Surviving Christmas

Are you planning on decorating your home for Christmas this year? If so, have you completed the first step?

When it comes to decorating for Christmas, the first step is getting the decorations. Unfortunately, in today’s world, many families are finding it difficult to afford “extras,” including Christmas decorations.

However, there is good news. If you are on a budget, there are still a number of different ways that you can get your home decorated for Christmas. You can do so with low-cost Christmas decorations.

For some individuals, a low-cost Christmas decoration is an item that only costs one dollar, for others it is five, and for others it can be fifty dollars. That is why it is important, when looking for low-cost Christmas decorations, that you keep this in mind.

However, no matter what your view of low-cost is, there are still a number of different ways that you can go about decorating for Christmas.

Go for a Walk!

Perhaps, the easiest way to save money while decorating for Christmas is to not buy any Christmas decorations!

Beyond using items gifted to you, and those you have saved up over the years, why not take a walk through the neighborhood? With a little ingenuity, even plain fallen branches can be made into stunning Christmas decorations – and all it costs you is time! (OK... maybe a little bit for craft supplies...)

Branches, leaves, sprigs of evergreens or holly (remember to ask first!!) are all great decorations, and of course can be had for no money. Many times, if a store sells live trees, the broken off branches can be had for nothing as well.

And, I have a whole post on ideas for natural Christmas decorations that will give you even more ideas along these lines!

Buying Decorations “On The Cheap”

I know I am posting this in December – but – think about yard sales and such next spring! Ornaments and even artificial trees can sometimes be found. Especially if people are moving, these items might be among those they would prefer to purchase at their new place rather than pay to move with them.

Flea markets are famous for selling decorations of a vintage nature, but watch your prices. Some of the older decorations go for many times the price of new ones, so you really have to be in love with the item to pay those sorts of prices.

For purchasing new decorations, check out the post specifically for that. You can find them literally every and anywhere!

I would caution, though... The absolute best time to purchase Christmas decorations is the weeks following the holiday. Sure, you can save 50 to 60% if you shop the week after Christmas, but everybody – and I do mean everybody! - tends to dump decorations and Christmas crafting items at 70 – 90% off in late January.

Save up a bit and partake of the really good sales!

Craft Your Own!

I am a HUGE fan of making your own. Elegant and fancy, plain, unique and completely personalized – making your own is about the most inexpensive next to going with all natural decorations?

You don't need sewing skills to make some absolutely gorgeous felt decorations! All it takes is some felt, a pair of scissors and a little fabric glue! If you want to get fancy, you can add sequins, beads, lace, embroidery and so on.

Do you knit or crochet – or both? There are literally thousands of pattern books out there for Christmas decorations. You can find them used through both Ebay and Amazon as well as locating the latest new patterns in both places.

A little paint and some smooth stones from the yard can make cute decorations – and if you don't mind painting, think of things like walnuts in-the-shell, waxed fall leaves, silk flowers and so on.

Any local craft section or store will have so many ideas for you it'll make your head spin. Most of the holiday craft kids are for more than a single item, and are fast and easy to put together, with simple instructions included.

Or you can get really creative and buy supplies to make your own original ideas as well! Bags of pom-poms, a little felt and a couple beads make cute snow-men. Fabric “yo-yo's” can be used singly or stitched into hundreds of different ornaments. (They even have a gadget for you to make your own yo-yo's out of any old clothes or scrap fabric you might have lying around!)

Feathers, singly or worked into a craft project, are perfect Christmas decorations. They are sold by the bag, and come in any color (or natural) you can think of. All shapes and sizes, too!

These are just a few ideas for you so that you can spend as little as possible and still have a lavishly decorated home and tree for Christmas.

If you have any ideas you can share, please post a comment below – we'd love to hear from you!

Many Blessings

GrannySue

As you can easily see, there are a number of different ways that you can go about finding or making your own low-cost Christmas directions. Although you may be worried about the quality of those decorations, you shouldn’t be. Most times, it isn’t necessarily about the Christmas decorations themselves, but they way that they are presented or arranged.