I LOVE Christmas decorations! Love love love them! And the holiday smells too. Cinnamon, cloves, vanilla… COOKIES… well, you just can’t beat them!
But decorations can be expensive and retailers do everything they can to convince us that we need to keep buying more from them… at full price.
So how do you save and still have a fun and festively decorate house?
I’m sure you guys have some awesome suggestions and I’d love to hear them in the comments below too!
Here are my top two suggestions:
1. Buy your decorations for next year RIGHT after Christmas. You can get super nice stuff for 75%… even up to 90% off after Christmas and you’ll be ready for next year! Pretty much everything Christmas-related gets majorly discounted and I’ve always found lots of great items (my favorite is probably the Target after Christmas sale).
Pretty much all of my decorations are either from clearance sales, garage sales (you can find a ton of stuff at garage sales!), and things I’ve made myself! Which brings us to #2…
2. Make decorations yourself! I have been amazed at some of the things that I’ve found crossing my Pinterest path recently. Pinterest is such an awesome resource for, well, pretty much everything. I’ve seen everything from homemade ornament wreaths, to homemade advent calendars, to homemade ornaments. In fact, if you just search “Homemade Christmas Decoration” you’ll find a TON! And be sure to follow me on Pinterest too! 🙂
Another great resource is the awesome list of Homemade Christmas Gifts over at The Happy Housewife! Toni is going through and listing out 100 different things over the course of the holiday season that you can make yourself for LESS! You can use them as gifts OR for YOU!
Be sure to also check out the awesome list of Decoration ideas over at Songbird!
I was actually pretty proud of myself for making the table runner and placemats a few years ago that are pictured above at the top of the post! Those who know me know that I am FAR from a seamstress, but making a table runner and placemats was SO easy. I really encourage you to try it! And if sewing seems overwhelming to you, maybe try some of the free online sewing lessons available! 🙂
I’ve left a ton of room here for y’all to chime in with your ideas! Feel free to leave a comment below in the comments section with more ideas!
Be sure to check out all of the other AWESOME blogs that are participating in the 12 Days Of Christmas series:
Christmas Homeschool Fun: 1+1+1=1
Christmas Decorations: Songbird
Tips for a Healthy Holiday: The Thrifty Mama
Travel Tips: Mom’s Travel Tales
Christmas Recipes: Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Christmas Family Fun: Life as Mom
Homemade Christmas Gifts: The Happy Housewife
Wrap them up, put them in Rubbermaid totes and use them again every year! The only thing we really buy is the tree, since I HAVE to have a real one!
All of our decorations are decorations that have been passed down through the family for generations and/or made by the family.
I make them myself! I’ve also been known to wrap empty boxes with wrapping paper to make under the tree look especially full and beatiful!
Dollar tree!! They have some really pretty stuff this year!
I buy them after the holiday when they are on CLEARNCE!! then i get to decorate better the next year!
Dollar Tree!!!!! 🙂
I get a lot of my decorations at Joann’s Fabric stores. They regularly have 40% and even 50% off coupons for their non-sale items!
Buy on clearance the day after n store for future use
second hand stores! I have found some of the best there. Many antiques that you would never find now
Take really good care of them and they will last 35 years like mine have.
Buy a few weeks after the holiday when the real clearance prices appear.
Buy anything I may need immediately after Christmas when it’s all on Clearance!
I also love getting well loved decorations from estate auctions andyard sales. There is a certain charm about the old decorations (just not old electric ones).
My sister got her xmas tree at the goodwill for $5… Omg its 7ft and super full, its beautiful 🙂
I accually wrap my hanging pictures in Christmas paper and put a bow in the middle. ( all purchased after Christmas) It really makes the house feel more decorated and it is very cost effective.
I steal them from martha stewart’s house..sorry,my lame holiday humor..
Reuse…Goodwill…Rethink…lots of stuff. And the REstore too, they had 3 trees when I walked in and they were gone within 30 min.
I save money by buying AFTER the holiday, using them the following year. Savings up to 90% off! Especially helpful on things like wrapping paper, tape, and cards.
Thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Hospice) swap with friends.
I buy them on clearance the year before!
I do the same thing as Nicky – buy them on clearance the year before!
After christmas when on clearance, and we go to library to check out how to books on christmas decorations, and have done real well.
I bought mine all on clearance after Christmas for next to nothing. Then I save them and use them forever. I always check the after Christmas clearance for things that match just in case some break before the next year. I don’t usually buy a bunch of new stuff each year, just a few things that match what I have to fill in for breakages, and new lights if mine have burned out completely. I’ve had my tree since 2004, and most of the ornaments too.