Our Christmas Decor on the Cheap


18 Comments

Last night, Johnny and I had to eat 11 pieces of chocolate because we’d forgotten about our advent calendar for a few days. But being forced to eat chocolate is never a bad thing, so I can’t complain. Johnny and I both love this time of year, but somehow in our almost seven Christmases spent together, we’ve yet to accumulate much in the way of Christmas decor. This year, I wanted a few more decorations without spending much. So here are a few decorations we added this year on the cheap:

IMG_0926Felt garland: $1.00 (three pieces of felt at 30 cents each)

IMG_0753Felt Christmas trees for kitchen table: $6.00 total (plus manual labor)

IMG_0720Noel banner above fireplace: $0 (leftover twine + burlap and a Sharpie)

IMG_0941Ornaments for our tree: $10.00 (50% off at Michael’s on Black Friday)

IMG_0713Dirty-faced baby girl: priceless (not cheap, but my favorite Christmas addition this year)

How do you decorate for Christmas on the cheap? Johnny, Baby Girl, and I are spending the afternoon and evening going to see Santa and some Christmas lights. Two more days!

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18 Comments

  • Reply Insourcelife December 23, 2013 at 11:14 am

    Dollar store has everything you could ever want to decorate on the cheap. I like your handmade stuff though – made in the USA (at least the labor part) – can’t go wrong with that.

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:05 am

      Very true! When we went to the dollar store recently, I was surprised at all the cheap decorations they had.

  • Reply Lizzy K. December 23, 2013 at 11:29 am

    I make a lot of my own decorations with things I have around, but I also borrow stuff from my parents still – 10 Christmases after moving out. =)

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:06 am

      I would totally do that if my mom lived close, Lizzy! She has plenty of decorations to spare!

  • Reply Kasey @ Debt Perception December 23, 2013 at 1:44 pm

    For years I didn’t decorate because I didn’t have anything and couldn’t justify spending money to decorate for a holiday my husband and I don’t really celebrate. But then my mom started sending me Christmas decorations. Free tree, lights, ornaments, window decals, and place mats!

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:06 am

      Your mom sounds awesome! Now you have no excuse, Kasey! 🙂

  • Reply Miranda December 23, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    We’ve purchased a couple items every year and just let our collection grow. By the time we’re 90 our house is gonna ROCK! This year we spent the budget on a strand of new lights. Not glamorous but “necessary”. We even splurged on the kind that has a reel. No more tangles next year! *Also, your new place is looking awesome! Ever plan on doing a home tour?

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:09 am

      That’s a good method, Miranda: slow and steady! And it sounds like you’re buying quality items. There’s nothing worse than tangled lights!

  • Reply Jennifer @ Budgeting in Baby December 23, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    One year I made a garland with some bells, ribbon, and candy canes. The Dollar Tree is a pretty awesome place to buy decorations at. I have so many ornaments and each year am given more. Its pretty awesome that I have never had to buy any ornaments.

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:10 am

      Who is giving you ornaments, Jennifer? I need to become friends with them! 😉

  • Reply Diane December 23, 2013 at 11:13 pm

    Shop the day after Christmas sales for decorations. Lots of good deals out there! Also, start a tradition of buying an ornament each year to represent something special about that year.

    And Baby Girl should get her own ornament in her stocking every year. Then when she’s ready for a tree of her own she’ll have a collection started. My grown sons each have a collection of ornaments from which represent their interests from year to year.. It’s a fun tradition and really interesting to look back on!

    Another fun tradition is to buy ornaments as souvenirs from trips… and mark the year on them. We have ornaments from so many family trips… lots of memories!

    • Reply Joanna December 24, 2013 at 12:14 am

      Oh, great reminder, Diane! I’ve had a few people recommend buying decor the day after Christmas. I’m planning to give it a try this year!

      And I love your ornament ideas. What a great way to have a tree full of meaningful ornaments!

  • Reply sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com December 30, 2013 at 10:48 am

    we each buy one new ornament a year-and mark the year we got it. its a fun tradition we have and we only spend money on that one ornament. everything else is from previous years but it makes the tree so much more special having more and more ornaments as the years go by

    • Reply Johnny January 5, 2014 at 10:53 pm

      That’s a great tradition. Our tree looked a little barren this year, so this would help that problem out. We had/have a lot of sentimental ornaments on my parent’s tree, so this would be a fun way to begin creating those memories now. Thanks for sharing!

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