Holiday budget decorating

Hot glue pasta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You don't have to spend a fortune on decor if you use many of the items you already have in your home and in your yard.

Tip # 1 Keep it simple

The more you do, the more complicated and expensive it can get. Remembering to keep decorating simple will keep your design elegant and refined and budget friendly.

Tip # 2 Use what you have

So many times we think we have to go out and buy decorations to express ourselves when some of the best decorations we have are already in our homes. Go on a treasure hunt in your garage or attic and look for things you can use creativity and a little hot glue to transform. With a little this and a little that, you can easily re-purpose things you already have.

Tip # 3 Nature calls

Rustic warm decor appeals to almost everyone, especially as the weather gets colder and colder. Look for broken branches, nuts, acorns and pine cones to dress up mantles, shelves and make centerpieces for your tables. These items are free and really warm up a space. FYI- if you don't have a yard or very little yard, consider going to a nearby park or even a beach to find natures little overlooked gifts. Seashells can be given a sparkle by spraying glitter paint and gluing jewels on them and displayed in large pickle jars, and glass vases.

The best way to decorate a Christmas tree

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Christmas trees are a beautiful sight to behold during the holidays. With all the ornaments, lights and special touches any tree can be transformed into a magical symbol of peace on earth and good will. Decorating a tree is another thing all together. It is a lot of work to decorate a Christmas tree but keeping it organized and simple will yield the best results. If you live in South Carolina and would love to purchase and pick out your very own live tree, see the *link at the bottom of this article for where to go.

Here's a few suggestions on decorating your tree:

 Artificial tree tips:

1. If you have an artificial tree, take the tree out and assemble at least one day ahead to allow the tree to expand fully. Don't decorate.
2. Straighten all limbs out starting from the bottom and going around the tree one level at a time. Make sure you have ample space all around so that you and others can move around your tree easily.
3. Pre-lit trees need to be checked ahead of time for faulty bulbs and connections.
4. If your tree isn't pre lit, consider using LED lights. These should go on your tree first. If you plug them in as you wrap them around the tree you will easily spot any gaps or sags in the line.
5. Order of decorations to place beginning with lights : Lights, pearls, garlands,ribbons, ornaments, topper
6. Work from the bottom up, Using larger ornaments at the bottom, medium through the middle, and smallest ornaments at the top.
7. Finish off with all your decorative holly sticks, Poinsettia, etc.
8. Always turn off your tree lights before going to bed.

Real tree tips:

1. Trim the trunk of your tree at the bottom before bringing into the home. Water trunk with your hose immediately after trimming.
2. While outside, place tree after trimming the trunk temporarily into its stand with water and examine the tree for any problems.
3. Before placing live tree in your home, spread out newspapers on the floor to allow for trimming of the branches and for any excess needles to fall, it will make clean up easier.
4. Make sure to keep your tree watered and check often. Large trees need a good deal of water to keep from drying out and place tree away from any heat registers or fireplaces to keep them from drying out prematurely.
5. You may want to give your live tree a day of rest and expansion before decorating. When live trees are purchased bound up, they, like artificial trees get a little fuller if allowed a little time to spread out. This will also reveal any hidden wonky branches that may need trimming off.
6. Follow above steps 5-8 for decorating your live tree

*South Carolina Christmas Tree Association Tree Farm locator

Related articles by this author:

• Holiday decorating and knowing your style 
• Holiday decorating and color choices 
• The Southern Magnolia 
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Inexpensive holiday decor ideas

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The holidays are here and it is time to deck the halls in your home. Decorations can be costly, but with the right amount of imagination, and a little creativity you do not have to spend a fortune on decorations for the holidays. Here are wonderful easy tips that will help your home look beautiful without breaking the bank.

1. Recycle old light bulbs- Old light bulbs need not be thrown away. There are a number of ways to use them in decor for the holidays. Try spray painting them and gluing a little ribbon on them to hang on the Christmas tree. Adding touches like glitter, adding smiley faces etc can really make them unique conversation pieces for the holidays.
2. Bring the outdoors in- Pine cones, boughs of Eucalyptus, nuts and seed pods make great all natural decor for mantles in the home. Add decorative holiday ribbon around baskets that are laden with pine cones,seed pods and nuts with a few ornaments from the tree and you have a cut little display for the hearth.
3. Candy decor- Hard holiday candy is a tasty treat but also an inexpensive way to decorate. Put ornament hooks on the wrappers and hang from the tree. Use a low temp hot glue gun and get red and green hard candy and decorate plain Candles. Make a wreath using Styrofoam rings wrapped in branches and hot glue candy canes, and hard candy like peppermints to it. Look in dollar stores for inexpensive bagged hard candy. You can usually find big bags for a few dollars and they can be used in so many ways.

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