DIY Decorating on a Budget

Tree decorations aplenty.

Have you started decorating for the holidays yet? We've got our Christmas lights up on the eaves (or rather, we've turned them on again--we never take them down) & I've begun debating whether or not we'll get a live tree or a cut one. I have a wreath project started that I hope to finish in the next week or two (wish me luck) & I've started thinking about decorating the house too.

Trouble is, we don't really have much in the way of house decor for Christmas. We have tons of tree ornaments, but not much in the way of knick-knacks or art work or garlands. So my mission this season is to find some new decor items for the house... without breaking the bank. I want to some more holiday cheer to our house with a budget of $25. It's pretty unlikely I'd find any decent quality things at the dollar store & I wouldn't get much new stuff anywhere else for that amount. So I'm not going to get new stuff--I'm going thrifting!

I'm heading over to Value Village, who have graciously provided me with a $25 gift certificate, to see what deals I can score for our holiday decor. I'm aiming to create a tablescape, though it'll probably be more of a 'shelfscape', because the wall shelf in our living room is the only horizontal surface the baby hasn't figured out how to access (& tear apart) yet.

Before I go, I thought I'd share with you my plan of attack. If you haven't done too much thrift store shopping lately, there's definitely an art to it. Here are my top tips for scoring holiday decor items for less:

Sewing-themed decorations, maybe?

1. Do your homework! Cruise Pinterest for ideas before you go shopping & start a board for inspiration. Here's mine, if you want to see some holiday decorating ideas I've collected so far. Follow me to keep up with my pins--I'll be adding more decor ideas after this post is published.
2. Focus. Don't get intimidated by the professionally decorated homes you see on Pinterest--focus on some of the items you like that you could recreate in your own home. Make a list of things you might need to create some of the looks you're going for.
3. Don't judge a book by its cover. Once you're at the thrift store, think of what you're looking at in the store as raw materials. A coat of spray paint or acrylic or glitter can give new life to things like china figurines, vases, or baskets.
4. Shop your kitchen. Think of what you already have on hand that could become part of your holiday decor--candy or cinnamon sticks? Mandarin oranges or pomegranates? Branches from a tree outside? Keep these in mind while you look for vases, jars, baskets, etc to hold these items.
5. Allow serendipity! Bring your list & your plan but remember to keep an open mind & if inspiration strikes you in the store, go with it!

The fun of thrift shopping is that you never really know what you'll find there. Some of my favourite clothing items are things I just happened upon by chance in a Value Village. I really love taking something that someone else didn't want & making it beautiful, whether by reworking it, or just arranging it in a new way. Plus, it's a great way to avoid all the packaging waste & resources that go into making & shipping new items across the world.

Will you be thrifting anything for the holidays this year? Have you got any tips to share? I'd love to hear in the comments below...


Disclaimer: I will be receiving a $25 gift certificate to spend at Value Village, but was not otherwise compensated for this post.

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