Inexpensive Christmas Decorating Ideas

In this economy most of us are doing what we can to cut down on expenses. There are many ways to make your home look and feel festive this holiday season without hurting your budget. There are so many creative things you can do with what you already have or that you can purchase from your local dollar store. I am going to share some of these ideas with you and maybe your imagination will be tickled and you can come up with even better ideas!

Decorate your house plants with ornaments. This can be really cute if you have small pine trees or the like growing in your home.
Set up a display of Christmas or winter Teddy Bears. If you have children you probably have Teddy Bears. Make a display with the bears either dressing them in mittens, scarves, and hats or put bows on them and candy canes in their paws and a package or two in their laps.
Set out a stack of Christmas books in your living or family room. You might be surprised at how many guests stop and read a favorite holiday story. Pop up books open to a fun page also make a great decoration.
Wrap up the throw pillows on your couch with ribbon and make them look like a package.
Make up bows with ribbon and attach them to your curtains for a cute effect.
Get cheap garland and wrap indoor Christmas lights around it and put it on the banister of your stairs or on the mantle. This can make any garland look expensive and cheery.
Put Christmas lights around the doors in your house. The big ones work best and are certainly festive!
Wrap some of your doors, inside or outside with Christmas wrap and ribbon.
Hang stocking from the mantle or be creative and find a place to display your stockings. You can buy plain stockings and everyone in your household can decorate their own for a fun personal touch. Coordinate colors and styles so they still fit together visually.
Buy poinsettias from your local discount store and set them out on display. A gathering of poinsettias makes a beautiful centerpiece for the table.
Wrap a green, white, red, or gold set of towels up like a Christmas package with ribbon in your guest bathroom.
Fill up vases or bowls with scented or plain pine cones and pine branches or with miss-matched Christmas bulbs. Attach a ribbon to the vase or bowl.
Wrap your mailbox (if it is not exposed to the weather) with foil wrapping paper and ribbon.
Put up real or fake mistletoe everywhere! This way you get kisses all holiday long.
Go to your local craft store and buy a Styrofoam wreath and some artificial Christmas flowers and decorate it with ribbon, garland, flowers, or branches of pine and cones from your yard. Or you can use tinsel garland and wrap it around tightly securing it at beginning and end to make a festive wreath. Add a ribbon bow and you are done.
Take metal clothes hangers and a wire crimper or wire cutters to shape a Christmas tree, star, or snowman then wrap it in lights and display in your yard. Do it yourself decorative lighting for a fraction of the price!
Using ribbon or twine attached from one end of your mantle, counter, or doorway to the other, hang Christmas cards for display. Last year’s cards will work or cheap but pretty ones you purchase this year can do also.
Using last years Christmas cards, or you can purchase a box of cards at the dollar store, make a collage out of cards for your wall. Kids can have fun with this easy project.
If you have art displayed on your walls and you want to make your room look a little more festive then you can take the art out of the frame and wrap it temporarily with pretty Christmas wrapping paper and put it back in the frame for display. If you would rather not cover up the art or photos, simply wrap the frame instead.
Tape a paper doily on a jar or cheap vase and spray paint it white or with canned snow and then remove doily to make a pretty lacy pattern and fill it with candy canes, Christmas candy, or Christmas cookies. Anything would work, really. A cut out of stars or Christmas trees would work equally as well.
Make a ginger bread house. The kids will enjoy helping with this project. If you don’t want to make ginger bread or buy a kit you can use graham crackers and icing to make an adorable house. Add gumdrops, red licorice laces, or whatever you would like to create your Christmassy little house.
Display a December calendar and as each day passes mark it with a small sticky backed Christmas bow.
Tie four or five cinnamon sticks together with ribbons and bows and place them around your house to add the wonderful scent of Christmas.
Display old electric trains around the tree or set up an area in your house for a display. Add snow and miniature Christmas trees or any kind of Christmas decoration to your scene.
Make a display using an old wooden sleigh or wagon filled with gifts, either real gifts or empty boxes that you have wrapped with colorful Christmas wrap.
Dress up candle holders and candles that you already have by putting ribbon and bows on them or paint glue on them and sprinkle them with Christmassy glitter.
Paint the tips of pine cones gold or silver and use as ornaments or to display on Christmas platters with sprigs of evergreen.
Make your own evergreen wreath with soft branches off the tree, shaping and wrapping with florist wire. Add a bow or holly berries purchase from the craft store.
Frame Christmas carol sheet music and hang it on the wall or display it on an end table. They often have printable sheet music if you browse the internet.
Use window markers and draw ornaments or write Christmas greeting on your windows or mirrors around the house.
Purchase a plain table cloth in green, red, or white and sprinkle on Christmas confetti.
Purchase small bells from the craft store and fasten them to ribbons at different levels and hang them on doors or door knobs.
Wrap a small piece of furniture in Christmas wrap and ribbon.
Display Christmas soaps in the bathroom or purchase soaps in Christmas colors.
Wrap your front door in white paper and add a big bow. Place red and green markers at the front door for guests to sign your door or Christmas greetings as they visit.
Hang Christmas ornaments from a coffee cup tree in the kitchen.
Wrap plant pots with red or green foil wrapping paper and put a bow or ribbon on it.
Purchase a large bow from the dollar store with vertical hanging ribbons coming off of it and attach Christmas cards you receive to the ribbons.
Make ginger bread men cookies or sugar cookies in the shape of ginger bread men and use icing and use them as place cards at the table by putting guests names on them.
Make Christmas crafts with the kids and place their artwork on the walls or hang them from the tree.

These are just a few of the great and fun decorating ideas for the holidays. You can find many more online. Or better yet just take a look around your house and see what you can come up with. Happy holidays!

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