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With gifts to buy, special meals to prepare, and extra time off of work, expenses tend to go up during the holidays for everyone. Add a global recession and it’s an ideal opportunity to think about how to reduce costs.
Holiday decorating is one category where you can easily stick to a budget, with DIY projects. By making smart choices with what you buy and cutting down on electricity costs with lighting, you can decorate your home, for less.
Repurpose and update
Giving your home a holiday look is about adding color, lighting, and decorative elements. While your first thought might be to give all of your home decor an overhaul, by working with what you have and adding a few details you’ll save money and time.
Adding more prints on the wall, simple holiday decals or stencils, take advantage of christmas stencils for sale. Make your family feel the spirit of Christmas.
Look at every room of your home and see if you can move items from one room to another — such as a decorative candle or velvet pillow in the bedroom into the living room — to make your common area more festive.
Ribbons can be added to pillows and candle holders (just be aware of fire hazards) for an easy festive element without buying anything new.
Go green
It doesn’t cost anything to collect pinecones, press leaves, or cut a frond of greenery from a tree and bring it indoors to create a holiday centerpiece, door decoration, or wall hanging. Using natural elements to decorate reduces costs and is a positive choice for the environment as they won’t end up in a landfill when you’re finished with them.
Jar votive candle holders, and fruit in a bowl or added to a garland can also be part of your green decor. Cut out paper designs can also be used for table decorations that can be recycled at the end of your celebration.
Get creative with lighting
Go beyond string lights to reduce your energy bill and give your room a festive glow. Lighting can shift the energy of a room, as any home stager will tell you, when advising about decorating a home to sell while living in it.
Candles and battery-operated versions can replace bulb lights at a fraction of the cost. Creating a centerpiece of jars in many sizes filled with candles, adding rocks, or other non-flammable elements can create a simple and elegant look.
Swapping out lightbulbs for lower wattage can also add a warm holiday atmosphere.
Make it Neutral
If you do find a holiday item that you can’t live without, think about how you will use it beyond the holidays before buying it. Neutrals such as gold, silver, and white say Christmas and the holidays while at the same time crossing over into other events.
If you are decorating your home to sell during the holidays, real estate agents will tell you that neutrals are a must. They can be ideal choices for table runners and pillows, because they can be used anytime you want to host a party.
While the holiday decor on a deep discount can be tempting, if you only use it once a year, its value decreases.
To decorate your home for the holidays on a budget, get creative while repurposing what you already have to create a fresh look.
