Amazing ideas to deck the halls on a budget
Inexpensive Christmas decorating solutions
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There's nothing like transforming your home into an enchanting, festive wonderland to get you in the Christmas spirit. But don't panic, filling your home with light, sparkle and jolly displays this holiday season needn't cost you a fortune.
No matter your style, we've brought together the best DIY and frugal Christmas decorating ideas to help you deck the halls without breaking the bank. Click or scroll on to get inspired...
Use real fruit
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Not only does dried citrus fruit add a beautiful burst of colour to Christmas wreaths, swags and decorations, but when combined with other natural and aromatic materials such as cinnamon sticks, pine cones and star anise, the scent becomes deliciously festive.
Make pine cone Christmas trees
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Here's a fun and sustainable Christmas decoration idea. Pop pine cones into empty paint sample pots painted on the outside. Paint the edges to look like frosted branches and stick a tiny wooden star on top.
These woodland-style mini Christmas trees will look idyllic as part of a mantel, table or windowsill Christmas arrangement.
Decorate a paper tablecloth
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Add some embellishment to a plain and inexpensive paper tablecloth. Print holly berries onto the surface with red paint and a cork. Cut out holly leaf shapes from potatoes to complete the design with green paint.
Or, put your drawing skills to the test by creating a festive and botanical design with chalk pens on lengths of kraft paper.
Make a tinsel wreath
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As retro Christmas trends are popping up everywhere why not have a go at making a tinsel wreath? Tinsel is a bargain buy so this makes a bling and bright alternative to more expensive wreaths and can be used year after year.
Follow Tara Besore's tutorial on Hammer & a Headband using just an affordable foam wreath, tinsel, glue and ribbon.
Paint a festive doormat
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Give guests a warm Christmas-themed welcome by transforming a plain jute doormat into a snowy festive house. Make a stencil from paper or card and spray the pattern on with white spray paint.
Or, if you've already invested in a Cricut machine, check out the project here.
Repurpose old baubles
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Who says baubles should only be hung on trees? Give your coffee table, mantelpiece or even porch steps a festive makeover this Christmas by filling up outdoor lanterns with leftover baubles.
Opt for different sizes and shapes or stick to one style of bauble or tree ornament for a more coordinated look.
Bake a showstopper
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Have a go at baking your Christmas decorations this year. Gingerbread is a sturdy biscuit that you can shape and assemble into just about anything.
While gingerbread houses make wonderful centrepieces, you could also create tree decs. Simply cut out trees, stars, reindeer and gingerbread men from the dough and pierce a hole through the top. Bake, decorate and string up onto the tree.
Decorate branches
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If you don't have the space for a traditional tree but still want somewhere to hang your favourite baubles, go for a twig design. You can buy one from most high street retailers and supermarkets, but better still you could repurpose a real branch or tree.
Bring your branch indoors and let it completely dry, then spray paint it either white or silver. You could also wrap it with colourful yarn.
Style up the staircase
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Highlight the hallway with a colourful garland wrapped around the banister. Embellish the looped foliage with twinkling fairy lights and string up large paper honeycomb baubles and stars to hang down from the greenery.
Fold and hang paper stars
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Sustainable decorations like paper stars are simple to fold and make a mindful Christmas choice. Use leftover gift wrap for a colourful contrast to a white backdrop or brown paper looks rustic and cosy.
Look for online tutorials, alternatively, purchase paper stars and hang handmade snowflakes to create a frosty and sustainable display.
DIY an advent calendar
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Countdown to Christmas with a simple but colourful advent calendar made of simple paper bags. Fill 24 paper bags with sweets or keepsakes and stick them down with 24 numbered stickers.
Then, hang them from the Christmas tree, to a wall or from a garland with mini pegs.
Decorate a ladder
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If you don't have a tree then bring in an old wooden ladder or bathroom towel ladder that you can lean against the wall and decorate with baubles, garlands and fairy lights.
You could paint it white, but if you leave it bare it'll give your room a rustic Scandinavian feel.
Light up a card tree
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If you need to forgo a Christmas tree altogether this year, fear not, there are other affordable alternatives. Why not hook fairy lights onto a wall in a zig-zag pattern to form a Christmas tree shape?
Then, stick your favourite festive cards onto the fairy lights with mini wooden pegs. Then simply pop all the presents at the foot and highlight the seasonal silhouette.
Draw a chalkboard tree
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Brighten up a plain wall with a modern, graphic Christmas tree drawn with chalk. Either paint a wall with chalkboard paint or use a piece of MDF. This fun version can be customised to fit the size of your available space and can be wiped off and removed without damaging the paintwork so you can pop it back up year after year.
Add colourful novelty Christmas tree decorations with washi tape to complete the look.
Add colour with Christmas flowers
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Poinsettias are the go-to Christmas flower thanks to their rich red or snowy white hues and star-shaped petals. Fill the house with colourful Christmas cheer and a pine-like fragrance and opt for pretty poinsettia centrepieces on your dining table or sideboards – you can even create mini displays for smaller spaces.
