Thanksgiving is over and it’s officially the Christmas season. Retailers started a bit earlier – I saw stores decked out in Christmas decorations as early as three weeks ago! I’m sure you have seen the large Christmas displays at Target, Home Depot, and other stores that are pushing as many Christmas lights, trees, candles, and pretty much anything Holiday-related as possible. When you start adding up all the costs of getting a house or apartment decorated for Christmas, it can easily reach into the hundreds of dollars.
Today I want to share three tips that will potentially help you save hundreds of dollars on Christmas Decorations:
1) Shop AFTER the Holidays
If you shop for decorations the day after Christmas, you are going to find steeply discounted decorations. My wife and I have used this strategy for the past three years and have been able to literally save hundreds of dollars. I have a whole box of Christmas lights that I paid 50-75% off retail price, because I buy them the day after Christmas. We do this with other Holidays as well – we have some Halloween and Easter decorations that we got 50-75% off retail price by simply going the day after the given Holiday.
2) Hit up Thrift Stores
There is a local nonprofit here in Minnesota called Arc’s Value Village. Around the Holidays, they create elaborate displays with all the donated Christmas decorations. There are snow globes, Christmas tree ornaments, nativity scenes, gift bags, and just about anything else you could possibly need for a decked-out apartment or house. The main benefit is that everything is reasonably priced, but another benefit is that some thrift stores like Arc’s Value Village use the proceeds to fund their charity work. In Arc’s case, they help children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Save Money + Help a Good Cause = Combo for the win!
I even found this elf hat last year which I took full advantage of at a Christmas Party:
3) Set a Budget
As with anything else in life, it’s always a good idea to have a budget on how much you are willing to spend. You don’t HAVE to wait until after the Holidays or only get your decorations at thrift stores. If you do decide to buy some decorations right now (who knows, maybe you are hosting Christmas for the first time and want to make sure the house is decked out?) plan ahead by writing down what you really need. Next, set a budget you are willing to spend on all the decorations. Finally, always remember to look for deals and coupons that could bring down your total spend.
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There are ways to save money on Christmas decorations, despite the allure of all the new decorations that are put out weeks before Thanksgiving has even occurred. There is nothing wrong with buying some at full price during the Holiday season (though you can probably save some money with coupons) but buying after the Holiday, stopping by a thrift store, and setting a budget can help save hundreds of dollars over time.
How do you save money on Christmas Decorations?
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Photo by Joe Buckingham
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I love the hat with the tie!
Shopping after Christmas can save you a small fortune, of course I’m sure there would be some pretty upset kids around the world is Santa decided to arrive a few days late.
@MonsterPiggyBank Thanks! I should have put up a close-up of the tie, it had little santas all over it. I got it at the thrift store as well – huge win!
Haha yes you can’t always avoid when you shop for Christmas.
If you already have some Christmas decor, shopping after the holidays is definitely the way to go. That is what we always do. We even bought our first Christmas tree that way…for like $25 at 75% off.
@GregatClubThrifty Wow $25 is pretty good for a tree. We definitely buy a little each year, and have been for a few years now. Now that we have a house we can justify getting a bit more than the bare minimum as far as decorations go.
What is it about the holidays that make people go nuts and throw all discipline out the window? Whether it’s eating habits or spending habits (often both) people get caught up in the “magic” of it all and somehow convince themselves that common sense doesn’t apply this time of year. I know I’ve been guilty of it!
Thanks for the great post DC! Nice hat by the way! :-)
@NateFancher Thanks, I though the hat was a good pickup ;) The tie is a pretty big winner as well, it’s got little Santas all over it. I went to the party as an “office elf – North Pole Accounting Department.” I know at least a few people were jealous of my costume!
I’ve been guilty as well, though it was easier not owning a house, since you only have so much storage and so many rooms to decorate for the holidays. I also haven’t hosted Christmas at my place ever so haven’t been as concerned about decorating.
I think we sa stores being decorated at least two months ago…at least it feels that way. :) We tend to buy them after the Holidays as the savings can be really good as you said. We also get a lot of decorations from my Mom. She’s really big into giving them, which is nice as they’re pretty nice ones.
@FrugalRules Can your mom send a shipment of holiday decorations to us? Haha just kidding, but that’s nice you got started that way. We slowly bought some up the past few years and now finally have a house to decorate, should be fun. Tonight we are painting and doing some more “move-in” work so we will get around to it soon.
