How to Decorate for Christmas on a Budget

I love to decorate for Christmas but I don’t like going over budget. Decorating at Christmas can get expensive, but you can do a bang-up job and still save a few bucks. I changed my color scheme from traditional red, green and gold to accommodate my newly painted blue kitchen cabinets so I needed to buy quite a few things: BUT I followed a few simple guidelines to help stretch those décor dollars a little further.

Here are a few tips to help you decorate for Christmas without going over budget.

Use what you have to save on Christmas decorating

I spent a grand total of $100 for all my holiday decor–Including rooms you don’t see on my Christmas home tour AND a new desk chair in Jaylin’s room (his old one broke). I only bought what was necessary and shopped my house.

Tip: Use bowls, glasses, and vases to hold colored ornaments, pine cones, candy canes and ribbon to add festive flair. In the photo below, I already owned the vases and pedestal. The bottle brush trees are dollar spot finds from Target.

Tip: Use bowls, glasses, and vases to hold colored ornaments, pine cones, candy canes and ribbon to add festive flair.

The branches are spray painted with glitter from the Dollar Tree. These are simple ways to use decorate without buying anything and embellishing with small doses of seasonal decor.

Think outside of ‘Christmas’ when buying decor

To save money on Christmas decor, I like to buy décor that can be used in several ways throughout the year. That way I’m not stuck with oodles of Christmas décor and then bare walls the rest of the year. Buy smart! I purchased gold vases in the Christmas section, but I can fill it with flowers from any season because my décor is gold. Also, the best time to buy Christmas decor is AFTER Christmas when things are marked down to next to nothing. The lantern below was $10 marked down from $50 after I hit up Joann’s for after season fall decor.

Don’t let stores or even Pinterest decor ideas pigeonhole you into buying only things labeled Christmas. Think about how Halloween and Thanksgiving items can be repurposed into beautiful budget Christmas decor.

RELATED: Tour My Home for Christmas

Save money on DIY Christmas Decor by Coordinating with your non-seasonal décor.

Choose a color palette that coordinates with what you already have. This was a little difficult for me this year because umm again, new BLUE kitchen. BUT I did at least have a base of gold from year’s past. When you use a lot of neutrals, it’s easy to swap out colors. In my case, I just needed to add pops of pink in the way of ribbon and Christmas ornaments to pull off my pink kitchen.

Creativity trumps budget when budget Christmas Decorating.

Some of my best ideas came because I didn’t have a lot of money to spend. The art I used in Jaylin’s room for the home tour cost me $3. You know what it is? A gift bag. Had I walked into the store looking for “art” I would have spent at least $15-$20. Likewise, you can frame beautiful wrapping paper and ribbon to make your own personal artwork.

Keep your decorations simple

You don’t have to do everything. There is a list of creative ideas that I didn’t get to for both rooms on my home tour, but oh well. I think if I had done them all it would have been overkill anyway. If you only have time to hang a wreath, just do that. The bottle brush trees above were  74 cents- to one dollar a piece at Walmart. No frills there my friend, but they make such an impact.

Your rooms do not have to explode with ornaments, trees, and bulbs to say Christmas. Save money on Christmas decor buy buying less. A strategically places vase or mini tree adds enough festive ambiance and will cost you less money. Use what you have and get creative with fillers to keep your Christmas decorating budget in check.

Use gifts as décor to save money

This is such an easy way to decorate. Choose wrapping paper that matches your décor, add some fancy ribbons and search for a few printable gift tags. You can stack wrapped boxes and bags on tables, on shelves, in corners and of course on the tree. They don’t even have to be filled. The boxes below are boxes of Lever 2000. 😉

Carefully curate specialty Christmas decor pieces

I “splurged” on the reindeer on the top of my open shelves. She was all of $8.99 on sale. Totally worth it. It was non-negotiable because I needed a showstopper piece. BUT I passed on the AMAZING rose gold deer I peeped at TJ Maxx that was equally as pretty, however at $50, I would be less likely to change color schemes down the road. If I tire of the pink, out comes the spray paint for that $8.99 stag next year with zero guilt.

In like manner think about how you can use a piece in more than one way. I never buy decor that can only fit in one area of my home. If I can’t use it in at least three places, it’s not versatile enough.

Incorporate nature for free decorating!

Hello! Free stuff is the best budget Christmas decorating you can do! Pinecones, acorns and fresh greenery are available in the wild for a little effort. Add them to just about any spot in the house for holiday cheer.

Use Free Christmas Printables in your decor

I love searching Pinterest for printables. There are some super creative folk out there. I made a few printables of my own available in my Free Decorating Tools . You are welcome to download, print and use them at your will.   You don’t have to recreate the wheel.

Download the Oh Deer Printable and the  Merry and Bright plus bonus Buffalo Check Deer and stars in my Free Decorating Tools Library.

DIY stuff!

I’m a sucker for a cheap, easy DIY project and I did quite a few for my home tour that I thought it would be fun to share this week. I showed you how I made the mini-tree in Jaylin’s room. But I also dipped these branches in glitter (above) and make a few cone Christmas Trees and took about five minutes to make these mini-hoop wreaths.

In fact, it was so quick I couldn’t even find enough words to write a separate post.  So here’s the tutorial.

Easy Budget DIY Hoop Wreath

Supplies

• Craft ring
• Ribbon
• Floral pick
• Floral wire
• Wire cutters

Experience: Beginner | Difficulty: EASY | Cost less than $10 | Time: 10 minutes

1. Attach the pick to the ring using the floral wire. Twist the stem around the ring and cut any excess.
2. Hide any unsightly wire with the leaves and stem
3. Loop the ribbon through the hoop
4. Hang!

I made two for under $10. Your cost will depend on the floral pick you choose. There’s a cute little version in the Hearth and Home line by Chip and Joanna Gains at Target that will run you $20. This one is cuter and cheaper. I’m just saying. (They make millions and I don’t…so there’s that)

For a “I’ve never done a craft in my life” person, this should take you 10 minutes. TEN! So super easy, but so pretty. I stapled mine to the inside of the cabinets, but you can affix anyway you like.

I also made those cute little paper cone trees for about 20 cents each. They’re just fancy scrapbook paper rolled up and hot glued into a cone!

When all else fails use spray paint!

I used a combination of spray paints to pull off the look for the kitchen and Jaylin’s room. Buy cheap stuff and remake it with paint. Sometimes this takes a bit of vision. Whenever I walk into a thrift store I always look through the eyes of spray paint! Spray paint is a speed dial kind of friend when you’re decorating.

These are simple tips to keep you on track with spending on holiday décor. How do you save on décor for Christmas?