Living Room Decorating Ideas for Christmas that are Budget Friendly

Join me for our Handmade Christmas Home tour! I will be sharing the living room decorating ideas for Christmas that I came up with this year, and show you how it all came together in this space.

When Christmas rolled around this year, my desire was to fill you with ideas that were inexpensive and very beautiful. I wanted to help you create a Handmade Christmas home full of love, creativity, and that wouldn’t break the bank.

WATCH THE TOUR ON VIDEO

Take the video tour with me!

Even though our money seems to be buying us less these days, I didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t add some new decor to your home – should you so desire.

I gave my heart all November and December to hopefully fill you with ideas and inspiration, and now I’m so excited to share how it all came together in our home – specifically in our living room.

My goal this Christmas (as shared previously in this video) was to really make memories creating items for our home with my kids and then keep it simple. I felt a need to reclaim my love for the season, by limiting what I expected of myself.

For this reason, I may only be sharing our living room space in a tour this year, and other decor I may add will be extremely simple and just for my family.

That said, let’s tour our Handmade Christmas home living room, while also sharing living room decorating ideas for Christmas that are budget friendly.

IDEA # 1: CLIP FRESH GREENS FROM OUTSIDE

Nothing brings in that Christmas feeling to me like fresh evergreens, with their delightful smell and reminder of growth and life.

Finding and clipping evergreen branches from outside or in the mountains is a great way to bring that into your home for free. I filled vases, baskets and pottery with a bunch of the greens clipped right from our property.

It instantly felt like Christmas! I so love that once Christmas is over, I can just toss these outside in the compost and I don’t have to store a ton of foliage in totes all year long.

Plus, you get a new look each year by making your own arrangements in whatever vessel you have.

IDEA #2: PURCHASE A FRESH CEDAR GARLAND AND TAKE IT APART TO USE ALL AROUND THE HOUSE

Our area doesn’t have very many cedar trees, and they usually don’t look as pretty as the store bought kind. I really love cedar so I buy one garland from the department store and use it all around.

This way I get a lot of bang for my buck and enjoy cedar clippings here, there and everywhere I want them.

IDEA #3: MAKE HANDMADE ORNAMENTS FOR YOUR TREE

It feels so special to look at your tree knowing that you and your family or friends enjoyed making them together. Handmade ornaments can also be stylish and cohesive, so don’t just think of them as random kids crafts – as cute as those are.

I’ve been busy making lots of ornaments to share with you on my blog and channel.

Here is the full list of everything we made this year for our beautiful tree:

• Yarn Wrapped Stars
• Origami Stars
• Paper Angels
• Aged Sheet Music Paper Chain
• Mini Stockings
• Terra Cotta and Clay Ornaments
• Names of Christ Gift Tags

IDEA #4: MAKE DECOR ITEMS YOU ALREADY HAVE FEEL FESTIVE RATHER THAN BUY NEW

Cruising the isles of Hobby Lobby can make you feel like you need to buy all sorts of trinkets to make your home feel festive. But I don’t think that should be the case. Use the decor you already have on shelves and side tables, and think how you can make it look festive.

I used this birdhouse that I antiqued long ago and simply added some greens and 2 fake white birds from the dollar store. Now we have our 2 turtle doves dressed in beautiful greens. It is so fun!

IDEA #5: GROW POTTED PAPERWHITES

My favorite winter and Christmas flower are paperwhites! I love growing them because they are so easy and bring such life into the cold winter months.

This year I went all out and used up my terracotta pot collection on our mantel and filled them with paperwhite bulbs. Once they are all in bloom, I plan to snip them and put them in jars on the mantel – which will transition us perfectly into January.

You can read this post I did all about forcing paperwhite bulbs, but here is the basics of what I did this time.

1 – Fill the pot a little over half way with rocks for drainage.

2 – Add dirt to the top

3 – Put the paperwhite bulb in the dirt, root down, just a bit – leaving much of the bulb exposed.

4 – Top with moss

5 – Keep roots wet, by watering lightly daily.

IDEA #6: BRING OUT ONLY A FEW FAMILIAR TRADITIONAL ITEMS

I am a firm believer that some Christmas decor should be familiar and traditional. However, I think we tend to feel like we need a lot of that and bring out bins and bins of stuff.

I like to keep my familiar traditional items to a minimum and just bring out our precious olive wood nativity that I inherited from my grandmother. It holds fond memories for all of us and is so beautiful.

Stockings can also be the traditional item you bring out. I have designed and made these 100% linen stockings that I sell in my TIDBITS & Company shop to be absolute heirloom quality.

They are pure linen inside and out and will only get better with time – linens best feature!

A sweet follower gifted us these photo metal stars, and I have treasured them ever since. They will definitely be another traditional items I bring out every year and add a new updated photo in.

You really don’t need much to have a nostalgic feel in your home every Christmas.

IDEA #7: USE PILLOWS AND BLANKETS THAT WILL TRANSITION YOU ALL THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS

Going with bold Christmas colors in your throw pillows and blankets can be fun, but think also of how you can use linens on your living room furniture that will easily transition you through all the winter months.

I went with a blue and white color palate for my couch linens this year, and I’m excited that they can just stay all winter. Come spring I may want to switch it up, but there will be no need until then.

I made these quilted linen pillow covers and showed you how in this post. The throw blanket I also made by just pulling threads on some linen fabric and hemming up the sides.

IDEA #8: USE YOUR ADVENT/COUNTDOWN AS DECOR

Advents and countdowns can make darling Christmas decor in your living room! I made 25 mini linen stockings and hung them on a ladder my husband made long ago.

Each night, one of the kids picks a stocking and pulls out the Names of Christ advent we are doing. Then we hang both the stocking and the Names of Christ tag on the Christmas tree. It serves as decor and as a wonderful tradition. I toss in some small treats inside the stockings – for good measure.

IDEA #9: USE FRESH BABY’S BREATH ALL OVER!

It’s fun to think of how to use unexpected fresh florals in your home during the Christmas time. You can always pick up a grocery store arrangement and play around. This year, I felt inspired by baby’s breath.

They are like tiny little snowflakes and baby’s breath dries so nicely that I knew they would look good even if not kept in fresh water.

So I filled our real Christmas tree with little bundles, and filled the mantel. I also threw in bunches of it with each fresh greenery arrangement I made.

It has been so beautiful and magical! I just love the unique look.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing our Handmade Christmas home this year. We have truly enjoyed the fruits of our labors. Thank you so much for visiting today and have a very Merry Christmas! If you would like to see how our living room has looked other Christmas’s – click around!

• Old Fashioned Christmas Living Room
• Old World European Inspired Christmas

SOURCES FOR PRODUCTS IN OUR LIVING ROOM

• Diamond Pattern Wool Rug
• Christ Picture
• Stockings
• Couches
• Coffee Table
• Accent Chairs
• Frame TV Frame
• Electric Fireplace