Cheap Christmas Ornaments

Glass, Personalized, Handmade Christmas Tree Decorations

Oct 15, 2007 Judith Zwolak

Decorate your Christmas tree with inexpensive homemade ornaments and discount holiday decorations to create a beautiful Xmas tree on a budget.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a Christmas tree that radiates with the season’s joy. Christmas ornaments come in all shapes, sizes and colors to match your holiday décor and your decorating budget.

Natural Christmas Ornaments

Let Mother Nature decorate your Christmas tree with bounty from your backyard or a walk in the woods. Pinecones—left natural or festooned with paint, sparkles or ribbons—lend a clean, simple look to your indoor tree. Combined with garland of popcorn and cranberries strung on fishing line, pinecone ornaments create a naturally beautiful holiday tree. To get the look, gather pinecones of different sizes and shapes, tie fishing line or ribbon to hang and a decorative ribbon around the base. Or, spray paint the cones silver or white and add glitter for a more lavish appearance.

Lack pine trees in your neighborhood? Try Crate & Barrel’s pinecone ornaments set, available for $16.95. Shipping starts at $5.50.

Salt Dough Ornaments

If you have flour and salt in your cupboard, you have the makings for a versatile dough that dries rock hard in a few days. Mix one cup flour, one cup salt and half a cup of water together in a bowl. Knead until smooth and then form into holiday shapes or roll flat and use Christmas cookie cutters to make two-dimensional ornaments. While the dough is still pliable, push a paperclip into the top of the ornament, leaving a loop free for threading a ribbon to hang. Allow the dough to dry for a few days or hasten the drying with a few hours in a 100-degree oven. A thicker ornament requires a longer drying time. When dry, paint with acrylics and spray with a clear sealant for a long lasting ornament.

Crafter sell homemade salt-dough ornaments on Etsy.com. Find little trees and wreaths that come personalized with family members’ names or the year. Search for "salt dough ornaments" on the site.

Thrift Store Finds

Funky costume jewelry, little plastic toys, crystals from an old chandelier—your local thrift store is brimming with fabulous, eclectic additions to your Christmas tree. Earrings come ready-made to hang—choose large dangling earrings for the best effect. Thrift stores often also boast a huge collection of cast off Christmas ornaments. Shoppers can usually purchase dozens of glass ball ornaments for a fraction of their price when new. Personalize your thrifty ornaments with puffy paint or a silver or gold permanent marker.

Family Hand-Me-Downs

Speaking of cast offs, try plumbing the depths of your parents' or grandparents' Christmas tree ornament collection for decorations they no longer use. By the time they have kept house for a few decades, they are more than likely to have amassed enough Christmas ornaments to decorate the towering tree at Rockefeller Center.

Save on Christmas cards too with some frugal holiday ingenuity.

The copyright of the article Cheap Christmas Ornaments in Family Finances is owned by Judith Zwolak. Permission to republish Cheap Christmas Ornaments in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Discount Christmas Tree Ornaments