
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or concentrate on New Year’s, the odds are you do some holiday decorating this time of year. While it’s fun to get into the festive spirit, there’s no need to blow your budget in order to be festive.
There are lots of dollar-stretching ways to decorate your holiday tree, wrap presents, jazz up your table and more. You may find you have even more fun than usual following these tips instead of buying everything ready-made. Another plus: you’ll help save the environment as well as your budget. If you have children, many of these projects are easy, safe and creative ways to involve them in holiday activities while they are out of school for the holidays, too.
Go “shopping” in your backyard and your kitchen.
For near instant holiday décor that’s classic and even elegant, you may not have to look far beyond your back door. For example, trim some small branches from pine trees or a holly bush, or pick a few glossy magnolia leaves and arrange them in vases or atop a mantel. Even if you are opting for an artificial tree or no tree at all, a few sprigs of evergreens brought indoors will give your home an inviting holiday smell.
If you have pine trees nearby, gather up some pine cones, too. You can combine them with evergreen branches to make homemade wreaths. Paint pine cones silver or gold or use glue to tip the edges with glitter and place them in a clear bowl to decorate your dining room table.

Another idea for a centerpiece: go with a classic holiday green-and-red theme by filling a bowl with red and green apples for décor that’s natural and edible. You can also add holiday ambience to your home by filling a few clear jars or bowls with oranges and/or tangerines studded with cloves to create a cozy aroma as well as visual appeal.
Rethinking holiday ornaments.Many of us have collected boxes of holiday ornaments over the years. If you have more than you can use for your tree, re-purpose extra ornaments to decorate an entryway or living room. Attach them to ribbons or yarn of varying lengths and hang them from a mantle or between doorways.
If you have the opposite problem – not enough ornaments for your tree – go retro. Watch a holiday movie with your family while you string popcorn, cranberries and macaroni to make garlands.
You can keep your children entertained while they are on their holiday vacation by helping them make unique keepsakes for your tree. Pick up some inexpensive Styrofoam balls along with packages of glitter, small bags of colorful confetti and anything else sparkly – and cheap – that catches your eye at a craft store.
Coat the balls with some non-toxic glue and sprinkle on glitter or other bright accents. Poke a metal wire ornament holder in the top or make a small hook by opening up old paper clips. Voila! You’ll have unbreakable, unique ornaments that can be packed away and reused next year.
Create a holiday glow inexpensively with candles. 
For an evening holiday meal, nothing beats the atmosphere of candlelight on the table or the golden glow of flickering candles grouped around the fireplace. Add a rustic holiday touch by crafting quick-and-easy candle holders out of red or green apples. Make sure each apple has a relatively flat bottom and sits upright easily, then core out an inch or two from the top of the fruit and stick a tapered candle into the hole. (Of course, never leave candles unattended or where children or pets can reach them or knock them over.)
Wrap up the holidays with creativity. Consider these inexpensive, unique and downright charming ways to wrap gifts if you want to skip store-bought giftwrap (or run out of it at the last minute):
- Have some left over non-holiday paper? So what if it’s that silver or white giftwrap that you bought for a wedding gift or the shiny pink left over from a baby shower. Add some colorful holiday-hued ribbon. Repurpose old Christmas or Hanukkah cards by cutting out the pictures and gluing or taping them onto to your wrapped presents.
- Think outside the (gift) box and recycle any of these items for wrapping: vintage wallpaper, recycled maps, colorful Sunday comics, crepe paper and twine.
- In Japan, wrapping gifts in cloth is considered an art known as furoshiki. For this eco-friendly approach to wrapping presents, pick up some remnants of beautifully textured and colored cloth for next-to-nothing at a sewing goods shop. You can also use vintage scarves or tea towels from a thrift store.
- Giving wine? Forgo the extra cost of a predictable wine bag and use this easy alternative. Tape the edges of multicolored tissue paper together to make a longer piece and cover the bottle with a couple of layers of the papers. Tie a ribbon or yarn at the top. You can also use fabric and top with a sprig of pine for a seasonal touch.
- If you are giving a potted plant, such as an amaryllis, dress up a plain plastic pot by covering it with aluminum foil and tying a red ribbon along the top.
- Children's drawings can make inexpensive and delightful homemade giftwrap – especially for grandparents’ and other relatives’ holiday presents. Have your kids use color crayons and water based paint to decorate Kraft paper and large brown grocery bags.
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