Pet owners beware though – poinsettia plants are mildly toxic to cats and dogs, so make sure they are out of reach.
Decorate a door
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Embellished and elaborate Christmas door decorations are all the rage right now. You can follow the trend by making your own DIY budget door arch: safely secure a faux garland around the door, intertwining fairy lights with the foliage if desired. Attach baubles in various sizes evenly across the arch, then fill in the gaps with white poinsettia flowers and finish with woodland pine cones.
Or, gather a selection of foliage like a hand-tied bouquet, tie with ribbon and fasten it to your front door.
Experiment with unusual wreaths
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Make the most of materials from around the home to create striking outdoor decorations. Combining an array of tactile materials in muted hues, this rustic contemporary-style wreath is made from a wooden hoop, wire and foliage.
Seasonal berries and foliage bring colour, while the addition of heather adds an unusual earthy twist.
Crack out the candy canes
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Feast your eyes on these sweet decorations. A festive necessity, candy canes usually make an appearance every year and they're cheap to use.
Try arranging a bunch of candy canes into a vase for a DIY centrepiece that’s good enough to eat or add them to garlands and wreaths, crossed at the base, to make the shape of a heart. They also make great gift toppers and place name favours.
Perk up with pom-poms
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Colourful pom-poms are a simple folk-style festive embellishment that makes everyone smile. Choose natural materials like wool and felt and match the colours to your Christmas décor or a feature wall.
Hang them as garlands or stick them onto a ring of card to make a cheery wreath for an authentic and colourful Scandinavian feel.
Decorate windows
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Cut paper snowflakes or stars from shimmering gold or silver paper and stick them to the window with Blu-Tack (a staple at Christmas!). Or, invest in a Christmas stencil and spray festive patterns onto the pane with snow spray.
If that sounds like too much work, position a festive window film in place, instead. Easy!
Create a wreath display
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Wreaths are not just for the front door – with an array of styles available, you can use them indoors to transform a vacant corner into a festive focal point. Have a go at making your own with natural foliage and then use them to decorate a wall or a chimney breast above the hearth.
Make them extra-special by wrapping delicate, battery-powered, fairy lights around them for a twinkling effect.
Personalise your stockings
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Elevate a simple budget-friendly felt stocking by adding your own unique touch. With basic sewing skills, you can embroider family names or patterns to personalise this Christmas essential.
If you're feeling super crafty, you could even buy your own material and sew a stocking from scratch – a relatively speedy project if you have a sewing machine.
Get creative with Christmas tree ornaments
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Most of us harbour a junk drawer filled with bits and bobs with no particular home. Take those leftover gift bows, curling ribbons and buttons and use them to spruce up old baubles. Not only will you create a unique ornament, but you'll also be decluttering in the process.
This adorable fillable glass bauble has been customised with faux moss, dried berries and Scrabble tiles.
Upcycle old baubles
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Transform old or plain baubles with a little creative thinking – it’s amazing what you can do with a glue gun and acrylic paint. Simply use permanent metallic markers to personalise your ornaments with names or quotes and then adorn with decorations, from faux gold leaf to sequins, gems and glitter.
This is a great way to recycle old baubles, it's also a perfect way to get friends and family involved in some crafty fun.
Fill up a fireplace
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Give an empty fireplace a festive retro feel this Christmas by filling the disused hearth with paper honeycomb decorations. An inexpensive investment, pack out the large space and arrange them as though they've just tumbled down the chimney.
These designs in red, white and teal almost look like oversized baubles!
Clamp on a vertical table display
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If you don't have the facilities to hang a foliage arrangement over the Christmas table or room for a large centrepiece, why not wheel in a frame to create a showstopping overhead display?
Wrap half the structure with foliage and fairy lights, then hang ornaments from the framework at staggered levels.
Make twig wall hangings
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The next time you go for a country or coastal walk, collect fallen twigs, driftwood and small branches. Once you've left them to dry out, put them to use as rustic Christmas decorations.
You can simply display them across sideboards and bureaus or even lean them in the corner of the room, or for something crafty, create a hanging festive tree by attaching them with rope in ascending order of size, then embellish with fairy lights and a wooden star ornament at the top.
Chalk up festive messages
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If you have a chalkboard wall or framed blackboard, drawing festive chalk art costs practically nothing. Take a look online for inspirational festive messages and brush up on your calligraphy skills to get scribbling.
Crafty marketplace websites stock pages of Christmas overlay to trace or if you're artistically inclined, you could buy a ready-made personalised chalkboard that you can bring out every year.
Wrap present props
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Nothing looks more inviting than a Christmas tree once presents start to stack up underneath. Spread the cheer into other places of your home with faux present props.
Save empty boxes in various sizes throughout the year and then wrap them in beautiful paper and ribbon. Be sure little ones know there is nothing inside or they might try to unwrap your hard work.
