It’s starting to cost a lot like Christmas. With the dropping temperatures comes rising expenses from the holiday shopping, Christmas decor, and increased heating bills.
Rather than spending $20+ on a bundle of glittery sticks from your favorite home decor store, take a look at the items around your house that could be upcycled into beautiful ornaments and decorations.
Mason jars
Mason Jars are the holy grail of DIY (do it yourself) repurposed items. They have an incredibly wide range of uses, especially when it comes to decor.
Here are a few holiday favorites:
- Decorative lanterns:
Place tiny battery-pack fairy lights inside the jars for a magical lantern look. To add a little variety, select jars that vary in size and shape.
- Candleholder:
Place a candle inside a mason jar for a more simple lantern look. Dress it up by tying a red ribbon in a bow around the jar.
- Painted jar:
Use the jar as either a vase, a holder for kitchen tools such as spatulas, or a similar use. Paint the jar a vibrant Christmas red, or give it a snowy look with special snow spray found at Walmart.
Wooden pallets
Wooden pallets are fantastic for repurposing around the house; here are a few ways to use them specifically during Christmas time:
- Wooden tree decoration:
With the clean straight strips of wood from the pallets, there are a number of ways to create rustic wood Christmas tree decorations. Find a style you like and follow one of these 20 tutorials.
- Rustic snowflake:
Keep your decor classy and elegant with rustic wood snowflakes upcycled from pallets. Following this tutorial, you can make snowflakes from small to large—perfect for filling any empty space on your walls this winter.
- Message sign
Create a meaningful message sign using repurposed wood from pallets. This can be done a number of ways, including hand-painting the wood or using vinyl lettering. If you’re feeling extra creative, add a twinkling scene with this Christmas pallet tutorial.
Pinecones
Pine cones give the phrase “items found lying around the house” a quite literal meaning. If you have lots of pine cones surrounding your house, then put them to good use this Christmas!
- Table centerpiece
Using the same snow spray suggested for the mason jars, dust some pine cones with a spritz of fake snow. Toss them in an elegant bowl and place on your table for a snowy centerpiece.
- Ornaments
Pine cones make for great Christmas tree ornaments, especially if you’re going for a more natural look. Use the pine cones as-is or spray fake snow on them first. Tie string onto them in loops to hang them from the tree.
Homemade Christmas decor doesn’t have to look cheap and cheesy. Create beautifully crafted works of art using items around your house such as mason jars, wooden pallets, and pine cones.
Give yourself a fun holiday craft to work on while saving yourself from overspending on decorations this year.
