Here are 10 ideas that will save you money on holiday decorating. There’s nothing like getting into the Christmas spirit and spending time with those around you.
Glitter trees of all sizes
Isn’t life more beautiful when you put glitter in it? Let the light in, which will reflect like a kaleidoscope on your pretty homemade trees. It is a very cheerful decoration that requires little investment of time and money. In less than 20 minutes and 2 euros, you can create one or more trees. To do this, you will need: fairly thick paper, glitter of the color you want, spray glue and possibly tape to hold your paper cone once formed. Choose the size of your tree and cut a circle accordingly, shape your cone and secure it with tape or glue. Then go to the spray glue and glitter step, which is better done in the open air rather than indoors. To avoid having sequins all over your home, fix them as needed with hairspray.
A fir tree made of pallet wood
During this Christmas period, what could be better than making a unique tree out of pallet wood? Take a look around your garage to see what materials you already have: you need an old palette, paint, wood glue or nails and a hammer. Start by cutting your pieces of pallet wood to the desired size, the idea being to assemble longer and longer pieces of wood to symbolize a fir tree. Then paint the pallet pieces. Assemble your pieces: you can do this with wood glue or with nails. You can if you are equipped, cut a star in the remaining pallet pieces. Paint it and use wood glue to attach it to the top of your tree.
A Christmas plant rather than a fir tree
What if this year, your Christmas tree was a cactus? Funny idea? Or why not the green plant that sits in your living room? After all, you don’t need a tree. You can choose a tree or another plant. It’s original and it’s more economical. Be careful when decorating not to weaken your plant. Prefer to opt for a plant or a small shrub that can support the weight of Christmas balls and garlands.
Pine cones for multiple decorations
Fall is pinecone season. They are quite easily found in nature. Collect them and make real Christmas decorations. They already have a conical shape, it’s a good start to make mini-trees for example. You can paint them with gold or silver paint, it’s the most beautiful effect, but you can try a more daring flashy pink… Then you just have to put them in glasses or cups. Embellished with branches, you can otherwise make a pretty Christmas wreath. Or glued with small multicolored pompoms under the pine seeds, you can make decorative balls to hang on the branches of the fir tree. You can also use it to create little sprites. Dressed in felt, they become the bodies of little characters. This is an ideal activity to do with children. You need a wooden ball for the head, felt for the feet and the hat of the elf, and something to accessorize his outfit – on the pine cone, itself.
Garlands to make yourself with recycling
Do you have some pasta left in the back of a cupboard? Take the pretty ones in the shape of butterflies or those in twists. Paint them silver or gold and string them along a pretty string, which you can also spray with paint of the same color. And here you are with a new garland that you obtained at a lower cost. You can also let your imagination run wild with fine twigs and string: it’s up to you to create beautiful stars to assemble to make a very natural garland. Some use coffee capsules that they customize to make adorable Christmas garlands. If you have plenty of corks on hand, you can use them to create snowflake garlands – take inspiration from sites like Pinterest.
Transparent Christmas balls to fill
Do you see what this is about? So of course, you have to buy transparent balls to fill. But that’s the only investment. Then you can fill them with whatever you fancy! Sequins, candies, plants, tiny decorations, cotton, pieces of fabric… You can make a magnificent folding with colored paper and slip this beautiful origami inside your transparent ball. Pine cones, we told you about it above, can also be locked up in these customizable Christmas boxes. Feathers give your transparent Christmas balls a subtle soft, light and airy side. It’s up to you to find what will go in this perfect holiday container.
Tealights at a lower cost
Surely you have already seen images of this type of candle holders on the web. To make them, you need pretty glass jars. Emptied and cleaned yoghurt pots do the trick. Then, it is simply a matter of covering the outside with colored tape. This tape called masking tape can be found in the creative leisure department of your stores and generally costs a few euros for several meters in length. For example, cover your pots with vertical strips. Then when you’re done, drop a candle at the bottom. You will then have unique, homemade candle holders, which you can match for the occasion with the colors of your Christmas decoration.
Christmas lights
Anything that shines, flashes, stands out works great as a Christmas decoration. For the occasion, some brands are selling garlands, neon lights or luminous objects at low prices. It’s up to you to find the right brand!
A suspension of Christmas balls above the table
Rather than opting for the fir tree or another shrub, place your Christmas balls like a designer light hanging above your table. To do this, you need fifteen to twenty Christmas balls, fishing line to hang them and strong tape to stick the wires to the ceiling.
A personalized table runner
To adorn your table with a Christmas atmosphere, opt for the table runner. Nothing could be simpler: you just need a pair of scissors, light paper, a pencil and… the template for the shapes you like. You can find shapes of snowflakes on the Net, which will make you a delicate table runner to handle with care.