40 Cheap (or free) Ways of Decorating Your Home for Christmas
1. Go to the beach and collect shells and sand. Drill holes in the shells and string through ribbon to decorate tree.
2. Place a bowl of sand and shells on table for centrepiece. Add sprigs of native plants and small candles.
3. Use metal coat hangers, and twist into suitable shapes.
4. Wrap boxes in Christmas wrap and stack in a pile.
5. Bring out a train set and place on coffee table or around the bottom of the tree – kids love to touch things during Christmas and this gives them something to do.
6. Bring out the kids teddy bears and dolls. Purchase cheap ribbon (the $2 shop has heaps) and put bows around their necks. Dress them in clothes or cloth in the colours you have chosen.
7. Use an old white sheet (or other suitable colour) and draw patterns or decorations on it for a holiday table cloth.
8. If you have any plants inside, put small decorations on their leaves.
9. Fill empty jars with sand and place candles inside them (not great if you have small children but they can be placed up high).
10. Find old toys or shapes that can be covered in glue and then rolled in glitter for quick and easy decorations.
11. Get children to draw, colour or paint pictures to be displayed.
12. Hang a rope along one wall and use clothes pegs to display hats, T-shirts and shorts.
13. Use sheet music (if you have none, op shops often have old one’s for sale for 20c or so). Take one sheet, roll it up, wrap it with ribbon, tie bow and hang from tree. Alternatively, have a basket on the table and fill with rolled sheet music.
14. If you have a Christmas pop-up book, open to a page you like and lay on the table.
15. Make paper chains in your themed colours and hang.
16. Thread popcorn with a needle and hang on tree or around house.
17. If you can get cheap material in your themed colour (again, op shops are great here), use the material to decorate toy animals, dolls, tie curtains back, glue onto card and hang, throw over couches or chairs.
18. Tie a ribbon around a wine glass and place Christmas lollies inside (candy canes or chocolate money).
19. Use old Christmas cards – either make a collage to place on the wall or cut out pictures, hole punch and place on tree.
20. Any Christmas magazine pictures can be used as above (or even pictures from junk mail).
21. Display flowers and/or native plants inside.
22. Gather nuts and display in small bowl.
23. Collect any Christmas books (and yes, the library has heaps) and make a pile of them.
24. To display Christmas cards, merely use tacks to pin ribbon along one wall and hang cards over them. You can’t do this if you are renting, however.
25. Wrap small items in aluminium foil to hang from tree or display in bowls.
26. Sew small squares of fabric together and fill with favourite scents – lavender or potpourri purchased cheaply or homemade.
27. To make your own Christmas countdown calendar, have your children draw or paint a large picture and draw a table of the days until Christmas. Cross a day off each night before the children go to bed.
28. Christmas lights are getting much cheaper. Don’t limit them to trees. Consider hanging from ceilings, wrap around stairwells, put on plants and so on.
29. Buy small craft balls and cover in glue and swish in glitter.
30. Use jars everywhere – tie a ribbon around them and put in sand or sprigs from native trees, or simply fill with water and add a drop or two of food colouring.
31. Tins are harder to look nice, but if you cover in glue and then add glitter or sand or pictures, they can look great.
32. Any towels or blankets in your themed colour can be brought out and draped on couches and chairs.
33. Purchase small bells and hang from ceilings or at windows, or even on door handles.
34. Get Christmas paper and put over coffee table.
35. Cut shapes from Christmas paper (laminate if possible) and hang from tree or put on walls, doors etc.
36. Collect any photographs from past Christmas’s and display.
37. Make Christmas puppets – draw onto strong cardboard and glue to popsicle sticks. Place in basket and add accessories – nuts, small pieces of material and any other small (doll) items that you have available.
38. Use coloured cellophane to place over lamps or lights or even to decorate plants or the tree.
39. Use harakeke (flax) bags to hang from walls or the tree. Glue any relevant symbols to the front.
40. Cover an old box in wrapping paper (or coloured paper) and fill with wrapped empty boxes. Add fake jewels and shredded paper to fill it up to the brim.
