Decorating Frugally For Christmas!

Each year we are bombarded with enticing Christmas decorations in every store we visit. Even the magazines showcase lovely homes done up to make us desire these such homes and all their festive decorations.

The thing is, these things are not cheap! I absolutely love to decorate my home anytime of the year, but especially for Christmas! So I have found ways over the years to save on decorating for this holiday.

1. Make a piece of framed art using an old Christmas card. Like the one my Mom made for me a few years ago! Just find an inexpensive picture frame, then put the card on a piece of paper or card stock, finally put it into the frame! Like this:

2. I like to use dish towels or fabric napkins for shots of color on our dining room table, and coffee table. Ones like these:

3. Candles, candles and more candles. I love candles anytime of the year, but especially over the winter. Make sure they are great smelling to bring more warmth into your home! I have a collection of festive colored candles which are great for a theme you may be incorporating.

4. Pick a theme. Every year, I like to change my theme. Last year I used white feather boas everywhere instead of greenery. My classic theme would have to be the color red. I love red anytime of the year so this is an obvious theme for me! You may want to have a rustic theme, or a toy land theme using toys you already own.

5. To liven up the bathrooms, I have a couple Christmas hand towels. Inexpensive ones of course.

6. Use the outdoors. Go for a walk and gather branches, pine cones, leaves…etc. (to spray paint?)

7. Create a Christmas card garland. String the cards you receive on a piece of string, ribbon, or yarn. This is also a solution if you don’t have much space to display them.

8. Place inexpensive Christmas balls in a bowl or vase for more sparkle and color. This is what I did last year:

And this is what I did this year. Simply placed the Christmas balls in a pasta dish we received for our wedding:

9. If you or someone you know is handy with tools, like a saw and a hole maker (he he, can you tell I’m not handy with tools?) You could make this using birch tree logs, rope and tea lights:

10. Make any mirror a focal point in your Christmas decorating. Dress up your mirrors with garlands and swags. You can even use an extra string of tiny tree lights.

11. Poinsettias, these are cheap as it is, but I usually end up getting one from my Mom! She’s the best!

12. Change your cushion covers to the season’s colors. I bought a ton of great square pillow covers for our wedding from our local dollar store! I’ve used them for Christmas and for my spring decorating as they are a lovely fresh green color. Here’s the mock up of the centerpiece for the wedding. The pillow cover is underneath the mirror.

13. Finally, don’t forget to stock up on decorations after Christmas is over. They’ll be majorly reduced! (as well as the wrapping paper, gift bags…etc!)

I’ve decided to link this post up to Frugal Fridays over at LifeAsMom.com!

Here are the rest of the posts in this weeks Christmas series for your reading pleasure:

Recipes For Christmas
Crafts For Christmas