Decorating from the Dollar Store

Happy holidays everyone! Thanksgiving is over which means one thing – decorating for Christmas! And decorating for Christmas means spending A LOT of money on decorations. This is our first real Christmas in our home – we didn’t decorate last year since we were moving – so we had absolutely NOTHING in the way of Christmas decorations. We wanted to be festive of course, but we didn’t want to spend a ton of money at one time. So, how did I make the house feel full of Christmas cheer without breaking the bank? With some strategic trips to the Dollar Store!

I know it isn’t Pinterest related so I’m going a little rogue here but people stress so much over decorating for the holidays that it is important to remember that spending a lot isn’t a requirement! All you need is a good  eye, some patience, and a little bit of creativity.

Wreath

My first Dollar Store project was the Christmas wreath I created for our front door. This project took me the longest – about 3 hours – and required the most materials. However, I was able to use some of the leftover supplies for other projects which was good.

Dollar Store materials:

Red poinsetta silk flowers (3 packs) $3

Gold poinsetta silk flowers (2 packs) $2

Red berries (2 packs) $2

Pinecones (2 packs) $2

Red and gold mini glitter ornaments (1 pack each) $2

Gold jingle bells (1 pack) $1

Floral wire (1 roll) $1

GRAND TOTAL: $13

(Not included: wreath base which I already had and is about $5 –   $7 at most craft stores)

To make the wreath all you really need is a little bit of creativity and A LOT of patience. The wreath base was intertwined sticks/vines similar to the one to the right. I wove the stems of the flowers through the spaces between the vines. Then, I grouped ornaments and jingle bells in bunches and attached them with a combination of the floral wire and hot glue. Finally, I placed the pine cones and framed them with the berries – again, with a combo of the floral wire and hot glue. That’s it!

Tablescape

My next project was to create a tablescape for our dining table. This was SUPER simple. The most time consuming part was making the runner that the items sit on which IS NOT from Dollar Store materials – it is made of fabric that was left over from the custom table linen we had made for our wedding.

Dollar Store materials: 

Red candlesticks (1 pack) $1

Red bird and gold berry decorative sprays (1 pack each) $2

Mini assorted finish gold ornaments (1 pack) $1

Large gold and red ornaments (1 pack each) $2

GRAND TOTAL: $6

(Not included: gold sequin table runner, candlestick bases, crystal bowl)

This could not have been more simple to create. The only assembly required was that I hot-glued one bird spray to one gold berry spray. Other than that, pour your ornaments into your bowl and arrange your items!

Tree topper

My third project was to create a tree topper. This wasn’t necessarily to save money but more that I haven’t found one I really love yet so rather than buy an expensive topper that I’m just meh about I figured I could create something to use until we find a permanent one.

Dollar Store materials:

9 ft roll of wire-edged red ribbon $1

Floral wire (from wreath project)

GRAND TOTAL: $1

I created a fancy looped ribbon piece by piece since I haven’t mastered making it all out of one piece yet. I tacked the shape in spots with hot glue to give it a little more rigidity. I also attached a piece of the leftover floral wire to attach it to the tree with.

Window scene

My last project was creating a scene for our front window. I decide on some simple lighted candles and some hanging ornaments.

Dollar Store materials:

Assorted pack of gold, green, and red mini ornaments (1 pack) $1 (we used the extras on the small branches of our tree)

Large red glitter ornaments (1 pack) $1 (again, we used the extra as filler on our tree)

Battery powered LED candles (1 pack) $1

GRAND TOTAL: $3

(Not included: thread for hanging and batteries for the candles)

Pretty self-explanatory – I strung the ornaments on thread, hung at different heights and accented with the candles.

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I created EVERYTHING here spending less than $25 at the Dollar Store. Did I decorate my entire house with Dollar Store decorations? Of course not! But the money I saved on the projects above allowed me to splurge on items that I really cared about like these fancy stockings:

So what is my advice for inserting Dollar Store finds into your decor?

First, only purchase items that coordinate with your existing decor. My Christmas color theme is silver and gold with pops of red so I only bought items that matched that. This allows you to incorporate the Dollar Store items with your more expensive stuff nearly seamlessly.

Second, pick simple items. Anything too ornate or overly composed can easily cross from elegant and understated to tacky.

Third, USE YOUR IMAGINATION. This is really the most important part especially for larger projects like the wreath. You need to be able to visualize how all the pieces can fit together. You also need to not be afraid to discard something if it doesn’t work. The ribbon at the top of the banister in the photo above was actually purchased for the wreath but it just didn’t work so I repurposed it!

Finally, have fun with it. Holiday decorating shouldn’t be a headache!

Do you have any budget decorating tips? Let me know in the comments!

Happy pinning!