Decorating Tips for Big Impact on a Small Budget

Written by Sarah Hau

Over the past few weeks I have been following an annual blog post series by SimpleMom called 12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas. In week 8, she specifically deals with the process of preparing for holiday decorating. I know it’s early for some to be thinking red and green but SimpleMom’s theory is this: plan ahead and you’ll avoid stress, lost boxes of decorations, impulse purchases and overspending.

A couple of the points SimpleMom gives include taking an inventory of what you have, hunting the sales well before the holidays and embracing a simple look. Last year after Christmas I bought several items at Superstore, Ikea and other locations that went straight into my two green tubs of holiday decorations. Not only did I get an incredible price but I also avoid getting sucked into whatever trends they roll out at full price this year. Getting out the brand new decorations is like unwrapping early Christmas presents.

I agree with SimpleMom, the stores design their displays to entice you to buy what you don’t need and make you believe that it will look at good in your own house. But it never does because you don’t have a room full of the other 150 matching items you would need to complete the look. Often, once you get home you regret your impulse buy and the random mix of decorations you’ve accumulated.

When it comes to decorating on a budget, I suggest the following. Some of this is related to SimpleMom’s thoughts and some of my own:

1. Decide on a look or style and stick with it (yes, year after year unless you are independently wealthy). If you have a consistent color scheme you’ll be less likely to buy impulse junk you’ll throw away. With one look throughout the home it also takes less money and effort to create a cohesive decor.

I love the woodsy/winter cabin look and very little green – mostly reds, browns, creams, tans and golds. So I resist the temptation to buy one-offs and instead go for items like pine cones, a felt tree skirt with trees on it and knit stripped stockings in red, brown and cream. Just because Ikea tried to say black and orange makes nice Christmas decoration in 2008 doesn’t mean all the people who bought them don’t seriously regret their decision now. (Unless their decorations have always been those colors in which case they were actually following the rules).

2. If you like to create homemade decorations, don’t overwhelm yourself, choose one per year. Craft supplies are pricey and add up if you’re trying to create five things you saw on marthastewart.com.

Decide on a craft that’s doable (and of course matching the theme you’re building) and you won’t end up opening that box of decorations the next year and wondering why you spray painted the nativity gold or spent a fortune on supplies for handmade Disney princess ornaments.

In keeping with my woodsy theme, last year I made homemade bird ornaments out of cinnamon, craft glue and an assortment of glitter and beads in red, brown and metallic. They will look beautiful for years and because theey fit my theme I am not limited to putting them on the tree. I can tuck a bird into a little corner anywhere in the house and it looks right at home.

3. If you don’t have much money to spend and you want to keep things simple but put together, group items together in vignettes. I actually have very few Christmas decorations (only two Rubbermaid tubs full including towels, napkins and candles) but I avoid making it look sparse by not spreading them out around the house.

Over the years, yes, I hope to collect and make enough to make each room equally festive, but for now, I focus on two locations: the fireplace and the dining room table. I have towels in the kitchen and pine cones and candles in the guest bathroom but be choosy. A lone decoration can easily look cheap, be wrong in scale or simply ineffective in creating atmosphere.

4. Consider incorporating a family tradition into your decorations. Infusing meaning into the decor not only allows your family to be involved but it also gives purpose to your purchases.

My husband and I liked my parents’ tradition of purchasing an ornament each year to commemorate something unique about the year, like a vacation or a city we lived in or a child being born. Their tree is covered with ornaments from all over the world and has been a conversation piece my whole life.

We started this tradition in our first year of marriage and our unique collection includes an ornament received as a wedding present, one from Asia, one from Paris and one from the (Red) campaign. The collection is becoming a conversation piece and holds memories for us both. Along with the childhood ornaments we brought into the marriage, I know the biggest part of our Christmas decorating will be the most special.

What ideas do you have to making Christmas decorating more enjoyable, stress-free and budget-friendly?

*Image by Sarah Hau

More for the Holidays
12 Days of a romantic Christmas
Finding some peace on earth
Christmas cream cookies

3 Responses to “Decorating Tips for Big Impact on a Small Budget”

Deebee says:

November 23, 2009 at 8:27 am

Some great ideas for decorating for the holidays!! Thanks for the tips….it’s nice to read something about decorating that doesn’t mean you have to spend lots of money to implement it.
Cat says:

December 9, 2009 at 9:54 pm

I really dig adding posy picks or red ribbons to all our houseplants, especially the potted ivy. For a centrepiece, posy picks or a sprig of pine or cedar tied with red ribbon can also go into a bowl of clementines or pomegranates. A clear bowl or vase of glass ornaments is also quite lovely.

For tree decorations, I do my best to go for depth, putting the lights on the inside and hiding ornaments and candy canes in the hollows, so that it looks sparsely but tastefully decorated from the outside, but inside there’s wonderful things. You can usually pull that off with just one string of lights and a few carefully placed ornaments, although it does help to have a lot of candy canes!
Chris says:

December 12, 2011 at 3:24 pm

Great tips! I love using live things for decorations: fruit, pine branches, popcorn strings.. etc. I also love having the kids make red and green crafts each year, then display the previous years out together, too.