Great ideas. I don’t like to get caught up in the black Friday frenzy so I plan to stay home over this weekend. We don’t celebrate Christmas at my home so I don’t need to buy lots of stuff, but if we did I would get one of those smaller, table top Christmas trees because they cost less money not only on the tree itself, but also on the decorations because you don’t need as much :)
@Liquid_Independ My grandma has a tabletop Christmas tree! It’s very little maintenance, which is why she has it set up. We bought up some cheap ornaments so we will have a full tree at a low cost.
This is quite specific but the craft store Michael’s usually has amazing sales leading up to Christmas- right now, at our local store- they have all glass ornaments 60% off and if you go on satuday between 9-12 you get an additional 30% off, not too shabby. Most people don’t think of them for ornaments/decorations but they have great stuff!
@PlungedinDebt You will love this: my wife went to Michael’s yesterday with my Mom and they were there for over an hour. She spent $30 or something and saved something like $60! She loves Michaels and takes advantage of those 50% off one item coupons that they always give out.
I love buying after Chrismas. I also made my own wreaths from craft stuff believe it or not. I must have been posessed that day!
@Eyesonthedollar I believe it because…my wife just mentioned wanting to make a wreath as well!
We already have a ton of decorations and don’t need anymore!
@SenseofCents Do you mind sending some our way? Haha just kidding :) But seriously…
Great minds think alike on #1 :) I got plenty of decorations that way a couple years ago.
@Money Life and More I saw your post! I was a bit disappointed as I didn’t want you to think I was copying you (I did have the idea written down a while back) but I realized they were different enough that I didn’t think you’d mind ;)
@DC @ Young Adult Money I’m not ever worried about people “copying” I know we don’t blatantly rip off other blogs :) My Money Design and I had a similar thing happen recently with 2013 Retirement Limits
@Money Life and More I hear you, there’s only so many topics out there anyway and it’s more about putting a unique spin on it. The best is when two bloggers post essentially the same thing, the same day, without prior knowledge. I always get a kick out of that.
My wife and her mother usually hit the stores the day after Christmas to buy decorations for next year. They typically shop at Michael’s, Joan Ann Fabric, and Walgreens. I’m just glad that I don’t have to join them for those trips.
@JustinatTheFrugalPath Haha I’m not sure how excited I would be about going to those three places. Last night my wife and my mom went to Michaels for an hour and a half! I didn’t mind staying back and helping my Dad move some stuff and taking in the NFL games.
I don’t mind going to Target and looking, though. We usually only spend about 15 minutes looking at what is left over on clearance.
Hey, Sexy hat!!
When I was a kid we always went shopping for Christmas wrapping paper and other things on Dec 26th. The lineups at KMart were crazy. Earlier this year BigLots from the US bought out Liquidation World in Canada. We went a few weeks ago and their Christmas stuff is crazy cheap. We bought a few strings of indoor lights for our home office. Cheap like Borscht.
@TacklingOurDebt Thanks I was quite proud of that hat! Huge find! Haha
I have gotten tons of cheap lights over the years. My Dad used to be big into putting up outdoor Christmas lights, so I probably got it from him. I was sad when I saw that there was no outdoor outlet at our new house :( I will probably install one next summer when it’s drier and I’m less likely to electrocute myself. I might try to think of some way to run a cord outside….we’ll see.
Love the hat! We did most of the decorations ourselves when I was young. If you are a bit crafty you can do wonders with a snow spray on your windows and with paper you can do little angels for the tree. It was a fun way to prepare for Christmas
@RFIndependence Thanks I am proud of that hat purchase! My wife is getting more into the DIY stuff so I’m sure I will see more of that this year and the next few.
I save heaps of money on decorations by being a Grinch and not having any!
@Free in Ten Years Haha oh man…
I’m big on buying at local craft fairs. A few years ago, I found a local crafter whose wares I REALLY liked, but thought they were a touch overpriced. I got her card, then called her the week after Christmas and asked if she could send me some images of her leftover stock. She sold about $100 worth of merchandise to me for just $35, simply so she didn’t have to hold on to it and store it for the next year.
@Elizabeth_SimpleFinance That’s awesome! Sometimes knowing the right business and a little followup work can pay off.
We are looking for some Christmas decorations this year so I will definitely check out our local Thrift Shops. Thanks for the tip!
@deaconhayes Glad I could help!