Image via Wikipedia

             When I walk around my local neighbourhood I’m almost disgusted when I see the horrid decorations people splash their home with. Blow up Santa’s, snow globs and piles of messy overwhelming lights. Okay so I get it you want to show your Christmas spirit, but is all that garbage necessary. This time of year as we know has nothing to do with colourful trees and jolly fat guys, I mean really Christmas is about celebrating the birth Jesus and the spirit of love. I personally don’t celebrate Christmas from a religious perspective, but I still have enough respect to remember why we have Christmas to begin with. When the holidays arrive I want to respect my home as much as I do the celebration it’s self so that is why I choose to decorate my home in a caring loving fashion that invites serenity, peace and a little joy. And believe it or not I do it all on a small budget.

When people see my home I want them to feel inspired and know that it’s Christmas, I don’t want people thinking my home looks like a bad window display. I don’t need plastic ornaments to decorate my home, in fact I hardly use any plastic decorations at all. I love this idea because 1. I save money. 2. It gives me reason to clean up after the holidays 3. its better for the environment.

So how the heck do I manage to have such a beautifully decorated home during the holidays with out my plastic Santa and reindeer spread across my lawn, I use the nature that surround my home, I use plenty candles and a few store bought items.

All around my home and around yours as well you should be able to find and array of plant life that can be incorporated as holiday decoration. All over the world pine trees of all shapes and sizes can be found, colourful foliage, berries and seed pods , like pinecones can all be used in and around your home during the holidays. If you don’t have access to these item’s try your local floral dealer, hardware store or garden center, often you can get these items for free or for next to nothing.  

Decorating outside

Decoration outside should be simple and festive, with out all the glits and glam. Try surrounding your doors and window frames, railing and post with real hand made garland or use some ribbon. You can also use the ribbon to wrap up doors like gifts, or tie bows to dress up your garland with.

If you want to put lights up but don’t want to spend a fortune or break your back to put them up, I have a simple and cheap solution. Instead of buying large strands of lights only buy two small outdoor strands, color or white your choice. Wrap one or two around either, a rail, a post, wrapped around your garland, or dress up two outdoor planters. I have two large iron pots on either side of my front door, all year long I keep these pots filled. Of course in winter where I live not much survives, so I use some local berry tree braches a few twigs of dogwood, which is a plant that has a red stems when the leaves are gone, I add some pine and cedar along the bottom to cover any dirt and I wrap it all up with a small stand of lights. This makes my front door very elegant, and all it cost was that of the lights. Simple, yet beautiful and festive; Why spend a lot when you don’t have too.

Inside the house

When I first got married my family gave me boxes of old dishes, pictures, sheets and Christmas decorations. Everything they didn’t want anymore I got, and of course after time I invested in my own decoration. So like many of you every year I pulled out my boxes and boxes of Christmas junk, and like you I manages to find places for everything. Every table, every wall had something jolly and Christmassy covering it. As the Christmas’s past I realized what a clutter all this JUNK was making. My home sure looked festive but it also resembled an isle at the dollar store.

A few years ago our shed got looted by some kids while we were gone one summer, a lot of our Christmas stuff was destroyed. It was then I realized I didn’t really need all those decorations anyway; so now I keep it simple and cheap.

I invested in a nice tablecloth that I wash and reuse every year, I fill a few doorways with real garland and I use candles, ribbon and few handmade bits for around my house. And, the biggest decoration, the one that stands out above all is the one that should be the home’s centerpiece, it’s our Christmas tree. That’s the real decoration, without the tree all the other stuff is just junk.

I use a lot of candles in my Christmas decorations as well, for one they are cheap and two they look beautiful when lit. Of course I do jazz them up just a bit, a ribbon around the base with a bow and sometimes I wrap them in cedar and pine. I get many more compliments on my fresh pine candles then anything else.

No Christmas in my opinion would be complete with out table decorations, to be more specific centerpieces. There are so many cheap and elegant ways to put together a Christmas centerpiece. One option is a wreath and a fat candle, how about a bowl of pinecones painted with white or glitter. Try filling a pot with a wet floral oasis and stuff it with cedar, pine, berry bush braches, and or bunches of poinsettias. Or how about a dry oasis with dried fruits and pinecones on skewers surrounded with potpourri or dried flowers. Fill a basket with Christmas tree ornaments and tie a ribbon around it. How about a few glass candle holders in a line surrounded by dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks. Why spend a fortune for one day, make it simple and beautiful.

A few more simple decorating ideas

Wrap up 2-3 different size boxes with wrapping paper then stack on top and tie one big bow around them perfect to fill a corner or make two to put next to your front door.

If you have an old sled put some vintage toys in it, or some presents. Or leave as is and put some lights and garland on it.

Fill a basket with old holiday cookie cutters for a quick center piece; tie a bow around to brighten it up.

Tie few old mittens together add a bow and hang on a door or wall for a neat swag. Other swags can be made with dried orange and apple slices, fresh cedar or pine, and even a few old Christmas tree ornaments.

Tip…if you are planning on downsizing your Christmas decorations, try donations them to friends family and charity, please don’t just throw them away. And, if you must try to recycle and properly dispose of your old decorations. Thank you

Be creative and keep it simple, enjoy the holidays with friends and family and spend your money on them. Your home will be warm as long as you feel good inside. Remember what Christmas is about and the decorations won’t seem so important.