Monday 5 December 2016

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

I feel like Christmas quite often sneaks up on us, and can often be far more expensive than we planned it to be. So today, with the help of The Warehouse, we thought we'd share our tips on how to decorate a Christmas tree on a budget.How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A BudgetThe first stop is obviously purchasing the tree itself. We are huge fans of real Christmas trees, but considering they're a one time use thing - it can be cheaper to buy an artificial tree that you can reuse year after year. Artificial trees have come a long way since I was a kid and they actually look pretty decent these days. There's a huge range at The Warehouse, and the one we settled on was the Wonderland Vienna Tree in Black (RRP: $80.00 NZD). It's 180cm tall, and has 694 tips making it look quite nice and bushy.

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

Next it's time to decide on a colour theme. We decided to go for gold, white and black - and lucky for us, there were a lot of decorations to choose from. Here's what we settled on:

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

  • Wonderland 3 Pack of Baubles - Black and Gold - RRP: $7.00 NZD

  • Wonderland White & Gold Starts 6 Pack - RRP: $8.00 NZD

  • Wonderland Glitter White Stars 6 Pack - RRP: $4.00 NZD

  • Wonderland Gold Reindeer 2 Pack - RRP: $2.00 NZD

  • Miscellaneous Tree Decorations - RRP: $3.00 NZD each


How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

Lights were another important choice, and after a lot of thought we decided to go for warm white LED lights. The ones we settled on were all from the Wonderland range. The main set we picked up to cover most of the tree were the Wonderland Plug In LED Twister Light 280 Piece (RRP: $45.00 NZD). They're so cool! They have several different light modes, so you can make them flicker, fade out etc. Then for something a bit different, we grabbed a pack of the Wonderland Pinecone lights (RRP: $12.00 NZD). Having 2 sets of lights makes everything a bit more interesting!

How To Decorate A Christmas Tree On A Budget

We didn't stop there. To go alongside our tree, we grabbed the very cool Wonderland Plug In LED Standing Reindeer (RRP: $60.00 NZD). It's quite expensive, but at the time they had 30% off the Wonderland range of lights so we were able to fit it within our budget. So glad we did, as it really does add more dimension to our little Christmas area.

As well as using shop bought decorations, we decided to add our own touch with some simple DIYs.

DIY Fill Your Own Baubles


DIY Fill Your Own Baubles

You'll need:

DIY Fill Your Own Baubles

We're all about the easy DIYs here - especially when sticking to a budget, so we kept this one nice and simple. We filled one with about a metre long length of tinsel ribbon; one with black and white feathers; one with white glitter and white glitter pom poms and the last one with tiny little seashells. Once on the tree, they really look pretty awesome!

DIY Seashell Decorations


DIY Seashell Decorations

You'll need:

  • Gold paint, or spray paint

  • Seashells

  • Twine


This is nothing new, and is something we've actually done quite a few times over the years - painting seashells gold! Probably one of the easiest DIYs you could do, but also one of the best as they always turn out great. We used a hot glue gun to attach our twine to hang on the tree. BOOM.

DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments


DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

You'll need:

There are endless options here; you could cover these styrofoam cones in sequins, glitter or even paint them. We decided to wrap twine and tinsel ribbon around them. If you prefer, you can attach more twine so you can hang them from the tree.

DIY GIft Tags

Another thing we've done is write "Merry Christmas" in different languages on the Wonderland Gift Tags (RRP: $4.00 NZD) and hang them on the tree as decorations. Couldn't get any easier than that!

When it came to decorating a Christmas tree on a budget, we set our limit at $200.00 NZD - which I'm happy to say we stuck to, thanks to the great specials that were on when we went shopping. That is my number 1 tip for decorating a Christmas tree on a budget - keep an eye out for specials! The closer we get to Christmas, the better the sales seem to be (for the decorations at least!)

Rapt owl Decoration

Side note: We also like to purchase 1 "luxury" decoration each year. This year it was this gorgeous little owl from Rapt in Newmarket. Isn't it just adorable?!

Are you putting up a Christmas tree this year? If you want, show us a photo in the comments below! We'd love to see it!

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

*Thanks to The Warehouse for making this post possible


 

 

 

 

19 comments

  1. Love The Warehouse for Christmas decorations! We actually need to go pick out some more soon to supplement the ones that have been broken by overzealous children and cats over the years, lol. Our colour scheme is pink, purple, gold and lime green!

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  2. Yessss they're so good for Christmas decorations this year!! Do you do a real tree, or artificial one??
    Oooo I love the sounds of your colour scheme!! My goal for next year is to have several trees with different themes! (the BF doesn't know this yet, but he will soon find out hahahahaha) oxoxo

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  3. They have a such a gorgeous selection this year. I actually went into The Warehouse today and had a look. Your tree turned out so good, and I love DIYs, especially the fill your own baubles - imagine it with a lipstick inside! x

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  4. Agreed! They have some really nice decorations, and are having a massive sale at the moment by the looks of it! Was thinking about getting some more! Thank you so much! I loved the fill your own baubles too! Yessss that would be SO COOL! I was thinking about how they'd be great as DIY gifts - but the only problem is that they have quite a small opening at the top! oxoxo

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  5. I think it is better to buy an artificial tree because like you said it can last for years and proves to be more cost effective.

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  6. Me too! I need to get a good one this year. Now that we aren't moving, it can be well taken care of.

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  7. Ooh!! Think it is great to do the clear ones and fill them. I will have to find those bulbs. I agree with @disqus_7Uv1r4c63U:disqus about the fake tree. I like to have mine up a lot during the winter when it is bleh outside. ~http://viabella-thebeautifullife.blogspot.com/

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  8. That owl reminds me of Harry Potter!! ARH I NEED IT!!!

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  9. That's exactly what I thought about it when I saw it!! It's so adorable!! It's really soft too! oxoxo

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  10. Thanks lovely!! They're really cool, and so easy to make! :D Yesss the artificial trees are great to have, and one bonus - you don't get pine needles everywhere hahahaha! oxoxo

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  11. Totally agree! It's so much more cost effective - and if you get a good one, it really will last for years! oxoxo

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  12. That has a lot to do with it. We have allergies too.. so... makes it harder.

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  13. Me too, allergies are the worst :( Usually I try and put up with it (I'm on desensitisation injections and all!), but this year I decided enough was enough and it was time to go artificial! :P oxoxo

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  14. We're fake tree people, much as I love the real ones - I think they'd mess with Mike's hayfever :'( LOVE the multi tree idea!!

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  15. Sabrina Barbante6 December 2016 at 22:10

    It's like putting some magic on you tree, it's so cool! thank you for the creative tips

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  16. I've tried once a real Christmas tree, and the work we had to do after the festivities was finish is quite a lot. Now we stick with an artificial tree. Love your Christmas decoration, and the idea of Christmas Decoration DIY.

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  17. We have an artificial tree for about 3 years and it looks brand new. Love all your handy, cost effective tips. Sure will use this year for Christmas :)

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  18. I need to share this post with all my friends and I am sure they will benefit from it.

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  19. These are some pretty cool ideas/accessories. Normally, I just decide not to get a tree, so I don't spend too much on decorations and then throw it out. Haha.

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