows
Adding cozy blankets & holiday pillows from places like Pier One, Winners or Homesense with pops of gold, green, red, or any other fun holiday colors is a great way to add warmth to your everyday home decor. Plaids, Christmas patterns, holiday colors, & even DIY’ing a Christmas themed pillow is the perfect way to bring the cozy decor in your home. A tip for a quick plaid throw: purchase some cheap plaid fabric from Walmart & use it as a holiday throw – no one will know the difference!
8) Wrap Those Gifts Early
Adding Christmas gifts and placing them under the tree it adds that thrill to your holiday decor. There are a million ways you can wrap Christmas gifts, & you can even wrap faux boxes to look like Christmas gifts to place them under your tree or add to your Christmas vignettes before you wrap your actual gifts. Add some cute ribbon, some ornaments, & even some chalkboard gift tags & you have some lovely holiday decor for under your tree. Wrapping tip: The dollar store sells great brown craft paper that looks great paired with some natural elements you can find in your yard. Cheap & chic holiday wrapping paper!
9) Create Holiday Inspired Vignettes
Decorating for the holidays can be as easy as creating some simple holiday vignettes throughout your home, you really can set the mood for Christmas with just a few elements. For example, some ornaments, a wreath, some natural elements from your yard, a few candles, & a small Christmas tree can go a really long way!
10) Create a Hot Chocolate Bar
Or any kind of festive bar. Creating a quick and easy hot chocolate bar or drink bar is a great way to make your home instantly ready for a holiday party. Again, this doesn’t have to cost a lot & you can just use things you already have like coffee cups, straws, hot chocolate, marshmallows, & other utensils. In minutes you can bring your holiday decor & parties from drab to fab with a lovely hot chocolate bar that everyone will be talking about.