Tired of having some soon to be convicted felon telling you that with a
thousand hours labor and a thousand dollars investment, you too can fill
your home with Holiday cheer? Me too! There are lots of ways to pretty up
the house for the holidays without taking out a second mortgage. I've
always contended I could decorate any house for Christmas (inside) for less
than thirty dollars, and I stand by my claim. Here are some tips for making
your champagne wishes come true on a six pack budget.
- Go to your nearest Walgreens/Walmart/Target and stock up on those
solid color glass ball ornaments. Stick to one or two colors that compliment
but not match your decor too closely. That helps the feeling stay festive
without blending in too much or being too gaudy. For example, if your
room is largely blue, get red and gold balls, if it's brown, try blue
and silver. Buy ribbon from the clearance rack (real cloth ribbon!)
Tie varying lengths of ribbon the ornaments making a small bow just
above the bulb, and suspend from the ceiling either over your dining
table or any low traffic area using removable poster gum. It's not strong
enough to hold posters, but it is strong enough to hold those glass
balls.
- Then, take any clear glass bowl - if you're married, you finally have
a use for that trifle dish or punchbowl from your registry -- and fill
the bowl to heaping with more glass ball ordainments. turn them upside
down so the part the hooks would go is less visible.
- On the tree lot, there are always lots of small stray pine boughs
laying around. Too small to sell, they'll let you take them for free,
just to not have to pick them up themselves. You can stick a couple
in your bowl of ornaments or just place a few around the base of your
candle holders. It has that window dressing look and is both free and
takes about 30 seconds.
- Scented candles both cost way too much and are very distracting. You
can make the whole house smell great by boiling some a sliced apple
and some cloves and cinnamon in an open pan of lots of water. You don't
want to use scented candles on your dining table because the scents
can interfere with the meal's flavors. You can get unscented ones that
melt the same (actually those without scents burn longer because without
the oils the wax melts at a higher temperature) and put them wherever
you won't set the house on fire. Buy a bag of cheap votives and set
them out in the pretty pyrex custard cups you never use. The nice thing
about the glass ornaments and candles is the light will bounce everywhere
for a nice twinkly warm glow.
- Pine branches, pine cones, ribbon, apples and ornaments are really
all you need for a simple elegant tool kit to spruce things up. There
are infinite combinations, and don't forget to root through your cupboards
and drawers for things you already have and just haven't seen the beauty
in... yet!
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