Decorate mini trees
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If you don't have the room or budget for a large Christmas tree, you don't have to go without – mini versions look endearing and country chic.
Dress them with natural elements like pine cones or hessian wrap, give them some bling with colourful tiny baubles or make them glow with delicate fairy lights. Group them in threes or with other foliage to create an endearing elf-sized forest display.
Make snow globes
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Snow globes are ultra magical at Christmas time. Make your own miniature scene with floating snow and glitter for the fraction of the price of one from a shop.
Use a craft shop kit or make a vintage-style version using an upside-down jam jar and glycerin then disguise the lid with a ribbon.
Make your own crackers
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DIY Christmas crackers are a great way to use up spare bits of wrapping paper and curling ribbon. You’ll need toilet or kitchen roll tubes (start collecting now!), wrapping paper, ribbon and whichever fillers take your fancy.
Cut the cardboard barrels into three sections, wrap and tie up. Don’t forget to add the fillers before you tie the knots!
Hang photo decorations
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Make your holiday tree look extra special by decorating it with personalised ornaments filled with family photographs.
Insert DIY Polaroid-style photos into fillable frames or hang printouts in wooden ornament-shaped frames.
Use holly as a table display
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What a simple but effective way to add some life to the Christmas table. Once you've set the table – red placemats with a white dinner plate on top – tuck real holly (or faux) around the edge of the plate.
Position it towards the top and not all the way around the plate, for a festive touch that doesn't get in the way.
Make mistletoe bouquets
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Mistletoe is a fun and pocket-friendly way to decorate your home. Create beautiful bouquets of mistletoe with leftover wrapping paper or newspaper, mix in some evergreen cuttings and secure with yarn.
Hang them above doors and wherever people like to congregate if you're feeling mischievous. These can then be dried and used again next year.
Bring in outdoor elements
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Think creatively about your dining table decoration and give something like this a try. You don't need to go massively over the top, but see if you can find a fallen branch outside; it won't cost you anything but will take some effort.
Dry it off, clean it up and you could even spray paint it. Then securely affix it to the ceiling before hanging baubles and fairy lights from it.
Craft your own gift tags
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Trim tag shapes from card and decorate with simple red ribbon and dried natural leaves, glued into position.
Choose seasonal winter foliage – fir, holly, ivy and eucalyptus, they're perfect for making your own decorations!
Hand-tie cutlery with ribbon
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Setting a lavish table doesn't need to cost a fortune – simple touches can really make a difference. Tie cutlery with ribbons, handwrite place cards, entwine fairy lights down the length of the table, and dot faux flower petals around.
You can pick up coordinating dinnerware sets like this at budget prices from most supermarkets.
Use fairy lights in new ways
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Why limit yourself to hanging fairy lights on your Christmas tree? With a bit of imagination, you can transform plants, fireplaces, pictures and mirrors into a twinkling lighting feature. String them along windowsills, around doors or up the banisters.
Drop a bunch of fairy lights into a glass vase to add a glow to empty fireplaces. And a simple effect is to drape them along the centre of the dining table for a twinkly look.
Sew your own hanging decs
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For those brave enough to reach for the sewing needle, these heart-shaped felt decorations are a delightful way to decorate your home.
Cut felt into shape, ensuring you make two identical shapes per decoration, and sew together using embroidery thread, leaving a small hole to fill with stuffing.
Sew a felt garland
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Create a length of bunting with cheeky gingerbread men as the star. Cut an outline from a piece of card to streamline the process. Stitch them, evenly spaced, along a length of ribbon and finish with black sequins as eyes.
Use them to decorate areas in your home, such as above the mantelpiece, up the banisters or hanging from wall mirrors and pictures.
Make a bauble feature
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If you live in a small home and don't have a lot of space for elaborate decorations but still want to create impact, then have a go at this striking craft idea.
Here, a branch has been used but you could use any stick or pole – a sturdy cardboard tube from finished wrapping paper would work well. String as many baubles as possible onto the pole at varying lengths, then hang up on the wall; above the sofa would look great!
Arrange a pine cone display
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Gather pine cones on a forest walk and use them as a pretty table display. Spritz with cinnamon and pine room spray or position in a bow with potpourri.
Tie them with twine and you could hang them on the tree or just leave in a bowl – it's free and wonderfully festive for the season.
Make long paper chains
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You can buy paper chain kits with ready-cut lengths of paper, or go old-school and start from scratch and make your own. Simply trim equal lengths from coloured paper or Christmas wrap.
You could even use up old magazines or newspaper. Then, with a glue stick, assemble them into a long chain. Make it any length you like and then drape around your home.
Knit mini tree jumpers
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Get those needles tapping and work up a pair of cute Christmas jumpers. Miniature in size, these will look sweet hanging from the tree or dotted about your home.
Make them in traditional colours or go for bright neon wools for something more modern. These also make a lovely gift for a loved one.
Love this? Make Christmas magical with wonderful keepsake gifts too
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