Christmas is here and so is my 2017 home tour! I’m excited to spread a little Christmas cheer in the style of a Candy Land themed Christmas! Keep reading this post for details or watch the whole tour on YouTube here:
One of my favorite things about decorating my tree and home for Christmas is choosing the theme! This years theme was inspired by my most recent dance party, the #CaliforniaDreamsDanceParty (read the dance party recap here.) Now, if you’re wondering what I spend on redecorating every year, I try to keep my budget under $350! I get that decor budgets are relative but I’m happy to share my best tips for saving $$$…
1. Save 50% on your Christmas Tree Decor
The best and most cost-effective tip I can impart is to only decorate the front half of your Christmas tree. That’s right friends, leave the back completely bare. Boom! It’s basically like getting 50% OFF (See what I did there?)! Full disclosure, this really works best with trees that are in a corner.
2. Reuse Neutral Ornaments
The second tip is to make sure you reuse the filler branches and any neutral colored ornaments (or colors that go with your theme). On my tree, I ended up reusing gold stars, silver ornaments, white pinecones, gold ornaments and snowflakes.
3. Add Filler Branches
The filler branches (from Hobby Lobby) are a great way to make your tree look and feel fluffier. I was taught to add them by my Mother-in-law to make the tree look more magical and to give the appearance of a thick full tree.Simply add them in, pushing them up so they lay nicely with the existing tree branches and viola! No seeing through the branches or seeing the “trunk” here.
4. Fill, Fill, Fill and Fill Some More!
Be generous with your ornaments, a good rule of thumb is to buy twice as many as you think you’ll need. Besides, you can always return extras if you have them, and it’s so much better than going back and seeing that your ornaments are sold out. Once you get the filler branches and bigger ornaments placed, continue to fill the tree. Make sure to keep the ornament colors random and try not to place two similar colors next to eachother. It usually takes me a couple days to get all of the ornaments on my tree and to achieve the finished look.
5. Sit back and Admire
Congratulations, decorating a tree is a labor of love, so whether you decorate your tree solo like me, or whether it’s a family affair, admire your creation! Tis the season to make your home merry and bright.
How do you decorate your tree? Traditional ornaments every year or are you like me and you change the theme every year?