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Home » Holidays & Seasons » Christmas » How to Decorate for Christmas on a Budget

How to Decorate for Christmas on a Budget

December 15, 2017

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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.

Gold deer and blush pink Christmas decorations

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

Buy after season clearance to save money on christmas decorating

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.

Use gift bags in unexpected ways. I cut off the handles and framed this deer for boy's bedroom Christmas art.

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. 😉

Use empty wrapped boxes for budget Christmas decoating

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.

The blush deer was a bargain find but added show stopping results to my Christmas kitchen decor

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

Use free printables in your Christmas decorating to save money.

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.

Diy this easy blush pink hoop ring wreath for less than $5. Great Idea for decorating on a budget.

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!

Thrifted and DIY blush pink and gold Christmas Decor.

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?

Your Friends should know about this!

392 shares

Budget Decorating, Christmas, Free Printables, Holidays & Seasons, How to Decorate, Young Boy Bedroom ·

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Comments

  1. Denise says

    December 18, 2017 at 10:13 am

    I did a lot of DIY and repurposed some decor pieces I have around the house into holiday decor. These are all great tips, thanks for sharing

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 18, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      You’re welcome Denise. It’s amazing what kind of creative things can come out of DIY projects!

  2. Ayanna @ 21FlavorsofSplendor says

    December 18, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    Super cute! I love finding new ways to use things I already have and it’s amazing how much you can do with a can of spray paint. I always forget how festive wrapped boxes can be.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 18, 2017 at 2:56 pm

      Thanks Ayanna. Yes, spray paint is my go to! My supply is getting out of hand. lol

  3. Johanne says

    December 18, 2017 at 3:05 pm

    I love how creative you are! I never would have thought of some of these things on my own. Your home looks great! This year I saved by not buying a Christmas tree :(. My boyfriend doesn’t love Christmas and I didn’t want to do it all by myself. One of the fun things about it is doing it all together. Next year I will be forcing him to go Christmas shopping with me though 😉

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 18, 2017 at 3:16 pm

      Thanks Joanne. Such a great compliments. We usually get real trees and sometimes the season gets away from us and we never pick up a tree. So I can totally relate to not having a tree. We love decorating it together too! That’s really the fun part.

  4. Lyndsey says

    December 18, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    What a wonderful idea. I love decorating my house especially now that we just bought a home but I hate spending loads of money on decorations. I have things I can reuse in my home.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:20 am

      I hate to admit it, but I’m realizing I don’t like to let go of a dollar. LOL. But I love for things to look nice so I have to find a happy medium!

  5. Carley says

    December 18, 2017 at 9:47 pm

    This is some truly fantastic advice. I love all of your little decorations, too. Especially the framed deer with the bow. It’s so hard to decorate for Christmas when you have no money!

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:18 am

      Tell me about it! I’ve just started getting creative with little things so money doesn’t become much of an issue.

  6. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome says

    December 19, 2017 at 11:52 am

    I love your tips to think outside of Christmas for Christmas decor and to use nature as a free means of decoration. These are such great suggestions. Thank you for sharing!

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:18 am

      Paula, I’m usually not an outdoors girl, but I love using pinecones and fresh greens in the house.

  7. Marie says

    December 19, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    Awesome ideas here, thanks for sharing! I love trying to use things I already have for holiday decor – it’s fun changing it up.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:16 am

      Thanks Marie, Using what you have is great because it forces you to be more creative and you get to save money!

  8. Oliver Edwards says

    December 20, 2017 at 2:24 am

    Great tips kenyatta! I’m agree with you, that we don’t need to spend too much money while decorating our home on Christmas. There are lots of easy and creative ideas that helps us to decorate our home without breaking our budget and your ideas are one of them. I really love them and surely try to decor my home in this Holiday season. Thanks to share with us!

  9. Jeannee Taylor says

    December 20, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    Your decor is beautiful and a bonus that It’s Frugal! I’m Downloading the “you’re making me blush”! Printable! It’s exactly what I needed! Thank you!
    Jeannee

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:15 am

      Thank you Jeannee. I’m extremely happy someone else could use that sign!

Hey there, I’m Kenyatta, a self-proclaimed Home Décor and DIY enthusiast. I teach DIY decorating based on my simple core values-my rules of life. I’m a gutsy girl with a tiny budget, but enormous dreams and high style. I’d love to share this life journey with you. Laugh with (or at me) but leave with nuggets of wisdom that will last you a lifetime.

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