Let’s face it, the holidays, especially Christmas can put a little extra financial strain on families. Between gifts, outfits, family gatherings, and travel your budget starts to look tighter and tighter, which doesn’t leave much room for a big decor budget. Every year I find myself asking where all of my money went from November to December. Sound familiar?
If this sounds exactly like you, or maybe you would like to find a way to save a couple of extra bucks around the holidays, keep reading. I’ve spent quite some time configuring the best money-saving hacks to help keep your budget healthy during the holidays. So, for this Christmas, follow my 5 fiscally responsible tips for your festive decorations.
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Tip #1 – Stick To Your Style
Do you love modern farmhouse style, but feel drawn to elegant Christmas decor? Perhaps you prefer the red and black buffalo check. Regardless of what kind of Christmas decor you love, modern farmhouse style embraces other decorative styles very well. Find one specific style you like in your seasonal decor and go with that.
I’m sure you’re thinking “great, but what does this have to do with saving money?” Well, when you’re purchasing Christmas decor it’s best to go in with a plan. By identifying the style you’re looking for, you will be able to identify key pieces or styles you like without being distracted by the cute pieces that don’t fit into your overall design.
The cute, distracting pieces may look great in the store, but once you get them into your home you may spend double the money buying other similar decorations to help them “fit” in with your home. So don’t go shopping without a plan.
Tip #2 – Pick A Color Scheme
Whether you are a lover of neutrals or passionate about all things merry & bright during the holidays, the most important thing is to find your color palette. Although Christmas is known for reds & greens, the decorations for the jolly season have evolved. You see pink & blue ornaments or soft neutral holiday palettes, but then there are also the traditional bright red & green ones. The Christmas decor has truly expanded into an overwhelming variety of options.
This can make it quite easy to spend hundreds of dollars scouring aisle after aisle of beautiful decorations. So instead of going in blind picking out whatever item calls to you, establish your holiday color scheme. Once you’ve identified your core color palette, it will help you go shopping with a plan of attack. It will direct you to find things within a cohesive group allowing for a greater impact in your home with less decor.
Tip #3 – Avoid Gimmicks
You know when you walk into the store and there are those adorable little signs and decorations that seem so affordable? Although they may seem like a good idea at the time, I caution against purchasing them. The issue here is that many of these cliche Christmas decorations are smaller and therefore it requires a lot more of them to be impactful. Before you know it you will have purchased 10 of these $10 items and already spend $100 on decorations that do little to create a major impact in your home.
If you must have them, get a few curated in your style and color scheme that you place on some sort of tray or container. This way, together they can be a bit more impactful in your home. It’s perfectly okay to have one or two but try not to go overboard (I know it’s tempting).
Tip #4 – Use Natural Elements
Sometimes you don’t even need to go to the store for Christmas decor. You can actually head out to your own backyard and find some key holiday decor pieces. I’m sure you’re thinking “what on earth could I use from outside in my holly jolly decor?” Well, you just may be surprised to know that sometimes the most beautiful pieces are decorations made from nature.
We actually keep a stash of pinecones and acorns in with our Christmas goodies to help decorate our greenery, tree, bowls, and other accent pieces. They’ve become a staple decorative filler and something that really helps provide a more subtle, organic feel to our colorful decor. You can also use things such as deer antlers, actual pine leaves, berries, and more.
Tip #5 – Fill Your Home With Greens
Last but not least, the simplest and most affordable way to spruce up your home for the holidays is to add in some holiday greens. Whether it’s purchasing a long garland that can be used throughout the house or buying a few picks to make your own wreaths and decorations, greenery fills up space. It makes for an impactful addition to your other Christmas decorations.
