The holiday season is the perfect time to decorate your home in a fun, festive and affordable way. Holiday decorating doesn't have to break the bank -- many of the items you can use to decorate may already exist inside your home, be purchased at budget-friendly stores or consist of items found in nature.
Here are seven easy and affordable ways to decorate your home for the holidays:
1. Incorporate glitz and glam. Nothing quite says the holidays like a little glitz. Take inexpensive, tall glasses purchased at a discount store and spray paint them with silver or gold glitter paint, then fill with your favourite candle. Place them all around the house.
2. Fill the air with holiday scents. One of my favourite ways to incorporate freshness and fragrance into a room is to use diffusers. Diffusers, with their fragrant oils, release scents into the air in a subtle yet impactful way.
3. Think plaid. Instead of believing you are only limited to solid, traditional colours, why not consider a traditional pattern such as plaid? Plaid is timeless and often used for the holidays. Looking for something a bit unexpected? Consider incorporating toile into your holiday patterns.
4. Go nuts. Nuts such as walnuts and pine nuts aren't just for eating. Display them as centrepieces on side tables. Some ideas? Fill tall clear vessels with shelled nuts, and then place a candle in the middle, or simply fill clear vessels of different sizes with nuts and tie thick organza ribbons around the centre in your favorite colour. Another wonderful alternative is to fill a vessel with coffee beans. A deep chocolate base will be both beautiful and fragrant.
5. Head outdoors. From branches to pine cones and pine branches, natural elements can add a creative and fragrant touch to your decor. Consider spraying branches or pine cones with fake snow and placing them among sprigs of pine. These elements can be used either in clear vessels or by themselves along a table or mantle.
6. Make your own ornaments. Holiday ornaments aren't just for when the tree arrives; they can be used as decorative elements throughout the home. One of my favourite ways to display ornaments is to place different sizes and colours in a large bowl. Open to making your own? Making an ornament is easy. Simply purchase a clear glass ornament, lift the holder where the hook is located and fill with your favourite item. Colourful options include buttons, yarn and glitter.
7. Consider the unconventional. Items such as fruits, decorative beads, butterflies, pottery and wood elements are great items to consider incorporating into your holiday decor.
-- Tribune News Service
