Christmas is one of the most exciting times of year and, if you are not careful, also one of the most expensive. Between cheese purchases, cards, presents, wrapping paper and decorations, you can easily rack up one hefty bill. So it is helpful to know that the decoration, at least, can be done on a budget. The below crafty creatives have come up with a number of enterprising ways to make the most out of relatively little – whether you are using surplus colourful paper to create paper chains, turning foraged ingredients to make leafy displays or even repurposing last year's Christmas cards into this year's place cards. These are the budget-friendly decoration hacks to know…
If you have a good tree you don’t need to overdo it with expensive decorations
‘The main thing is having a good plump well shaped tree that has lots of branches all the way to the top, reaches the ceiling and fills an entire corner of the room. We carry it home, stick it in an old lead fire bucket and cover it with a long string of fairy lights (the quality/ warmth of the light and the speed of the twinkle is key!), a mishmash of brightly coloured vintage baubles and some decorations the children made when they were little.’ - Tamsin Saunders, Home & Found
‘When I did my first Christmas tree, I had a background of plain red, plain silver and plain gold baubles that I tied into the tree to give depth. Then I put my precious ones that I’ve loved and bought to commemorate things on last, so they were at the front of each bough. Slowly you can replace the less good ones and eventually they’ll all be beautiful. I don’t think you ever want to buy lots and lots of less nice ones, it’s good to have a mix even if you can’t afford too many, it's always worth buying one or two really good ones.’ - Nina Campbell
‘Tie bows of large tartan ribbon all over the tree which doesn’t cost so much.’ - Nina Campbell
Get crafting
‘Christmas is a great time to get crafting, you can make a big impact with simple ideas. Go back to the classics and adorn your house with brightly coloured homemade stars from left over wrapping paper. Nothing needs to match and it certainly doesn’t need to be Christmas ‘themed’ paper. Simple sugar paper from an art shop will do the trick.’ - Twig Hutchinson
‘One of my favourites is paper chains and I go through my old interiors magazines and make the chains out of the most colourful pages in there. A pair of scissors and some pritt-stick, and some Christmas music and it is done in an evening. There is something wonderfully pleasing about making them and they look great.’ - Lucinda Griffith
Use what you already have instead of buying new
‘If you have been the lucky recipient of an expensive scented candle, be sure to keep the glass vessel when it’s burnt down. You can pop a large tea light inside and still enjoy the colour of packaging design. My favourite to keep for this are from Cire Trudon.’ - Twig Hutchinson
Forage and be thrifty
‘We poke a large sprig of holly behind all the pictures in the house, hang a large bunch of mistletoe over the door. It looks wonderful.’ - Tamsin Saunders
‘I am a fiend with the secateurs and will raid the garden for anything that still has its leaves on to decorate the tops of pictures. I have been known to make a garland or two for the fireplaces (I do live in a pine forest, so branches are not in short supply). It’s a bit fiddly and messy to do but I twine them with lights and ribbons of all kinds and they look great and smell good too.’ - Lucinda Griffith
‘Your local garden centre will have surplus foliage that wasn’t ‘pretty’ enough to make it into an arrangement or pre-made wreath. This is a great resource and can be used to make your own decorations at home for a fraction of the cost!’ - Graeme Corbett, Bloom & Burn
‘If countryside access is an issue, an early-morning visit to a flower market is a great alternative for sourcing inexpensive, natural foliage.’ - Joshua Hale
Decorate with light
‘Simply putting tea lights in mercury glass jars on the fireplace and on book shelves can have a huge impact. It's very cosy!’ - Tamsin Saunders
Decorate with food
‘Bring it out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. Try a large tumble of clementines with leaves on in a pretty dish or artfully displayed on a cake stand. Walnuts always look festive so be sure to have a big bowl of those with a nutcracker. I always used to put a tub of Quality Streets in a glass vase but sadly they no longer have metallic papers! Anything with pretty wrapping is good. An Italian deli will be your friend for Amaretto biscuits or foil wrapped sweet treats.’ - Twig Hutchinson
‘I always have big bowls of quality street, clementines and nuts with nutcrackers.’ - Tamsin Saunders
Small Space Decorations
‘If space is at a premium, skip the large tree and focus on lighting and scent to create a festive atmosphere. Cover your home with fairy lights, pinning them to the corners of the ceiling, tucking them into shelves, and coiling copper wire lights throughout glassware. Complement this with scented candles and apply essential oils to radiators to bring in classic Christmas scents.’ Joshua Hale
Club together with friends
‘Buying in bulk is always a great way to save money. If you head to your local garden centre or flower market you can buy a tray of bulbs or hellebores and split the cost with friends. Amaryllis are always real show stoppers but any winter bulb will add some joy to proceedings.’ - Twig Hutchinson
Plan ahead
‘At the end of Christmas, I go through the Christmas cards and make labels for next year's presents out of the brighter ones. These could be name cards for the table too!’ - Lucinda Griffith
