We are almost ready to host our first christmas! I really doubted our ability to come up with a tree and decorations on such a tight budget, but it happened! My mom visited last week and brought stockings, garland, stocking hangers, extra ornaments and christmas books. Then Adam, my mom and I collaborated to make a few decorations that we’ll be able to keep for at least a few years, and they were mostly made out of things we already had in the house. Yay! We were also able to find a lot of decorations and ornaments cheaply at goodwill and at a local craft fair. I didn’t buy anything I didn’t really like, and that policy seemed to keep the price down.
The real christmas miracle was the tree. My niece is allergic to live trees in the house, so we had to go with a fake tree. After some research, I was finding not a lot of options in our price range and I was starting to wonder if it was going to be a treeless christmas. On a whim, my mom and I stopped in to goodwill in our neighborhood about a half hour before they were supposed to close. Right in the entryway was this life-like 9 foot CHRISTMAS TREE. One saleswoman said she had sold the tree 2 days ago, but we were not about to give up that easily, so we went and got another salesperson. He couldn’t find a sold or claimed tag OR a price tag so they had it priced for us. $39.99!!!!! Later when we were setting it up at home we found a hidden tag for $49.99! My mom was telling me they bought a very similar tree 5 years ago half off for $299. That was about the price I kept coming up with online, even used. So this was our christmas miracle. 🙂
Here’s some pictures of our christmas decorations and DIY projects. Thank you all for encouraging me to try and decorate on a budget and try to be creative! I think it’s working!
I LOVE the giant star on the mantle. Love, love, love.
I love the tree branch decoration! that’s a pretty cool idea, actually.
Saw something similar at ikea.
Also, thank you!!!
Congrats on all of the good finds! It looks pretty! You’ll be surprised at how things work out sometimes if you hang in there. The first Christmas in the new house is so much fun!
I remember many years ago my son who is severely disabled outgrew his rocker. He needed one with a tall back and there aren’t many chairs that would support him and he has no use of his arms or hands. I couldn’t afford a new rocker and he was just starting to grow from a child to a teenager so he wasn’t quite the right size for an adult rocker and he was too tall for a kid’s rocker. I didn’t know what I’d do. I kept praying for a rocker but had no idea how. One day, we went for a walk in his wheelchair on a beautiful sunny day and as we started down the walking path along the golf course, there was a rocker sitting in the apartment parking lot “near” the dumpster, that was just his size. It was free! I couldn’t believe it. The one arm was a little loose but I took it home, cleaned it up and it worked perfect until I could afford a new one. I still remember how odd it was that day to see that beautiful wood rocker just sitting there as if it were waiting for him. I had never picked anything up before but we live in a pretty affluent area so it wasn’t uncommon to see really nice furniture sitting out on occasion when people’s leases were up, lol; they’ll often set furniture out early and along the side so people will take them. Once he outgrew this one I was able to afford a new adult one for him but I still remember how cool it was to find that one.
I love this story!!!
Emily did an awesome job decorating our house. She did all of this while I was out of town for work. I came back to a beautiful, natural, festive home. We were inspired by your comments to use natural elements where possible, and to remember that we will accumulate decorations for years, so to start small. I’m amazed at how wonderful it looks with just a few touches here and there.
Emily – if you found any decor that you lusted over but had to leave behind, make sure to check the after Christmas sales. 75% off is worth a little allowance spending, IMO. Plus, if you look for “winter” decor, you can keep it out for a few months.
I’m taking pictures and making mental notes 🙂
Cute decorations!
Jen
Wonderful job on all the decorations! I love the star on the mantle 🙂
The giant star on the mantle is the witchcraft one. You need to add another point to get the star of david- the correct christmas star.