Budget ideas for sprucing up your home for the holidays
THE festive season is here, and if you’re Jamaican you would know that the appearance of the house at this time of year is more important than any other time. Unfortunately, getting the house to match the festivities of the season can cost a pretty penny, which can be way out of your budget especially with all the other seasonal expenses considered.
If you are up to being creative though, getting your house ready for Christmas does not mean that you will have to break the bank. Consider the options below as alternatives.
You don’t need a new set of curtains
You don’t have to buy new curtains every Christmas; frankly, it is a waste of money. Instead check what you have in your closet and if you want a fresh, new look mix and match your curtains. This also goes for other decorative items as well. Check what you have in storage and switch décor items from other parts of the house where appropriate, for a fresh, new look.
Make your own Christmas wreath
A Christmas wreath can cost you anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 if you want to make an impression. But making it from scratch could save you a couple of thousands if you do it on your own. You will need binding wire and you can use decorative vines and artificial flowers that look life-life, and pine cones which you can source in local craft stores or online that are inexpensive. Make it a family project so that you can add an element of something that everyone likes and you can get it done in the shortest time. Oh, and if you don’t know exactly what to do, YouTube should be plenty of help.
Challenge family members to make handmade gifts/crafts for the house
Not only are handmade gifts personal, but they are usually well thought out, and yes, you guessed it, way cheaper than buying something. So make this Christmas interesting by challenging your family member to make gifts for each other to put under the tree for Christmas Day. You can also make ornaments for the Christmas tree from scratch — there are tonnes of DIY videos online that will help you to get through this task. The beauty of it all is that many times you may not even need to leave your home for supplies because you may already have a lot of what you need at home.
Other DIY decorating ideas
• Turn recyclable resources into décor. So instead of throwing out the old fake fruits, the plastic trays that don’t look so classy or that are getting a little rusty, you can get a hot-glue gun and glitter and experiment with various designs and patterns that match your theme.
• Use printouts of family pictures, wooden clothespins and maybe string, cord or coloured ribbon to match your colour scheme. You can hang this at the entrance of the living room door or anywhere else you desire.
• You might not be able to buy expensive decorations, but using battery-operated pepper lights and the mason jars that are sitting among your crockery can jazz up your home. You may also put other pretty treats such as candy canes and other sweets in clear jars.
• Ornamental centrepieces are now a thing, so whether you are going to make a small tree or buy a few inexpensive ones, you can adorn these into beautiful centrepieces using fake candy canes (you don’t want real ones to attract ants). Leave back a few ornaments from decorating the tree, or paper or other craft ornaments that you or the children made to decorate your centrepiece.
