After teetering at the top of the ladder and handing down the 17th box of Christmas potpourri to my Jewish husband (what a good sport), I decided that it is much smarter to take a “less is more” approach to the holidays. Every year, I seem to collect more, mostly because I can’t resist the after-holiday sales. So if you’re like me and have too much, pass some on to Goodwill for others to use and if you don’t have money for decorating this year, we have tips to help you decorate for less or no money.
Here are some of our ideas to help you rub those holiday nickels:
Table Decorations – For Hanukkah OR Christmas, you can mix all types and colors of candles and place them on mirrors or trays to increase their reflection. If you have a particular color scheme, scatter glass floral beads on the tray or put them in cylindrical glass vases with a plain taper candles to add visual interest to tabletops.
Mantels – If you have leftover holiday cards that you’ve received or sent, you can hole punch them and string them onto curling ribbon to make a pretty and colorful mantel decoration. Add some greenery to the mantle (clipped from your yard) and you’ll have a gorgeous fireplace.
Trimming The Tree – Whatever happened to stringing popcorn for the tree? It looks even better if you mix in cranberries. This is a fun garland you can make with the kids. Also, those seven spools of decorative wire ribbon that you have leftover from last year will look fabulous tied to the boughs of your tree, especially if you do a Martha-style, color-schemed Christmas tree.
Have fun decorating and remember this, DON’T EVERY BUY CHRISTMAS OR HANUKKAH DECORATIONS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS! I know the selection isn’t great after the holidays, but saving 75% is worth the wait. This year, I may even try to resist the After-Christmas Sales. Who knows, maybe I’ll have only 15 boxes next year.
Happy Holidays!
Julie Arnheim and Darcy Ratner
Founders, Rubbingnickels.com
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