Budget tips for decorating this Christmas

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It might be referred to as the 'most wonderful time of the year', but Christmas is also the most expensive time of the year, so if it's possible to save money, we will! We know many of you feel the same way too and are keen to know how you can host a budget Christmas, without missing out on any of the fun, so we have compiled our top tips for enjoying the festivities on a shoestring!

You won't need to give up any of the things you love or any of the traditional elements, we have simply had a think and have come up with some low cost alternatives to the priciest elements of the season, except for the present buying. We have to admit that you are on your own with that!

Take a look at our top tips for a budget Christmas and see if you could save a few pennies by following any or all of them!

Opt for a simple tree

We know it can be tempting to go absolutely crazy when decorating your Christmas tree and every time you see some new baubles that match your colour scheme you think you should buy them, but pare it back a bit, as seen in this example, by Farrow & Ball and you can stand to save a lot of money!

Budget Christmas ideas don't have to mean that you are turning into Ebenezer Scrooge, we simply think that you can stick to your chosen theme, but do it in a little more of a modest way. Rather than draping your tree in baubles from head to toe, simply use a few and plain white lights. You'll lose nothing, but gain some extra money!

Use candles

We love candles as they are a low cost but high impact item that can totally transform your festive scheme from drab to fab. In fact, a few well-placed candles will naturally make your entire room look a whole lot more high-end and elegant.

On a purely practical and financial level, candles are a great way to save money on expensive Christmas lighting schemes, making a budget Christmas a lot easier to achieve and with so many budget retailers now stocking plain church candles for around £0.99, you could find that they fast become your new favourite accessory!

Decorate house plants

Pulling off a budget Christmas will depend on you being able to use your imagination a little bit more, rather than simply relying on tinsel and expensive festive ornaments, so take a look around your pre-decorated home and have a think what you can use. 

We like using existing house plants as part of our festive decorating scheme, with everything from Yuccas to cacti all getting the glitzy treatment! Something as simple as some ribbon around the pot or some spare baubles nestled in the leaves will make for a cost effective and fun visual treat.

Make some decorations

When we talk about a budget Christmas, we don't mean that you need to be scrimping and saving to make ends meet, we simply mean that there are better things for you to spend your money on than expensive decorations that you could easily make yourself!

We love the idea of creating beautiful origami shapes and attaching them to string or ribbon, before popping them on the tree or mantlepiece garlands! It's the personal touch that really makes things special, so how about enjoying a family origami session before having everyone go into the living room to put their offerings on the tree? That sounds like heaven to us!

Create a centrepiece

Vallesusa 2014, gabel gabel Dining room Accessories & decoration

One of our favourite budget Christmas makes is a table centrepiece, especially when it is made up of foraged items! Next time you enjoy a cold winter walk, take a bag with you and look out for pine cones, dried leaves and twigs that you like, so that when you get home you can sit down to a fun craft project.

We like to build our centrepieces around some candles, as this helps to dictate the size and shape that they need to be. We then have a tendency to go a little wild with the ribbon and glitter, but this is Christmas, so don't hold back! A super fun tip is to use scented candles as this will make your project smell as good as it looks!

Extra touches

If you've pared back the tree and made your own baubles but you feel like something is missing, why not consider making some festive bunting to hang around the house? A super simple project, you will only need some ribbon, fabric offcuts and a sewing machine, as well as a free afternoon and before you know it, you will have some jolly bunting to hang in your home. The best part is, people will think you have spent a fortune, but little will they know that it is all part of your budget Christmas!

For more Christmas inspiration, take a look at this Ideabook: Christmas Decorating Ideas.

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