Nov 30 2008
Happy Frugal Holidays
Another day, another frugal holiday tip for my dear readers. Today’s tip is all about decorating your home for Christmas on the cheap.
Bring the Outdoors In
If you have pine trees in your area (and most of us do), you probably have a supply of pine cones just waiting to be collected and used in your Christmas decorating scheme this year. You can use them as-is, wiring them together to create a beautiful wreath or even use a glue gun to turn them into a pyramid-like miniature tree that is perfect to use as a centerpiece on your table.
If you’d like to make them a bit more colorful an inexpensive can of metallic spray paint and possibly even a splash of chunky glitter may be just the ticket.
You don’t have to stop with pine cones though. Try making your own garland by wiring together lengths of evergreens or even magnolias. They’ll look great, small great and they won’t cost you a thing!
Salt Dough Ornaments
Who knew that you could make beautiful holiday ornaments at home with nothing more than flour, salt, water and some acrylic paint. Mix one cup flour with one cup of salt, add half cup of water and knead well.
Roll out the dough no more than 1/4″ thick and use festive cookie cutter shapes to create the ornaments, then enlist the help of the kids to paint their own ornaments. It is best to allow the ornaments to dry for at least 5 days before painting and to poke a small hole in the top to allow a ribbon to be laced through for hanging.
