Even though I always manage to spend about a gazillion dollars this time of year, I still get excited by doing some things - like decorations - on the cheap. I know, I'm easily entertained. What is that saying? "Blessed is he who can laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be amused"? This kind of reminds me of that saying. A little. It's a great saying, after all. But I'm digressing.
Anyway, if you're interested, here are a handful of things we've done this year.
Tart Pan Tree Base
This idea comes straight from Martha Stewart Living. The amazing December edition had a section about vintage aluminum trees, and in one they used a tart pan filled with fake snow and cute little deer figurines. Love! All I have is a little pink tinsel number and no figurines, but the tart pan base with
"snow" worked terrifically.
Glass vase, string light, and branches
Pile a string of lights in the bottom of a glass vase, plop some branches in, and wind the lights a bit through the branches. Barefoot Contessa did this on her show with a huge, awesome glass vase, a whole bunch of white lights, and some fresh evergreen branches. It looked way better than what I ended up with, but I like mine just the same.
Ornament Wreath
An ornament wreath! My wheels started turning on this one after seeing this
Glass Ball Ornament Wreath post over on Tidy Mom's blog. String a whole bunch of sturdy thrift store ornaments (I got most of these at Goodwill) on some thick wire (an old wire hanger works great) and tape at the top. Better yet, don't listen to me and follow the instructions here on
Thrifty Decor Chick's site - a little more thorough. Side note: I can't wait to poke more around Thrifty Decor Chick's blog!
Anyway, I didn't have quite enough ornaments to make this perfect (you can see the wire at the top! Gasp!) but I'll be collecting ornaments all year so I can do a few perfectly next holiday season. I am ga ga over how these look, and can't believe this one only cost me about $4 (hint: electric fence wire, if you don't have any wire hangers, is great and totally cheap!)
Ribbon Alternate
In lieu of a bow, try some twine, a sprig of fake berries, and an extra present on the outside of the gift (in this case, a perfect ornament for the New Orleans Saints fan in my life).
Gussied-Up Candlesticks
Pipe cleaner, a big bead, and a petite ornament ornament dressed up each of my cute red candlesticks.
More Candlesticks Made Fancier
I livened these silver numbers up with some silver metallic garland and a sprig of fake berries. I just have to watch to make sure the candles don't get too low!
Kosher Salt Makes Great "Snow"
A bunch of coarse kosher salt dumped in this thrift-store dish and plopped with a candle = a snowy, and frugal, effect.
Candy Canes in a Planter
Candy canes are so quintessentially Christmas that when you stick them in a festive container (in this case, a cute polka dot planter I picked up last year for a buck at a garage sale), they make a perfect decoration.
Door Swag
If you follow my blog regularly, you've already seen these next three. Just warning you! And by the way, thank you for reading this thing. I appreciate it more than you know!
Here's my door swag that I absolutely love. And here's my post from last week about it.
Cupcake Liners on String Lights
Oh yes, and cupcake liners on the bulbs of string lights - they make cute little lampshades! I'm still loving this.
Little Banners Made out of Tags
I have these things all over the house now. And I blogged about it last Friday.