Christmas Decoration on a Budget

by: Dustin Ancheta
2007-11-02

Email this article

It’s a night in November and you’re on your way home. Suddenly, three blocks away from your house, you see Jesus’ birth depicted scene-by-scene backed up with blinding Christmas lights that could rival the Eiffel tower at night. When you reach your own house, it’s dark, gloomy and unless that lamp post by your gate counts as a Christmas decoration, it might as well be Halloween. It’s definitely time to spruce up the place and decorate.

But there is still one problem because the moment you decided to decorate, you also realize that you’re on a tight budget and making your house light-up like the north star would probably wipe out your bank account.

Of course, there’s no need to fret because it is still possible for you to turn your house into the envy of the neighborhood. If you're short on cash, you can always count on a dash of creativity, some common sense and that good old Christmas Spirit. Here are some quick thrift tips to get you started:

1. Planning makes perfect.

   Everything starts with a vision so imagine how you want your house to look. Take a picture of it and start drawing images into the picture. It doesn’t matter if you can’t “draw it right”, what's important is putting your concept on paper. After that, make a list of what you see and you’ve got a realistic, workable plan for your decorating needs.

   The goal here is to set parameters for yourself so that when you’re finally out there buying Christmas decors, you only spend on what you need.

2. Reduce and Reuse.

   Resist the temptation to go dashing off to the nearest department store. Start at home and go through the bodega first. Rummage for last Christmas’ old decors and look for the ones that can still be used, clean them up and then cross them out of your list. You're bound to have some old decors lying around.

   You can show your list to your friends ask them if they have any decors to spare.

3. Do-it-yourself!

   That’s right, “Do it yourself.” Professional decorators are expensive and they’ll cost you more in terms of professional fees and materials. You already started this with a vision in your head so you might as well follow through with it.

   Set aside a weekend to let your creativity flow. If you happen to be particularly talented with crafts, you might as well make your own decorative lanterns or parol (there are plenty of instructions available on the internet). Or you can get the family together and work as a team and strengthen those family bonds.

   Your house may not be as “artistic” as the one three blocks down the street but aside from having fun while decorating, you’ll have more bragging rights when you get complimented for it.

4. Keep up with the upkeep.

   What’s the point of saving on the décor when your lights will eventually bleed your pockets dry because you consume more electricity than a mall?

   Remember, decorating is one thing but keeping up with the added maintenance cost is another. Make sure that you don't have that much electric powered décor—no, you don’t need those motion sensing Christmas lights or the Santa statuette that automatically greets your guest as they come in the door—think simple but effective. Use parols, low wattage lanterns, power-efficient Christmas lights and the like.

5. Keeping it Safe.

   Take the time to inspect your decors and make sure that everything is nice and tidy. Make sure there are no stray wires that people could trip over and check for faulty wiring especially on your Christmas lights. The last thing you want is to have saved on décor and suddenly finding out that your house is on fire, because THAT will definitely cause you a whole lot more.

As a final word of advice, be sure to keep yourself sane. Don’t stress yourself out just because you “can’t get it right” or because “the other houses just looks better”. Remember that it’s all about the Christmas Spirit and that you’re not really competing with anyone. Have fun with it and you’ll definitely have a Merry Christmas!

If you have any comments and suggestions, you may send them to info@hotoccasions.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Copyright 2007 NetForj Web Solutions. All rights reserved. This article may not be copied or redistributed unless permitted by the copyright owner.

Email this article

Related Topics: how to | christmas/new year |