Need Christmas decorating ideas on a budget? Here are the best tips and tricks for Christmas decorating on a budget so you can decorate your home for Christmas while sticking to your budget.
This is only the beginning of my second year of owning a house which means I don’t have a lot of Christmas decor accumulated yet.
I never realized or even stopped to think about how expensive Christmas decor is until I bought a house. There are so many places in a house that need decorating and it can all start to add up very quickly.
Being on a tight budget this year, I’ve had to get creative and choosy when it comes to what decor I buy and where I buy it.
I’m SUPER happy with how my home turned out this year and even more happy with the amount I paid for my Christmas decor.
Here’s a bunch of ways that you can decorate your home for Christmas this year on a budget.
This post is about Christmas decorating ideas on a budget.
Best Christmas Decorating Ideas On A Budget
1. Pick A Color Palette Or Theme
Of course before you do anything, you need to decide on a color palette or theme. Do you want a very fun, classic Christmas theme? If so, you’ll probably want to sick to more of the reds, greens and whites. Do you want a more modern, chic Christmas style? For that you might like golds and silvers. A winter theme will be more blue, white and silver.
By knowing your color theme, this will help you later on when you are SURROUNDED by Christmas decoration galore. Everything will look so pretty and it can be overwhelming when you have to make a decision on what to buy. By having a color theme already planned, you have already narrowed down half the items presented to you in the stores. You will have a much easier time deciding and sticking to your budget. It will also help to keep the look of your decorating more cohesive and less random.
This is the first step to Christmas decorating on a budget.
2. Shop At The Right Stores
This goes without saying, but there are some stores with beautiful Christmas decor that maybe come with a not so beautiful price tag. It’s also true there are some stores with a great price tag, but maybe the decor options are not so lovely and just look cheap.
Being on such a tight budget this year, I’ve had to be very strategic about where I shop and have been able to find the best stores to buy Christmas decor that looks expensive at a great price.
Here are a few of my favorite stores with very affordable and inexpensive Christmas decor.
1. Target
Target is always a hit for any home decor, but I’m especially a fan of their Christmas decor options. They have very reasonable prices and a variety of colors and styles so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.
2. Hobby Lobby
I hit Hobby Lobby in the fall before Thanksgiving and they already had all of their holiday decor items out. And the best part was that all Christmas decor was 50% off! I haven’t been back since, so I’m not sure how long that sale lasted or if you can still get deals like that, but definitely check them out early in the fall to hopefully catch one of these deals.
I got a large amount of my Christmas decor at Hobby Lobby for a really good price. This is another store with a large variety of colors and styles and just really great, timeless pieces you’ll keep for years.
3. Home Goods
I make sure to check out my local Home Goods every single season. It just feels like I’m hitting the jackpot every time I go. You can especially get really high end designer brands here at a fraction of the cost. Definitely recommend seeing what your Home Goods has for Christmas decor this year.
4. Walmart
I feel like I hit the jackpot at Walmart this year 😂. Walmart should be your first stop for Christmas decorating! They had so many beautiful decor items with really great quality. I got a holly berry wreath for my bathroom, mantle hooks and stockings, wall art and so much more. Definitely don’t skip Walmart if your Christmas shopping on a budget.
5. Kohls
I have to admit, Kohls is not a store I typically shop at. But when looking online for garland, I found some really great ones here and I got them for a really good price. The quality is there too so I’m really happy about it! This is the exact garland I got.
I started browsing other Christmas decorations they had and I was pleasantly surprised. I had to stop myself from spending more money.
Kohls always has good sales and coupon deals going on, so be strategic about when you buy. Always make sure you have a coupon. I got a really great deal on my garland that way.
3. Be Intentional About What Pieces You Choose
Being on a budget means you cannot just buy everything you see that looks nice. Believe me, I wish I could 😩.
