Cheap Holiday Decorating Tips

Published by admin on Tagged Home & Lair

Need help with holiday decorating? Here’s how to make your home look festive while still staying within Scrooge’s budget.

Holiday Centerpiece. Gather imitation red apples, green pears and pine cones of all sizes. Place in a silver bowl, crystal bowl, wrought iron basket or wicker. If your pine cones are the unscented type – and aren’t they, mostly? – buy a small bottle of Aromatique “Christmas Scent” and spray it right on the pine cones. That way your centerpiece doesn’t just look festive, the smell of Christmas (fake or not) fills your home. Pick up the imitation fruit and pinecones at any craft store (Garden Ridge, Dee’s Crafts, Michael’s). The beauty of this project is you can use the bowl of fruit the rest of the year. Alternate: pile silver or gold ball ornaments in a bowl.

Add a little extra glam to your centerpiece. Buy small glass tubes with stoppers (available in any floral department of a craft or grocery store). The day of a big event, fill tubes with water and add red roses, red or white carnations, white freesias or your flower of choice. Stick the blooms around the fruit and pinecones.

What to do with the bottom branches cut from your Christmas tree? Even if you aren’t doing O Tannnenbaum this year, you can still swing by any place selling Christmas trees and they’ll give you leftover branches. These are great when gathered together and placed in a large decorative basket or container. Decorate them with ornaments, add sprigs of artificial red berries, or just enjoy their greenery and delicious smell. The branches do well outside placed in empty urns and containers.

Here’s a neat thing to do with the Christmas cards you receive. Take the cards and hang them on a banister with ribbon; it’s a great way to enjoy the holiday wishes, add a little color and it’s festive and easy. You can also hang the cards on indoor wreaths.

May 27th, 2007