How to Decorate a Christmas Tree on a Budget

Christmas is a time of peace on earth, goodwill toward men and pinched pockets. Read on to learn how to decorate your tree--when your Christmas spirit is brimming but your pockets are empty.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
   A snowflake theme adds glitz and glamour.

   Pick a theme. It is often easier to buy in bulk or to buy things around a theme, such as snowflakes, birds or gingerbread men.

2. Think textures. Bring in ribbon, bows, floral items such as silk flowers, or floral stems. Get items that are big and pack a punch.

3. Unify your color. By assembling your decorations around a color, you achieve a unified and cohesive look, even though your ornaments might be mismatched.

4. Make and Bake. Make your ornaments by decorating plain glass balls with glitter pens and gems for a glamorous look, cut out your favorite new yorker cartoons and mod-podge them on cardboard for an intellectual look, or bake gingerbread men ornaments and string popcorn together with cranberries for a homey look.

5. Throw a party. Throw a Christmas party and ask everyone to bring one ornament that reminds them of you. By the end of the night you will have a fully decorated tree that has meaning and evokes memories.

6. Buy ornaments year round. Scrounge garage sales and flea markets for cheap Christmas decorations. No better time to buy than in the summer.

7. Get whimsical. A man I know decorated his first Christmas tree with empty cigarette cartons, another girl I know decorated her Christmas tree with costume jewelry she bought at a flea market.

Tips & Warnings

• Think outside of the box. Don't limit your tree to Christmas-y themes.