The benefit to this is you end up with really great Christmas decorations that you decided was worth buying, and you’re slowly building up a really great inventory of Christmas items that you will bring out every single year.
Moral of the story is don’t buy it unless you really love it, and it fits into your budget.
4. Less Is More
The good thing about having to be choosy with your Christmas decor buying, is that it will make it easier when decorating. Less is more, my friend.
Have you ever been in someone’s house and it just looks like Christmas came and threw up everywhere? Like every single inch of that house is covered in something “Christmas”. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with this, and sometimes it can look really good! But if not done right, it can easily come off looking random or cluttered.
You can get the exact same Christmasy feeling in your home on a budget.
For example, your fireplace mantle could look nice with an entire Christmas village with the snow and the people and houses, etc. But it can take years to grow a collection like that and for good pieces, it can get very expensive.
What I did is I placed a pre-lit garland across the mantle in front of my large mirror that was already up there. A couple of stocking hooks and red stockings from Walmart and it’s done! It adds such a warm and cozy Christmas feeling and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Just a small little candle on the side table, or a Christmas wreath in the bathroom…you don’t need much at all to make your home feel like Christmas.
5. It’s In The Little Details
Going off the less is more point, you’d be surprised how just the tiniest change can really change the look of a space. For example adding Christmas hand towels to the kitchen or bathroom instantly changes the whole look and feel.
Swapping out a neutral candle for a Christmas candle or throwing up a string of lights around the window is all you need to instantly transform your home to feel like Christmas, and it doesn’t have to cost you much to do it at all.
6. Lights Lights Lights
My absolute FAVORITE part of Christmas decorating is the LIGHTS. Give me Christmas lights any time of the year and I’m a happy girl. You can get a whole string of Christmas lights for $2-3 and the magic it creates is marvelous.
Lights around the windows, lights on door frames, lights around poles. Get creative and have fun with it because you can never have too many in my book. I also put a pre-lit garland along my kitchen cabinets and I’m obsessed!
Christmas lights to me are what really brings the magic. It’s the finishing touches that create the Christmas feeling everyone strives for in their home.
7. Don’t Forget The Greenery
Greenery is another thing that is so crucial to holiday decorating. I used to think I needed red AND green decorations to create my vision and theme. Then I just realized the green is best when it comes from things like garland and other types of Christmas plants.
I bought a real tree (because I’m from Connecticut and I’m snobby when it comes to real Christmas trees 😅 I’m sorry, but I refuse to only have fake trees!), and at the Christmas tree farm, I saved the extra branches they cut off and took them home with me to create smaller greenery decor around my house.
Trees are getting expensive, so that was a little bit of a splurge for me this year, but it felt good to save money by using the extra branches that otherwise would have been thrown away, and used it to create authentic (INCREDIBLE smelling) Christmas decor!
8. It Won’t Feel Like Christmas Without A Little “Tacky”
Okay, so you’ve seen the Pinterest worthy Christmas home decor where everything looks just perfect and could literally be in a magazine. But it always feels like it’s missing something, to me anyway. It just lacks the homeyness and classic Christmas we all felt as kids. It’s nice, but if we’re being honest…
It just won’t feel like Christmas without a little “tacky”.
That’s right. Just do it, buy that tinsel, get that cheesy Santa figurine, go for the year branded Christmas bears. Haha!
Seriously! I’m not above it. I truly think too much perfection just sucks the life out of Christmas. Those super monochromatic styles can look really nice, but if you want it to truly feel like Christmas, just a touch of tacky is really necessary in my opinion.
9. Don’t Forget The Personal Touches
And of course, Christmas is personal. It’s in our hearts and comes with years and years of family memories. Custom photo ornaments are great. Any special Christmas item you’ve had since you were a kid, put that up front and center. Display your Christmas cards. Christmas decorating should reflect you and your family and put a warm light in your heart each year.
This post was all about Christmas decorating ideas on a budget.
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Great tips! Thank you, Rebecca.