Skimping doesn't have to mean sacrificing style or beauty. It just means rather than paying some faceless company to make your decorations....why not make your own....or at least some of them?
A beautifully decorated home is simply a home that feels comfortable as soon as you walk in the door. In my book, there is no right or wrong to it. If you smile when you walk in, it's a winner.
Tree skirts really make or break a Christmas tree. The last one that I bought cost $40. It lasted a couple of years before the colors faded and I tired of the look.
Below are a couple of cheap ideas that look amazing. The first one is just cheap felt that has been cut into strips and sewn together. If, like me, you don't want to sew....staple them together. Nothing easier than that. The second one is an old quilt that was cut to size and a couple of strips attached to act as a tie fastener. If you don't have an old quilt laying around, head for the thrift stores.
Every year I head to the nearest pharmacy a day or so after Christmas and snap up all the cheap decorations. I say pharmacy because I don't have the nerve or patience to head to a larger store. The pharmacy's generally don't have the parking issues, long lines and crowded stores like the larger stores do. It doesn't really matter if the ornaments are glass or plastic or even if they are pretty. A can of spray paint and a bottle of glitter later, they will be gorgeous! Ornaments aren't just for the tree you know.
Nature's bounty! I love walking in the woods or the park in the fall/winter. I always carry a bag with me and pick up all the pine cones, nuts and interesting foliage that I find. Then when I get home, I use them for decorations. Pine cones are so great! You can glue them together (regular old Elmer's glue will work just fine), you can sprinkle glitter on them or you can just leave them natural. They add to any Holiday decorating.
Faux presents are another way to bring Christmas cheer to any room. All it takes are empty boxes and either paper or even fabric. Wrap it up and show it off!
I love stockings hung by the fireplace! I do get tired of the same ones year after year though. My solution? I go to the thrift stores and find sweaters that have an interesting color or pattern. I then cut off the arms and make my own stockings! I use the body of the sweater to wrap some of my faux presents. This can cost as little as $1.00 per sweater.
Don't forget outside! My front door has a full glass storm door and the space between the wooden door and the glass door is very very small. I can't really have a full thick wreath because of the space issue. I don't want to put the wreath on the outside of the glass door. I want it protected from the elements...and any thieves. Wreaths are expensive. So I say, make your own! The picture below is nothing more than a very decorative hard plastic plate that was spray painted, a hole cut out and hung. Whole thing might have cost $1.00....Christmas over?...toss it in the trash.
Jars...I love jars. Pour an inch of so of salt in the jar then sit a votive candle in there. Instant walkway lighting.
So now you have a few very inexpensive and super cute ideas for your Holiday decorating! Merry Christmas!!
