Christmas decorating doesn’t need to be expensive.
Here are 21 decorating ideas for your home this festive season that won’t break the bank.
1 Collect shells from the beach. Drill holes in the shells and string ribbon through to decorate your Christmas tree. To really jazz them up, you could paint them in gold or silver.
2 Place a bowl of sand and shells on the dining table for a centrepiece. Add sprigs of native plants and small candles.
3 Twist metal coat hangers into shapes such as Christmas trees to hang on the wall.
4 Wrap boxes in Christmas wrap and stack them in a pile.
5 Bring out a train set and place it on the coffee table or around the bottom of the tree – kids love to touch things during Christmas and this gives them something to do.
6 If you have any plants inside, put small decorations on their branches.
7 Fill empty jars with sand and place candles inside them (not great if you have small children, but they can be placed up high).
8 Use sheet music – take one piece, roll it up, tie a ribbon around it and hang it from the tree. Alternatively, have a basket on the table and fill it with rolled sheet music. (If you have none, op shops often have old sheet music for sale for around 20c).
9 Make paper chains in your themed colours and hang them around the house.
10 Thread popcorn with a needle and hang it on the tree or around your house.
11 Tie a ribbon around a wine glass and place Christmas sweets inside (try using candy canes or chocolate coins).
12 Display flowers and/or native plants inside.
13 To display Christmas cards, use tacks to pin ribbon along one wall and hang the cards over them.
14 Wrap small items in aluminum foil to hang from the Christmas tree or display them in bowls.
15 Christmas lights are getting much cheaper, so don’t limit them to trees. Consider hanging them from ceilings, wrap them around stairwells or put them on plants.
16 Purchase small bells and hang them from the ceiling or at windows – or even on door handles.
17 Make Christmas puppets – draw them onto strong cardboard and then glue to popsicle sticks. Place them in baskets and add accessories – nuts, small pieces of material and any other small items that you have available.
18 Use coloured cellophane to place over lamps or lights, or even use it to decorate plants or the tree.
19 Gather nuts and display in small bowl
20 Display old jam jars – tie a ribbon around them and put in sand or sprigs from native trees, or simply fill with water and add a drop or two of food colouring.
21 Purchase small bells and hang them from ceilings or at windows, or even on door handles.