© Mums on Top Ltd, 2007
2. Place a bowl of sand and shells on table for centrepiece. Add sprigs of native plants and small candles.
3. Use metal coat hangers, and twist into suitable shapes.
4. Wrap boxes in Christmas wrap and stack in a pile.
5. Bring out a train set and place on coffee table or around the bottom of the tree – kids love to touch things during Christmas and this gives them something to do.
6. Bring out the kids teddy bears and dolls. Purchase cheap ribbon (the $2 shop has heaps) and put bows around their necks. Dress them in clothes or cloth in the colours you have chosen.
7. Use an old white sheet (or other suitable colour) and draw patterns or decorations on it for a holiday table cloth.
8. If you have any plants inside, put small decorations on their leaves.
9. Fill empty jars with sand and place candles inside them (not great if you have small children but they can be placed up high).
10. Find old toys or shapes that can be covered in glue and then rolled in glitter for quick and easy decorations.
11. Get children to draw, colour or paint pictures to be displayed.
12. Hang a rope along one wall and use clothes pegs to display hats, T-shirts and shorts.
13. Use sheet music (if you have none, op shops often have old one’s for sale for 20c or so). Take one sheet, roll it up, wrap it with ribbon, tie bow and hang from tree. Alternatively, have a basket on the table and fill with rolled sheet music.
14. If you have a Christmas pop-up book, open to a page you like and lay on the table.
15. Make paper chains in your themed colours and hang.
16. Thread popcorn with a needle and hang on tree or around house.
17. If you can get cheap material in your themed colour (again, op shops are great here), use the material to decorate toy animals, dolls, tie curtains back, glue onto card and hang, throw over couches or chairs.
18. Tie a ribbon around a wine glass and place Christmas lollies inside (candy canes or chocolate money).
19. Use old Christmas cards – either make a collage to place on the wall or cut out pictures, hole punch and place on tree.
20. Any Christmas magazine pictures can be used as above (or even pictures from junk mail).
21. Display flowers and/or native plants inside.
22. Gather nuts and display in small bowl.
23. Collect any Christmas books (and yes, the library has heaps) and make a pile of them.
24. To display Christmas cards, merely use tacks to pin ribbon along one wall and hang cards over them. You can’t do this if you are renting, however.
25. Wrap small items in aluminium foil to hang from tree or display in bowls.
26. Sew small squares of fabric together and fill with favourite scents – lavender or potpourri purchased cheaply or homemade.
27. To make your own Christmas countdown calendar, have your children draw or paint a large picture and draw a table of the days until Christmas. Cross a day off each night before the children go to bed.
28. Christmas lights are getting much cheaper. Don’t limit them to trees. Consider hanging from ceilings, wrap around stairwells, put on plants and so on.
29. Buy small craft balls and cover in glue and swish in glitter.
30. Use jars everywhere – tie a ribbon around them and put in sand or sprigs from native trees, or simply fill with water and add a drop or two of food colouring.
31. Tins are harder to look nice, but if you cover in glue and then add glitter or sand or pictures, they can look great.
32. Any towels or blankets in your themed colour can be brought out and draped on couches and chairs.
33. Purchase small bells and hang from ceilings or at windows, or even on door handles.
34. Get Christmas paper and put over coffee table.
35. Cut shapes from Christmas paper (laminate if possible) and hang from tree or put on walls, doors etc.
36. Collect any photographs from past Christmas’s and display.
37. Make Christmas puppets – draw onto strong cardboard and glue to popsicle sticks. Place in basket and add accessories – nuts, small pieces of material and any other small (doll) items that you have available.
38. Use coloured cellophane to place over lamps or lights or even to decorate plants or the tree.
39. Use harakeke (flax) bags to hang from walls or the tree. Glue any relevant symbols to the front.
40. Cover an old box in wrapping paper (or coloured paper) and fill with wrapped empty boxes. Add fake jewels and shredded paper to fill it up to the brim.
© Mums on Top Ltd, 2007
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