by Rachel Fahnel

Created on: October 17, 2008   Last Updated: June 12, 2009

When Christmas comes, most of us get in the mood to decorate. Some of us only want to put up a string of little white twinkle lights, while others won't rest until every square inch of the house looks like Santa's elves have been getting paid double-overtime. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, and sometimes we need a little inspiration.

A big question that comes up is cost. We want pretty, quality decorations that will last but we don't want to break the bank. The annswer to that is checking out the after-Christmas sales and shopping at thrift sales during the warmer months. A lot of people pick up gifts and stash them during the year, so why not pick up that cute Santa figurine as well?

Last year I looked at the packaged ribbons in the Christmas department, shook my head and headed over to the crafts, There was beautiful gold trim, a dollar for the roll. I used it on packages and then I thought of something else. Do you have houseplants? Do you buy poinsettias? Wrap a length of ribbon or trim around the pot and you have an intant holiday-ifacation!

For the front door, get a wreath form, available at the local craft shop; a hot glue gun or some strong all-weather glue such as Gorilla Glue; a few of your old ornaments that you're tired of seeing on the tree every year; a piece of velvet ribbon; and you have the makings for a holiday door decoration that will last years and will have cost you about $10.00. Just arrange them on the form till you like what you see, glue them on, and then wrap the ribbon around and tie it in a big bow. You could also use the ribbon as a hanger; in that case don't make a bow. Instead tie the first half of a square knot, bring the ends up so they are even, and then tie the ends into a knot as you would the thread in a needle.

A different way to decorate the mantle piece would be to collect some children's holiday picture books, old or new, and stand them up with the covers facing the room. Trail greenery around them and here is Christmas and an air if innocence all in one. If there are little kids in the house, make sure you provide them with a few copies of their own, so they don't try to scale the mantle and get them for themselves.

Have you seen any tall covered glass jars at the thrift or houseware stores? These are the perfect containers for fruit, hard candies, or even some homemade confections. Three or more in a row down the center of your table make a lovely centerpiece. Place something red in one, something green in another, and something gold or silver, like wrapped candies, in the third and you have both your decoration and something for guests to snack on before or after dinner.

There are many cute, decorated plates for children. Snowmen, Santa, even popular Disney and other characters. These make great candle-holders. If you use plastic you'll want to be careful about how low you burn your candle, of course. Place three in a grouping in a plate, and if you don't burn them it's beautiful to tie a pretty, narrow ribbon around the group.

These few ideas are just the beginning of what you can do with a little imagination and the habit of looking at what you have lying around with the question in your head: "Now what can I do with that?"

You would be surprised just what you can do.

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