Save money on Christmas decor by using what you have

With the price of everything going up, many people are feeling a financial pinch.

So, with Christmas just a few weeks away, now is the time to start looking for ways to save money without giving up any of the holiday cheer. Today, I’m sharing easy ways to save money on Christmas decor by using items you already have in your home.

A simple way to add holiday flair to your home is to repurpose existing artwork and frames. This year, I used a free photo editing software to design prints to add to frames I already had. I used quotes from some of my family’s favourite holiday movies, printed out 11x14” prints at my local copy store for a couple of dollars and I ended up with very inexpensive, large holiday artwork.

You can also use frames to display Christmas carol lyrics or holiday family photos. Just swap out existing photos for sheet music or Christmas snapshots. Alternatively, you can take artwork off the wall, wrap it like a present with a bow, and place it back on its hook.

Using items found in nature is another budget friendly decorating option. After hurricane Fiona, we had many downed trees in our yard. I harvested some of the evergreen boughs and I inserted them into the pot that once held my autumn mum. I added some birch branches from another downed tree, a bit of dollar tree greenery and a Christmas bow. My Christmas floral arrange was almost free and it looks like the expensive

versions I am seeing for sale in stores now.

Fallen branches can also be used to create a fun “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree. Add a blue blanket to the bottom of

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the tree and a red bulb ornament to the top. It doesn’t get much easier!

Another fantastic hack for saving money on Christmas decor is recycling and upcycling items in your home. Raid that recycling bin, use a bit of imagination and have some fun.

A cardboard box looks very much like gingerbread dough and makes a great crafting material. Cut cookie shapes from a box, decorate with white puffy paint “icing” and hang from a piece of twine. You can also make a bunch of fake cookies to set out on a tray or use the ornaments to make a decorative garland.

Cardboard boxes can also be wrapped and used as decor. This year, I’m planning to wrap a few of my Amazon boxes in dollar store tablecloths, adding bows, and using them as decor on my porch. My porch is covered, so I think the vinyl covering will make them water resistant enough to carry me through the season.

Empty jars and glass vases/ bowls are also excellent materials for holiday decorating. Grab glass vessels from your cupboard and fill them with holiday ornaments and greenery.

Jars from the recycling bin are plentiful and can be perfect for Diying. Cover clean jars with Mod Podge, roll them in a combination of Epsom salt and glitter, let them dry and add embellishments. The frosty jars are gorgeous with battery-operated candles inserted into them.

Before you head to a highend store and spend money on overpriced holiday decor, take a look around your house. It’s super easy to save money by using things you already have to decorate for Christmas.