9 Thrifty Christmas Decor Ideas: Beautiful European Cottage Style

I’m excited to share some thrifty Christmas decor ideas, so you can decorate beautifully this Christmas and save money for what matters most.

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, but these are products I recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.

This year I challenged myself to buy nothing new for Christmas as far as the Christmas decor goes.

The only thing I allowed myself to buy this year were stockings.

I want all my girls to know that they are MY girls regardless of how they came to be with us.

So even something like a stocking that doesn’t match the rest wasn’t going to work for me.

But other than that, I bought NOTHING!

Guess what I did do though?

I found new ways to use the same old decor that I have been using for years.

After doing this I decided to share some of the things I did to make my Christmas this year look different than my Christmas last year.

You can also watch the video HERE if that is easier for you.

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(Over there I share how and why I came to start Open Doors Open Hearts.)

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Christmas in our Finished Basement

The room I’m sharing with you today is our finished basement.

We have so many BIG plans for this space, but time and money have it very plain for now.

But when Christmas comes around…

The plainest room on the planet can turn into a magical wonderland by simply adding a Christmas tree!!

So every year I decorate it, but this year we are actually going to use it for Christmas morning.

This will be a new tradition for us, and we are very excited about it.

My husband and I both have memories as children running down stairs to begin Christmas morning festivities and we want that for our girls too.

That being said, I really wanted to make sure that I turned this space into a comfortable and cozy room for our girls on Christmas morning.

So let me share with you what I did to accomplish that without spending a dime!

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Less is More

You guys probably knew this was coming if you know me.

I’m always about simplifying.

Honestly, I still think I have a ways to go in the art of simplifying my home.

But little by little I’m learning more.

This is probably the biggest thing you can do to help your home look different from last year.

By filling less spaces with the decor than you usually use, you can shift things around and give the room a completely new feel.

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Christmas Tree

One of the things I wanted to buy this year was a new Christmas tree.

I wanted one of those cute trees that looks imperfect in its shape.

It’s kind of Charlie Brown looking.

Fewer branches that don’t form a perfect triangle shape Christmas tree.

But when I was looking they were $270.

For us, that is way too much money to spend when our trees are just fine.

So, after I had our tree all fluffed and assembled an idea hit me.

This tree is the kind that you have to attach all the branches individually to the center column.

With that being the case, I could mix and match the branches however I wanted.

So I took everything down and started over.

I put the biggest branches on the bottom, then I put the third biggest branches on next, then the second biggest branches above that.

I just alternated branched lengths until I got to the top.

Although it isn’t as obvious as the brand-new tree, it is a lot more random than it was when I assembled it as the instructions suggested.

It gave a smidgen of that imperfect Charlie Brown tree look that I was going for and I got it for FREE!

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Garland or Wreath

Then I started decorating the faux fireplace Christmas mantel.

The first thing that I did different is change the style of garland I had on the mantel.

Last year I did a simple short garland that just went across the top.

This year I added a second piece of garland and made it an asymmetrical garland, dropping down the left side.

Now, you’re probably thinking, YOU USED ANOTHER GARLAND!

But, that garland was actually used as a wreath last year above the bookcase in the same room.

That is honestly why garland and picks are my favorite type of greenery to buy at Christmas time.

They are so versatile.

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Books

Next, I moved the books that were on the bookcase and put them in front of the faux fireplace.

Then put some twinkle lights on them to make them a little extra special.

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Brass Bells

Lastly, for the mantel you’ll notice on the left I added metal and jute hanging bells.

But those hanging bells were ornaments last year!

Bells, no matter what kind, jingle, or vintage cones like these are so easy to transform into different thrifty Christmas decor items every year.

Garland

I could have also turned these bells into a garland.

In fact, I did that with jingle bells on the little tree in our entryway last year.

Ornaments

When I use them as ornaments I simply add a simple white ribbon to the bell and called it done.

If you have jingle bells you can also turn them into a mini wreath ornament which could be so cute.

But if you don’t have enough for that, like me, you could just create a cluster of bells for one Christmas ornament.

Hanging Bells

Lastly, you could make some hanging bells to go down the garland just like this or hang them inside of a wreath as I did in the entryway this year.

I absolutely love bells and especially at Christmas.

Have you ever watched The Polar Express?

I’m 33 years old and I still hear the bells, you guys!!

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Green Candles

This was my oldest daughter’s idea, so I need to give her credit for it.

Since we’re doing Christmas morning down here this year I decided to bring down our little Christmas village.

It’s a special Christmas decoration for us.

My husband’s grandma and grandpa built them and so they add some sentiment to whatever room they’re in.

But, I also decided to use the velvet ribbon trees I made for this village somewhere else this year.

So I had no trees for the village!!

My oldest walked in while I was staring at the village and trying to think up ideas and said, “Mom, just use your green candles. The brown (brass) candle stick will look like the trunk and the green will be the leaves.”

Kids have the best imaginations don’t they?!

And guess what else?

I can see exactly what she was seeing, and I LOVE it even more than any idea I could have come up with.

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Broken Greenery

No one loves broken things, but every year I find little pieces of greenery that have fallen off my wreaths or garland.

So instead of being bummed, I use them as filler.

In a way, this helps cut down on the number of picks I need to buy.

Swag

This year I used some of those to make a little swag on the picture above the Christmas village.

I just put a bundle of them together with floral wire and I had a beautiful swag from my broken pieces.

Bowl of Greenery and Ornaments

Another use for those broken pieces is to add them to the bottom of a bowl and then fill it with ornaments and pine cones.

Again, no need to go spend money on picks for this when you have FREE little bits of broken greenery at the bottom of your tote.

Fluff Up Garland or Wreath

Another more obvious way to use those pieces is to fluff up the garland and wreaths.

I do this every year with the broken bits.

Next week I’ll be sharing my kitchen decorated for Christmas and the wreath is full of those broken bits.

Thrifty Christmas Decor: Red Berries in the Tree

The final thing I did to switch things up this year was remove all the red berries.

I usually keep all the red berries on my wreath and garland, but for simplicity I decided to remove them.

After I had them all off and in the tote I thought, why not put some in the Christmas tree to give it a little more texture and visual interest?

So this year the garland is berry-less and the Christmas tree is full of them!

I hope that these ideas were helpful and challenge you to spend less on Christmas decor this year.

Have you found other creative ways to use last year’s Christmas decorations in a new way?

I’d love to hear about them in the comment below.

Pin for Later!

Don’t forget to head over to your favorite social media platforms Facebook or Instagram.

Also, make sure you follow along on YouTube & Pinterest to check out all the other Christmas decor ideas I’ve been pinning for this year!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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