A Few Tips for Easy Christmas Decorating

When I moved to Florida a few months ago, Christmas was not on my mind. I wasn’t sure exactly how much space I’d have in my apartment so I didn’t bring any Christmas decor. I’ve collected a few Christmas ornaments upon my travels and picked up a $5 wreath at a Flea Market, but yesterday I decided I wanted to decorate for Christmas. So follow along below on how I did it with $150 and 3 hours time.

1. Pick a Style 

The first thing I did was decide what my Christmas theme/style was. At the Farmhouse in Pennsylvania, I would have done reds and greens and more traditional decor. In my apartment in Florida, I wanted some things I could use outside of the holiday season and wanted something a little bit more contemporary. I settled on colors like green, black, and white. I decided on no red this year.

2. Find What You Already Own 

I scrounged the apartment for things I already owned. I found a few baskets, some wooden boxes, a stool, two lanterns, plant stands, pottery, pillows, candles and some wall decor that fit the style I picked. This was a great starting point since I didn’t have to buy everything. I took a picture of them as shown below so I knew what I had to work with when browsing the stores.

3. Set a Budget

If you plan to go out shopping, set a budget. Since I had no decor and no tree, I set mine at $150. If I already had a tree, a stocking, or lights I would have set it lower.

4. Pick Your Stores 

Then I decided what stores I’d visit in the area. A few people on Instagram mentioned they loved what was a World Market and another mentioned great deals at Walmart so I picked the stores and then visited in this order: World Market, Kirklands, Walmart, Michaels, Target.

5. Prioritize Your Purchases 

I knew I wanted a tree, so I budgeted $30 for it. I also knew I wanted lights so I set aside $5 for those and then $20 for a stocking. Other than that, I had a few things in mind I saw at the dollar spot at Target but nothing specific.

The tree, lights, and garlands and mini trees could be from anywhere. The stocking I didn’t want to look cheap, so I decided to wait on that one until I found exactly what I wanted. Further below is what I ended up buying as well as pricing.

Total Purchases = $146.34

World Market

  • Pinecone and Greens Garland – $7.99

Kirklands

  • Black & White Buffalo Check Garland $9.92

Walmart

  • Snowy Garland for Mantle – $12.97
  • T19 Christmas Tree Unlit – $22
  • String of 100 Lights – $2.97

Michals

  • 2 Aluminum Buckets – $5 Each
  • 2 24″ Trees with Burlap – $12 Each
  • Black and White Stocking – $9

Target

  • Black Bucket – $5
  • 12 Silver, White, Grey Ornaments – $1 Each
  • Antler Wall Canvas – $13. 49
  • Greenery Stems – $9
  • Tree – $10
  • 2 Small Trees – $5 Each
  • White Houses – 2 at $3 Each, 1 at $2

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