Essential Holiday Decor for the Thrifty
During the holiday season we spend so much on gifts, travel, food and parties. If you’re planning to host this holiday season I’m sure you’ve thought about the looming cost of decorations. Decor does directly increase that feeling of Christmas cheer, so I’ve created some low cost decorations for the young and thrifty.
Personally I’m not a holidays person. I know it’s supposed to be the most magical time of the year but honestly you can usually find me in the background of most holiday functions subtly coughing “bah humbug”. This year is only different because I’ve been bitten by the DIY bug, and boy am I smitten.(pause for corny joke)
The Christmas season is one where things tend to be done in excess. We really start celebrating Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. So in the spirit of repurposing and saving money on this pocket-draining holiday, I’ve put together three simple but crafty DIY decorations that you’ll be able to put together while you enjoy a glass or two of red wine and maybe even your favorite sitcom.
The holiday wreath is one the biggest must have decorations during Christmas. It’s also a very expensive decoration to buy but can be made for much less than the retail cost. For this item I went to Michaels and luckily there was a sale on Christmas decorations. I purchased a garland instead of a wreath because I wanted more fullness from Michaels. I purchased 3 bouquets of poinsettia from Dollar Tree and used old ornaments for the accents of color and sound. The wreath on the left can be found at Pottery Barn for $129 whereas my homemade version cost a total of $25 to make. I reduced the expense by 81% and used their idea for inspiration. Inspiration is free my dear friends.
Holiday pillows have become a new trend that I’ve noticed all of the high-end retailers selling this year. This one is so simple you could probably get started now. I decided in the spirit of reuse and recycle that I would use things from around the house. I used and old throw to make the white present pillow and I used gift bags and ribbon from Dollar Tree. These pillows retail from about $40 to $60. My initial idea was to to use either old ugly Christmas party sweaters or gift bags. I didn’t have a sweater so I went to the dollar store and purchased two bags along with ribbon to make my pillows and the stuffing from Michaels. This DIY hack cost me a total of $10 to make these 3 pillows. Three for a quarter of the price of one pillow.
My last DIY hack for the holidays was a snow globe. I wanted to make something a little more out of the box. I decided to borrow the elements of the a snow globe and create my own version. The snow globe above retails at about $35. My version cost about $7 to make. I used a bowl that I had for potpourri, fake snow from Michaels, and figurines from Dollar Tree. I created an open snow globe that featured a winter scene. You will need either tacky glue or a hot glue gun to keep everything in place. Both are relatively inexpensive if you’re forced to purchase at Michaels. If you want to get really crafty with this one you can use the figurines that are used to decorate the train sets. These retail at Michaels for a very low price.
For these three decorations I spent a total of $42 instead of the $223 high-end retailers would of had me spend. The best part is that creating things with your own hands definitely comes with a sense of accomplishment. There’s no harm in looking at what the trends are and creating your own version, tailor-made for your Christmas style.
