Christmas Decor Hacks

The Christmas season is in full swing! That means it’s time to deck the halls and celebrate! But in today’s economy, making your house match your Pinterest Christmas vision boards is not an easy task. But not to worry - I have some tips and tricks to help you hit Hallmark movie decor goals with enough cake left over to…well, have cake!

I’ll share my motif and how I achieved it below as a template. Hopefully it’ll inspire you to create some Christmas magic of your own!

The first thing you obviously have to decide is what theme or vibe you’re going for. Traditional? Nostalgic? Glam? Then go through the decorations you currently have, and pick out those that follow your theme. There’s nothing easier than shopping in your own house! Once you do that, take inventory of the additional things you’ll need to complete your vision. I’ll give you an example of what I did so you can get a better idea, but in general, I recommend hitting places like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Homegoods, especially their clearance sections. The markdowns are often substantial, and their inventory is quality, so you’ll be getting some really great pieces at fantastic prices. Don’t forget, each department has their own clearance section (juniors, ladies, bath and body, etc), so you need to check out the clearance section in the home goods aisles in TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. The sweet little mouse in the blush tutu and gold shoes on my mantle was a product of those very aisles.

My vibe: shabby chic coastal glam. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but what that boils down to for me is a white, cream, blush and gold color palette. I love that color combination, and luckily enough it complements the colors I already have going in the house. I went through my ornaments and decor, and found blush/pinky purple bulbs I got from Kmart (yes, they’re that old), cream bows trimmed with gold and lavender butterfly accents (also from Kmart), and shiny gold bows from my childhood that are probably older than me, carefully packed away that work perfectly. I swapped the bulbs metal hooks for cream fabric ones to give softer, more shabby chic look (you can find similar ones here.)

A note about my wreath on the mantle: I got it at Michael’s, (along with the fabulous stockings). I fell in love with it immediately, but it was a little outside what I was willing to spend. I noticed it had a sizable bright red paint stain on the back, so I asked them if they could take something off for that, and they did! Another way to get things you love within your budget. If an item you like has a pull or slight defect, see if you can get it at a discount. Trust me, once it’s up among your decorations, no one will even know the defect is there.

I also added new led lights to my tree from Amazon that makes it look like it’s blanketed with stars. They were under $10, but their impact is immeasurable! It adds an instant “oomph” for very little green.

Now for the good stuff. Another way to save money decorating your place is by getting crafty. DIY-ing may seem intimidating, but trust me, there are a lot of simple things you can do that will look amazing. No one will know you made it, and when you proudly point it out, you can bask in their approval. You’d be amazed at what you can achieve with a hot glue gun! And making things yourself saves a lot of money.

As you know, I love a shabby chic coastal glam vibe. I really wanted seashell ornaments. But they were hard to come by, and really expensive. So I went to Michael’s, and in their seaside aisle, I found a decent sized container of creamy starfish. I then found a simple roll of twine, and a hot glue gun (with glue too). When I got home, I fired up the glue gun, lined the tip of the starfish with glue, and wound precut twine around it, formed a loop (to hang on the tree) and secured it in the back with another dot of glue. After setting overnight, I had my very own starfish ornaments! Not only do they look great on the tree, but there were so many that I had enough to use the extras on the mantle for continuity.

I also repurposed larger ornaments for mantle duty, and used a twine star ornament dusted with glitter as the star on top of the tree. The tree skirt is gold lamé, also a long-held staple in my Christmas decor trove (another item that’s possibly older than me - everything old does become new again!) Normally I have a bigger tree, but lately the smaller tree is easier to handle.

This is how I achieved my look. Hopefully it inspires you to be creative and enjoy decking those halls! YouTube and DIY websites can be helpful in getting the creative juices flowing. Christmas can be beautiful, and it doesn’t have to break the bank! Merry Christmas lovelies!

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