Christmas is one of the most magical seasons, but it can also be one of the priciest. So here are 15+ budget-friendly DIY Christmas decorations.
Between buying presents and decorating your home, it's easy to feel swamped, especially when your budget is tight.
But don't worry!
With a little creativity and some DIY skills, you can make your home feel festive and cozy without overspending. In this post, we'll share some of our favorite DIY Christmas decorations that are easy to make and won't cost a fortune.
The other day I started thinking about all the little, inexpensive everyday items I like to keep on hand as props or tools for decorating. Many of them are just random things around the house. I bet you have some of the same on hand too. I say this is for Christmas decorating, but you can use these all year round, which I do!
Use Everyday Items to Decorate for Christmas
1. Frame Old Christmas Cards
If you have a box of old Christmas cards you've sent in the past that are gathering dust, you can put together a gallery wall or a special display on a table with them framed. It's a walk down memory lane and an easy way to fill a space with beautiful holiday memories!
2. Twig Tree Ornament
If you have some twigs in the yard and a few scrap craft supplies, this ornament is a breeze to make! I love a clever, crafty ornament made from simple things you probably already have around the house. If you like this one, try a DIY Twig Tree Ornament!
3. Mason Jar Snow Globe
Another fun ornament craft uses simple items like an empty candle jar, Epsom salt for snow, and tiny pieces such as a bottle brush tree or other festive figurines. Give old things a new life with this cute snow globe ornament idea!
4. Gingerbread Village Centerpiece
Plan a baking day with your kids or grandkids, then proudly display the results as a "village" on a tray for a centerpiece all season long! We do this every year. My girls not only love making gingerbread houses, they also love showing them off to everyone who visits during the holidays!
5. Wrapped Gifts as Decor
This idea only takes a bit of forethought and planning! I'd highly recommend buying your holiday gifts early, since the best ones sell out. If you wrap them ahead of time, you can use them as decor under the tree or on a table!
6. Free Greenery on Light Fixtures
Every year I either snip branches from my evergreen trees or head to the leftover bin at Lowe's to look for discarded evergreen sprigs. They smell wonderful and can be displayed all over the house. I like to add them to the chandelier in my kitchen for a free and festive look!
7. Free Printable Art
If you know me at all, you know I love free Christmas printable art for decorating on a budget! I've gathered some of my favorite holiday art (more than 50!) and use it in various spots around my home.
8. Jingle Bell Place Card Holder
Any jingle bell will do, but the jumbo ones work best as place card holders at the dining table!
9. Twine
Who could live without this stuff? It's the rustic farmhouse cousin of string, I suppose. I find myself using it all the time. As soon as I notice I'm running low, I grab another spool. I usually pick mine up at the hardware store.
Over the years I've used it for everything from wrapping gifts to making garlands.
10. Scrap Paper Garland
I used twine to string together my DIY Scrapbook Paper Christmas Garland last year. Inexpensive and pretty!
11. Baker's Twine
Red baker's twine is the cuter cousin of plain rustic twine. Tie it around a candle or use it to attach gift tags and you have an instantly festive look! It comes in lots of colors, and I have to resist buying them all.
12. Epsom Salt as a Budget Christmas Decoration
Epsom salt is inexpensive and wonderful in a lavender bath, so I always keep a bag on hand. It also works as faux snow! One year I made simple bottle brush tree scenes in mason jars, using Epsom salt as the snow.
Another year I used it to hold up candles in mason jars on my galvanized cubby in the entryway.
13. Glass Canisters or Mason Jars
As the photos above show, mason jars make cute candle holders, scene displays, or whatever else you like. They work as vases for just about anything all year round. I keep a pack of 12 on hand and even use them as extra-cute glasses when I'm hosting a party.
Empty glass canisters can also hold larger ornaments or figurines to create a beautiful snow scene inside glass vessels!
14. Add a Holiday Message with Chalk
I'm always updating the chalkboard in my kitchen or writing on one of my other chalkboard surfaces. So I keep a pack of white chalk on hand at all times. Chalkboards are easy to change for every occasion or holiday, and they look cute doing it!
Our Kitchen at Christmas 2014
15. Clothes Pins
You never know when you'll need to hang up a ribbon and attach something cute to it. Enter clothespins! They can look so charming, especially these mini gold ones I use on my Christmas card holder. But the regular ones from the laundry room work great too!
Every year I make an easy Christmas card holder display using ribbon and clothespins on a large mirror!
16. Wrapping Paper
Of course, when decorating for Christmas you'll need presents under the tree. As I mentioned before, a wrapped gift can double as decor. But wrapping paper can work in other ways too.
When I needed something to fill the top frame of my gallery wall, I grabbed some cute deer-print paper and voilà! One year I also needed a way to hide a non-holiday piece of art leaning against the wall in the photo above. So I simply wrapped it in paper, added a bow, and it became part of my Christmas decor!
17. Gift Bags as Budget Christmas Decor
Do you know what the polka dot and chevron prints are in the frames in the photo above? They're gift bags from Target! I wanted to fill those larger frames without buying art, and the gift bags were just the right size. On Christmas Eve, I took them down and used them for gifts!
18. Pretty Scrapbook Paper
You can't go wrong with cute scrapbook paper. I love browsing the scrapbook paper aisle to see if anything catches my eye. You can cut out large snowflakes for your tree, or dress up your gifts, like I did here.
Or make the scrapbook paper garland I put together. Drape it over the top of a picture frame with seasonal art.
19. Festive Old Shirts and Sweaters
This year I saved a red sweater I was going to give away and cut pieces from its sleeves to wrap around my mercury glass candle holders. It's the perfect pop of color and doubles as budget Christmas decor!
I've also reused an old sweater as a pillow cover, and I've seen some cute flannel shirt rag garlands and wreaths out there. If it's old fabric, especially the festive kind, keep it and reuse it!
Final Thoughts
I hope you're inspired by these inexpensive ideas using household items. I'm always trying to think about what I already have at home and use it instead of running out to the store.
Do you have any household items you regularly use in your decor? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!
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