DIY Christmas Decor (on a budget)

I’ve been all about trying to add little holiday touches to our condo this last week. We got our tree which fits PERFECTLY next to the TV and fills up a previously awkward empty space in the room. The discovery of which has led me to declare into condo law that we must keep a Christmas tree there at all times of the year (for aesthetic purposes, obviously).  But it didn’t just stop there. The pine tree-scented, twinking, glass-blown glory has spread to other areas of our living area. Not that I’m a design expert by any means but since our decor (minus the tree) cost me less than $10 I thought I’d share some of it and hope it inspires you to get creative with your own money-saving decorating strategies.

First… candle display (as inspired by Pottery Barn)
After seeing a super charming display of vanilla pillar candles in varying sizes on www.potterybarn.com, I knew I wanted to do something similar in our dining area. Originally wanting to do this on our bar area, I changed my mind and let the candles take over our table instead. 7 vanilla pillar candles in varying sizes that I scored from Michael’s for 50%. Total cost= $7.00

Second… a simple “mini tree”
While we were getting our Christmas tree trimmed to perfection, I asked the guy with the chainsaw if I could take some of the scraps and he looked at me with disinterest and shrugged. That’s as good as an enthusiastic YES to me so I grabbed a bunch of the extra branches off the ground. We already had this large glass vase filled with Nate’s old drumsticks so I added the huge branch to it and then decorated it with mini red glass ornaments from my box-o-holiday-schtuff. Total cost= free

Third… A Charming Mini Nativity Scene
Anthropologie has all these amazing wooden decor elements in the store right now and then I saw this great idea on Design*Sponge and couldn’t resist. While I was gathering branches at the Christmas tree farm I also snagged a bunch of the cut off trunks. Later at Michael’s I bought two tiny glass votive holders for .99/ea. Flip the votive holder upside down and place trinkets inside. I decided to place mini Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus figurines under my second votive dome for our nativity scene. I actually did it on a whim, because I didn’t know what else to put in there but then I kind of fell in love with it’s miniature charm. If I had a hot glue gun I’d totally suspend a little glittered star from the top. ;) Total Price = $0.99

Fourth… an Anthropologie inspired votive display
Capitalizing on the same original idea from above, I decided to stick a little single votice candle under the second glass dome. Just because I liked how it looked with the rest of the stuff on this makeshift side table. (The side table is actually Nate’s old jimbay.) You could put whatever you want under there though- broaches, ornaments, figurines, etc… Total cost= $0.99

What are your favorite holiday decorations?

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