We are going to use the den in the basement for a lot of our holiday activities, so I have been on the lookout for some additional holiday decor while I have been out thrifting.
Our oldest was here over Thanksgiving with his fiancee, and was talking about how he wouldn’t be able to decorate his house this year because of the ongoing renovations, but wanted to put a wreath on the door. While I was out thrifting yesterday, I found this wreath for $8. I really should have taken a before shot, because it was definitely looking quite bedraggled. I pulled the loose stuff out and put it back in and secured everything and made a new bow and voila! I think that it is awfully cute for $8 plus the cost of the ribbon.
I have wanted to put some holiday decor in my office and found this cutie little tree at the thrift store yesterday too. It had an awful piece of burlap and some paper wrapped around the concrete base that I pulled off and I put it in this verdigris metal planter that I have had for a long time and topped it with some sheet moss that I had. Really cute for $4.
I like to put wreaths around the house because they are easy to store and add a lot of impact for a small item. I found this cutie wreath at the thrift yesterday for $4. I hung it on our door out to the deck.
I am growing my amaryllis in this Pfaltzgraff tureen that I thrifted a couple of years ago. I have used it for lots of centerpieces. If you haven’t grown amaryllis, I HIGHLY recommend them. They are really easy to grow as long as you don’t overwater them. I also find nice bowls and vases that I can use for growing amaryllis as gifts. I prefer bowls and vases because they are waterproof and you don’t have to worry about ruining tablecloths or table tops by setting them on there. This tureen isn’t waterproof, so I have a snowflake trivet under it.
I found this really large scale Pinnocchio figure while I was in OH recently. He was only $30, which felt like a very good price. The brass centerpiece bowl was also thrifted.
I found this wreath while I was in ATL recently. It’s so cute and perfect to use for just this application. I splurged on this one at $15, but it’s such a nice and realistic wreath.
I took this old round tablecloth that I was trying to sell on eBay and I converted it into a tree skirt with my mother’s help. It was REALLY easy. I folded it exactly in half and then into quarters and cut out the circle in the middle and then cut the slit. Then we hemmed all of it. I didn’t worry about a closure because the presents cover all of this anyway. I have also bought a bunch of cute ornaments over the years at the thrift store. I did one splurge this year and I finally spent the money to get a real star for the top of the tree. This one came from Crate and Barrel and I am really pleased with it.
I found 2 nice matching swags at a consignment store in ATL and I used those for the base of the greenery here. I added some additional branches that I have had for years. (I also like greenery because it’s high impact and easy to store.) I found the red jingle bells at the thrift yesterday. These are needlepoint stockings that I bought on an auction site and they are listed on eBay, but I thought I could hang them up in the meantime. (My husband needs to install the outlet on this wall, but he’s been busy.)
I bought these brass reindeer from eBay this year. I think that they’re perfect in my windowsills in the basement. I used the same beaded garland that is on the tree and added ribbon to the deer and the wreath. (I am going to make a bow for the shelf pictured above, but ran out of ribbon. I will make it out of the same one as I used here.)
If you are looking for holiday decor, you can definitely find nice stuff that may need a little refurbishing, but at a fraction of the price of new. Most stores sell holiday stuff year round, and if you’re looking for it, the best times to buy are in January when people are sorting as they’re putting stuff away, or around November/December when people are sorting as they are putting stuff up.
Cathy At Home on the River 