Okay guys. I don’t know about y’all but when I was a working student and a kid before I owned my own house.. sure Christmas was fun. It meant Christmas baking, decorating the tree, tobogganing, Christmas vacation etc. But nooooww owning a house. HOLY MOLY things can get Out. Of. Hand. I mean you walk anywhere after Halloween and you are just floored with all the beautiful Christmas decor. It’s everywhere! I feel SO tempted to buy ALL the Christmas decor. But.. I remember this funny deal I made with my mom a year ago. We were unpacking all the ornaments etc for our family tree and I joked (but not really..) saying I was going to make it a mission to only have one tote of Christmas decor (ya I was really naive then right…). So of course, I had that in mind but its nearly impossible. You end up buying some things to start off your new home’s Christmas decor. But with saying that… you can still do it on a DIY budget. And I’m happy to share with you my DIY projects that were cost effective and fun to do!
First off, the front porch. You all know from my post about fall decor, that I love having a decorated front porch! But. Before I dive in, I want to share with you all my theme for this Holiday: A very Minimalistic Christmas! I want my decor to be simple, neutral yet effective. I’m not a big flashy gal.. I like neutrals, greenery, etc. So! That’s my theme for this Christmas. So for my front porch I visioned two planter boxes that would stay there from season to season. I did my own planters from branches and greenery from my back yard and created my own vine wreaths from vines from my parents farm. A tutorial DIY post will be coming your way this 2018 Christmas!
^No – we dont have a cat. But this little guy hung around us for a few weeks, and loved getting his picture taken 🙂 Country life at its best!
Through the front door I decided to continue the garland for my staircase and along my dining room table. I added a burlap ribbon along each that I purchased from the dollar store, as well as I filled my antique barrel with cut branches and more greenery. Really the only big cost to these DIY projects were just my time! And well yes these all took quite a bit of work and time! However, I spent hardly anything on these projects, and they brought the perfect amount of Christmas joy to my home without breaking the bank or filling my home with unnecessary knick knacks.
Next, the Christmas Tree! This was my most anticipated and excited venture. Again, didn’t want to break the bank on decorations or the tree itself. So we waited a bit into December and cut down a tree on my parents farm. Another mission: complete DIY Christmas tree! But… I was doing a paint run for the biz at Michaels and saw these ornament balls that were just speaking to me. So I splurged and spent $20 on a case of ornaments! But they were so worth it! Next, I made ALL of my ornaments! I was so proud! Now of course, as much as I say DIY, you still have to purchase the materials! But.. these can double as ornaments and gift ideas! Or even additions to gifts in their wrapping etc. Possibilities are endless. So I really enjoyed making some really cute ornaments. Some DIY ornaments are coming your way this 2018 Christmas!
Now to polish off my Christmas decor I wanted to bring a bit more sparkle to my home without going over the top. I purchased some soft white simple classic Christmas lights and wrapped them around the banner staircase in our home leading up to our loft. It was such a nice touch at night that really got us in the Christmas spirit!
So spoiler alert… I didnt fit everything into one tote.. I did save all my ornaments and my vine wreaths and all my ribbon. But I was able to fit it in 3 totes with pretty labels.. oh goodness I’m crazy. But hopefully this inspires you to live a minimalistic Christmas like us here at 3901. It really was refreshing and helped me keep my spending under control, and forced me to think outside of the box! I can hardly wait for next Christmas’ DIY projects 🙂 Until then my friend..
Talk soon, Sam xx
