How To Change Up Your Christmas Decor Without Breaking the Bank

What a year 2020 has been. Well, it’s not over yet! The holiday season is upon us and I can’t wait to show you all of my Christmas decor for this year.

Obviously this year is going to be a bit different from years past. I began thinking about decorating for Christmas all the way back in the summer. That’s no joke. I mean, I had nothing else to do, right? I decided I wanted this year’s decorations to look completely different than in the past. Since I can’t just buy all new Christmas decor, I did a few key things. Here is my list of 6 easy steps you can take to change up your Christmas decor this year without breaking the bank.

Change Your Placement

For several years I have placed my large tree in the entryway. This year I decided to place it in the formal living room instead. Since, we aren’t hosting any family this year, I didn’t have to worry about loosing seating in that room and it made the room much more cozy and intimate.

In the entryway, I added a round table and my two end chairs from the dining room. Since they are red plaid, they make the perfect Christmas display. On the table I used my skinny flocked tree.

By changing where I placed everything, it gave my house a whole new Christmas vibe this year. I love it! You can change everything this Christmas by just changing your placements and moving some furniture around.

See my formal living room and entryway from years past here….

Christmas Home Tour 2018

CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR 2019 VIDEO

Add a Floral Element to Your Christmas Decor

Over the years I have invested mostly in ornaments. Last year I did incorporate a lot of picks and sprays, but I hadn’t really added a floral element.

This year I decided that was a great way to help add some volume and color to my trees. They were super easy to incorporate.

In my family room, I went pretty classic with red and gold and green Christmas decor. So, I wanted to keep my floral traditional as well. What’s more traditional at Christmas than a poinsettia? I found some inexpensive velvet red poinsettias at Hobby Lobby and I bought twenty. I added them to my tree and went back for twenty more. Then I added those to my garland and smaller trees on the mantle.

In my formal living room, I used neutral color and nature inspired decor. Once I finished that tree, I started dreaming about snowy white hydrangeas. I wasn’t sure they actually existed as Christmas decor; but, I hunted them down. I found some beautiful hydrangeas at my favorite Christmas store, Holiday Warehouse, here in Plano. I bought 13 for my 12 foot full tree. I needed a few more and found some less expensive ones at Michael’s. Those I added to the back of the tree. I bought 6 or 7. Two are on my garland and 17 or 18 are on my tree.

Add a New Ribbon to Your Christmas Decor

In my family room, I added a completely new ribbon. Adding a different ribbon can really have a big impact for not a ton of money. It can really update your tree as well. I found this green and gold ribbon and ran it on top of the red and gold ribbon that I already had. I used three 10 yard rolls of four inch ribbon on my 9 foot tree and mantle with garland and two smaller trees.

In my formal living room, I used the birch the white and birch bows I made last year and added linen ribbon I used in the family in years past.

Add More Garland

Every year I think about how beautiful other people’s garlands are and mine just seems to look puny. This year I decided I wanted a big full garland. The problem was I couldn’t find what I wanted when I wanted it. I did find tear drop garland, so I bought four of those. This actually worked better than an actual long garland and were less expensive.

In the family room, I placed them on the mantle with the full ends together in the middle of the mantle. This left room on the ends of the mantle for my trees because it was thinner at either end.

In my formal living room, I placed each tear drop with the thinner end in the middle of mantle and fuller ends on either end of the mantle. This meant the garland was really full on either end and thinner in the middle. This left room for me to add a large bow in the middle of the garland.

In the dining room, I added a garland down the middle of the table. I have a 10 foot table and a centerpiece tends to get lost. So, I decided that I would build a garland to run down the middle of the table. To either side of the garland I added some taper candles in candle holders that were my grandmothers and some votives inside some pieces of my red Avon glass collection.

I have a fireplace in the master bedroom that was also screaming for garland.

Use Everything

In years past I have been trying to edit what I put on my Christmas trees. Last year I tried to make my 12 foot tree completely white. Also, I am always overthinking what goes where. I feel like I can’t mix gold and silver, etc. I just get caught up on these rules I have made for myself.

This year, I pulled out everything I own and I used it. In the formal living room, I used an old collection of brown feather ornaments that I have had and haven’t used for ten years. I used the grapevine garland I bought fifteen years ago. I mixed silver and gold. I didn’t worry about all the rules. If I brought it out of the attic, I put it on the tree. All of that added so much texture, depth, color, and fullness to my tree that I haven’t had in years past.

Start Early on Christmas Decor

Lastly, I started earlier than ever before. No, I didn’t start all of this in the summer like I wanted to, but I was fully decorated before Halloween. I basically spent the month of October decorating for Christmas. Usually, I will wait until the day after Halloween, but I am so glad I didn’t do that this year. It is a lot of work. I certainly enjoy the work, but I enjoy the work being done even more. Now I have more time to enjoy my work.

So, when you are thinking about how you are going to decorate for Christmas this year, consider how you might be able to change it up. Think about your placement options and how you can rearrange your furniture for a whole new look. If you haven’t already, add a floral element instead of more ornaments. Change up your ribbon. Beef up your garland game. Don’t be afraid to use what you have and for goodness sakes, start early!