10 Thrifty Christmas Decor Ideas + Budget Holiday Buying Guide

Raise your hand if you’ll be busting out the jingle bells and stockings as soon as your last bit of company leaves Thursday after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m sooooo ready!

Granted, bloggers usually have to be ahead of the Christmas decorating game, but at least now I won’t feel completely abnormal in my neighborhood.

I’ve shared before some of my favorite tricks to decorate for Christmas for dirt cheap before, but if you don’t have access to a super awesome thrift store or don’t have time to get crafty this year, I decided to round up some of my favorite farmhouse-y holiday decor for under $15 along with 10 thrifty Christmas decorating ideas.

What I love even more is some of these could be left as-is or could be used for quick craft projects to make them more personal.

Basic burlap stockings can become show-stoppers by just hot gluing a little lace or faux fur trim, depending on your style. Plain wooden ornaments can be painted with an accent of white paint to look like Scandinavian gingerbread cookies. And simple house ornaments can be placed inside clear jars on top of fluffed cotton balls for a DIY snow globe look.

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And if you want more budget holiday decorating ideas, here are a few from my Christmas tour last year:

Repurpose a typewriter with letters to Santa.

Use old shutters as Christmas card and holiday family photo holders.

Utilize the versatility of chalkboards to write Christmas carols around your house. (And use this chalkboard writing trick to make it easier and picture-perfect.)

Wrap gifts in brown postage paper and add stickers, twine, and tree trimmings for cheap but cute packages.

Mod Podge cheap dollar store ornaments with scraps of old sheet music for a vintage vibe. And spray your tree with canned snow to make it flocked if you can’t afford the pricey store-flocked trees.

Use old Coca-Cola crates for festive trays on your coffee table or hot cocoa bar.

Incorporate family heirlooms and bring your skis, sleds, snowshoes, and ice skates inside from the shed for some whimsy.

Repurpose baby shoes as sweet and sentimental ornaments.

Replace some of the photos in your house with Christmas printables. (There are TONS of free downloadable printables in this bloghop post. Or download these funny holiday movie quotes printables here.)

Add a mini bunting to a wreath with burlap scraps, twine, and hot glue.

Got any great inexpensive Christmas decorating ideas of your own?! Share them in the comments! And if you’re a blogger, feel free to leave links to some of your favorite cheap holiday crafts. 🙂

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