Top 10 Money Saving Tips for Christmas - #4 Decorations

 

Christmas Tree Decorations - originally posted by Jason D’Great

 

One of the nicest things about Christmas is coming home after a long, cold day at work and seeing the house shining with lights and a Christmas wreath on the door. Getting this Christmas spirit does not have to cost a fortune though …

 

Don’t decorate

 

I might sound like a complete Scrooge for saying this, but you don’t have to decorate. I never decorated when I was living abroad because I never had family visiting and I always used to celebrate Christmas with friends at their houses.

 

If you are going to be out of the house for Christmas then it is really worth considering whether you want to decorate or not. I think many of us do it out of habit, rather than out of any enjoyment. Have a think, and you might just decide that you are going to save some money and have a decoration free Christmas this year.

 

Having said that, if you do decide to decorate here are some money saving tips for you …

 

Re-use from the year before

 

You are not Martha Stewart. Let me repeat that one more time … you are not Martha Stewart. This means you do not have to have the best decorations in a 50 mile radius. You do not have create a different them every year. You entire house does not have to be decorated in the same theme. You do not have to buy, make, or lie to investigators to get the most original, awe-inspiring decorations.

 

We are but mere mortals, and it is perfectly acceptable to re-use your decorations from the year before. It honestly doesn’t matter if the tree looks the same. And you mother-in-law is guaranteed to criticize something regardless of what you, so it may as well be the decorations. Using the same decorations year after year can be a great way not only to save money, but also to create memories, and these last forever.

 

Get Creative

 

If you don’t already have a stash of decorations at home then it may well be time to get creative. The internet is awash with ideas for making your own Christmas decorations - I’ll link to some of the best at the bottom of this post. Making your own may not save you any time, though anything is better than fighting the crowds in the shops two weeks before Christmas in my book - but it will definitely save you some money. It can also be a great way to keep the kids entertained   over the holidays, and they will love seeing their handicrafts in place of honour on the tree.

 

Get Cooking

 

Even if you don’t want to get creative - arts & crafts have never been my strong point either - you can always make some edible Christmas decorations. Not only do these go down a storm with the family, they are great for saving money as they are cheap and easy to make. Some of the best ideas include:

 

Getting popping - do it the old fashioned way by popping some popcorn and then stringing it.

Gingerbread - gingerbread can make great decorations, especially if you have some cookie cutters, or a steady hand for cutting out the Christmas tree shapes

Chocolate decorations - I know you can buy these in the store, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it can be really easy to make your own as well.

 

Bring The Outside In

 

There are lots of options for getting a little bit of the outdoors inside the house over Christmas. One idea is to make your own Christmas wreath from natural materials such as holly or pine cones. You can also use these to decorate inside the house; holly & ivy strung along the mantle piece can look lovely.

 

The cost of Christmas trees seems to rise year on year, and I don’t know about anyone else but I have always resented spending money on something that I am going to throw away a few weeks later. An environmentally conscientious alternative to the traditional Christmas tree is to buy a small rooted tree that you can plant in a large plant pot and bring indoors at Christmas time.

 

Fake It

 

As every girl already knows, there’s nothing wrong with faking it once in a while. This applies for Christmas trees as well. You will never have to worry about leaving it till the last minute and getting the scrawniest, saddest looking tree left again.  You also won’t have to worry about spending hours vacuuming up all the pine needles that seem to fall incessantly from the tree. If you aren’t already sold on the idea of an artificial tree then think about all the money you can save. You can buy an artificial tree from as little as £10. Real trees start at the same price, so even if your artificial tree only lasts for 5 years before you decide to replace it, you will have saved a minimum of £40. Realistically, most people spend at least £25 on a Christmas tree, so you are looking a saving a minimum of £100 ($200). If you already have a tree for this year, you can save even more money by buying your next tree in January.

 

If you must go shopping …

 

Shop in January. I think I’ve probably made this point enough by now but just to repeat myself one last time, January is the best possible time to buy anything remotely connected to Christmas. This is true for Christmas cards, presents, decorations and for trees.

 

Another option is to spread the cost over a few years. This is only really applicable for those of you who may have just got married, or just moved into your first home, but the truth is you don’t have to buy all your decorations the first Christmas you are there. Spreading the cost over a few years not only saves you money, but it gives you the opportunity to buy special mementos that will bring you lasting memories.

 

Best of the Rest;

 

One thing I am particularly keen on is highlighting posts from other bloggers that relate to my posts and that I believe are worthwhile additional reading. I plan on including these ‘Best of the Rest’ links is as many of my posts as a I can.

• The Digerati Life: Love Light Displays? 6 Ways to Trim Your Energy Costs, Not The Cheer

• Family Fun: A Homemade Christmas

• Lazy Man and Money: Festival of Frugality 102 - a great collection of Christmas money saving tips from some of the best personal finance blogs on the web