Are you the kind of person who loves decorating but is budget-conscious? Are you now thinking house decorating for Christmas on a budget? Read on, my sweeties!
When the ‘ber months come in, my mind goes straight to Christmas! Of course, I wear costumes during halloweens. On Thanksgivings we host a dinner for friends and family. But once the first of September enters the calendar, it’s Christmas time, babe!
In the Philippines, where I and my husband are from, Filipinos start setting up decorations starting in September/October. Ayala Avenue in Makati, where I used to work at back home, has always one of the best decorations in the world. Our country is one of the few countries around the world that celebrate Christmas the longest.
Filipinos love merriments and celebrations. Aside from the funfare of birthdays, weddings, reunions and whatevers, hometowns celebrate a particular saint’s feast day every year. You can go island-hopping around the whole country for a year and always find a town or city celebrating a fiesta in honor of their patron saint. If we celebrate a saint’s day, how much more the birth of our Lord, right? It’s a no-brainer, actually.
The New House
We moved in to our new house in October. However, because of all the moving (we did it in little stages), I couldn’t fully decorate the house. The only thing I did last year was put up my Christmas village in the sunroom. But the dust has finally settled! This year, I’m going all out in decorating the whole house!
Our house is a 50-year old, beautiful one-level structure with a nice backyard. I have so much to love in this house. We have a bay window in the living room and the kitchen area. There’s a bright sunroom at one corner of the house where even our plants will be happy. Our dining room french doors open to the deck and the backyard that is so serene to be in. Our basement is big enough for my husband’s musical and audio instruments. The whole house is a huge canvas for Christmas cheering but it’s going to need a lot of planning.
A White, Black and Red Theme
I think I’m going to go for a red, black and white motif this year. A dominant print of checkers for the tree, swags, garlands and wreathes. I do want to keep the french country feel of the house tho which means I will have to make sure I do not overdo the checkers and add in other black and white prints.
Do You DIY?
Pinterest and Google are my best friends when I want to look for ideas. True enough, my besties did not fail me. Pinterest and Google showed me the links to websites with “Do-It-Yourself” ideas using dollar store and refurbished decors. It’s not cheap decorating a house for whatever season. I have had a lot of great finds in the past that did not need a lot of money to make, but you do have to have the patience and time to do it. (Patience truly is a virtue…)
The Plan for Project “House Decorating for Christmas on a Budget”
Consequently, with my arsenal of ideas tucked in Pinterest, here are my plans:
1. There will be Christmas villages on our 2 bay windows and a big display in the basement.
2. What about a beautiful Christmas menagerie on top of the piano? That would be elegant.
3. White-based printed curtains with touches of black and red for the sunroom windows. I still want a lot of light to come in for my plants. I will need to check Goodwill for those fabrics.
4. We have a beautiful red front door that I want to highlight this season. I will need to scour Home Depot for planks and plant containers that I can DIY. This time, I have a better idea on how to display our Filipino lanterns.
5. I think it’s time to recycle and re-do my wreaths that we’ve been hanging for so many years now.
But Wait, There’s More!
6. This year, I want to light up our trees both in the driveway and the backyard. Which means, solar lights would be a good investment this year also. More solar lights…
7. Some more beautiful smaller wreathes around the kitchen will be nice. The dollar store has green wreathe bases that are wayyyyyyy cheaper than the craft store.
8. Those transparent christmas balls are 2 for $1 now at the Dollar Tree for the small ones and $1 each for the bigger ones. The poinsettia fillers are cheaper there, too.
9. We already have colorful lights in the deck. I just need to gather more loose pine tree branches that I can adorn the deck railings with. Because we have a lot of pine trees everywhere, I just need to gather the pine cones that dropped in the driveway. Those are free!
10. Pinterest Cricut DIYs for more tree decors and centerpieces. A great thanks to my two sisters for convincing me to invest in a Cricut two years ago. That machine comes in handy for so many things!
Considering I want this done before thanksgiving comes (can you spell pressure?) I have to remind myself that I should be having a good time while I’m going thru all the details. They say the house reflects the emotions of the owner. I believe in that – happiness should always be a big factor!
I Am Ready For This
Yes, I am ready to tackle Project “House Decorating for Christmas on a Budget”!
Spiritually, I am ready.
Emotionally, I am almost there. In fact, I think it will remain that way for a long time – just “almost” but not quite fully. (I have to muster the guts to tell you, my sweeties, why it is so.) For now, I will leave it at this. But I am slowly reacquainting myself to the happiness of the season. It will never be a hundred percent anymore for me. But I will have enough that I can say I do my decorations now in memory of someone I love so much.
Let the Christmas bells ring happy now…
The once named “godmother of the Philippine Blogosphere”, Gigi Manaloto-Refugia, known by her pen name “Ate Sienna” has been blogging since 2002 in her old pansitan.net community where she housed famous bloggers. She now writes about being 50-something and shares her tips on fashion, makeup, skincare, travel, food and thrift-store diving.
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