Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Frugal Christmas Decorating

There are a lot of ways to decorate at Christmas time without spending all the money "they" think you should. Here are some of my favorites:

A bowl or basket of pine cones and small ornaments
Leftover, old garland wound through every day decorations like figurines and pictures.
Candles in the appropriate color. (You can buy them cheap right now and even cheaper after Christmas.)
Old Christmas pictures, displayed in hand made frames and brightened with small tufts of (fake) evergreen or holly berries.
Red and green anything: I bring out the afghans, the rugs, the vases and bowls and cups. It all says Christmas when the season is right.

There are more ways, of course. There's a thread in the Dollar Stretcher Community about frugal Christmas decorations that has some good ideas. There's also a good piece at Organized Christmas.

One thing I almost forgot - newspapers and magazines are full of Christmas pictures right now. Find a theme, maybe Santa Claus, or stars for instance, and cut each figure out then paste them onto pasteboard, filling it completely. Then cover the whole thing with a thin layer of white glue and set it on a piano or display it on a wall. You could even cut a silhouette of a tree and glue cut out ornaments. Now, that's frugal!

4 comments:

  1. Then cover the whole thing with a thin layer of white glue and set it on a piano or display it on a wall. You could even cut a silhouette of a tree and glue cut out ornaments. Now, that's frugal!

    Taking your idea one step further a few tiny nails, wood glue and a couple of old handles, and you have a one of a kind serving tray!

    I was given a cream and sugar and 4 mugs with a christmas design. So every year Dec. 1, out they come till January 1! tea, and coffee become special ocasions. Also living with a handyman/grease monkey, that believes washing and changing clothes is fine morning and night and washing hands when going to eat is lots. I use plastic table cloths on the kitchen table, so Dec. 1 is the Christmas table cloth time ( bought after Christmas the year before). Makes the house look Christmasy as our kitchen table is our only table ( no dining room) and most people never go into the living room. They get to the table and sit!
    T'other Pat in Kitchener

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pat...I've been 'following' you for years! Found you at About dot... and was thrilled to find you here at blogger through Frugal for Life. I've got to agree that candles for the holiday can be found cheaply, but... my husband's convinced the 'black' that rises once the candle is snuffed is unhealthy for us :o(. Any relatively cheap 'soy candle' sources?? They can be pricey! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cool idea, Pat!

    I use plastic Christmas table cloths, too. I've had the same ones for several years, so I have a choice now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. mrs.kay, I don't know of any really good soy candle sources. If you find any, let me know! Did you know that I'm moderating the Community at Dollar Stretcher? Go there and ask about the candles, maybe someone will have some thoughts for you.

    ReplyDelete