How to Use Inexpensive Household Items as Christmas Decor

Hey y’all! I got to thinking the other day about all of the little, inexpensive everyday items I like to keep on hand to use as props or tools in the decorating process. Many of them are just random household things I like to use. And I thought you all might have the same things on hand. And I say that this is for Christmas decorating, but really you can use these year ’round, which I do!

Twine :: Who can live without this stuff? It’s the rustic farmhouse cousin to string, I suppose. But I find myself using it all the time. As soon as I see I’m running low, I pick up another spool of it. I typically pick mine up at the hardware store. I used it to string together my DIY Scrapbook Paper Christmas Garland last year. Cheap and pretty!

Baker’s Twine :: Plain ol’ rustic twine’s cuter cousin is Baker’s Twine. (Love that twine family.) Tie it around a candle or use it to add gift tags to a gift and you have an instantly festive look! It comes in many colors and I have to resist buying them all.

Epsom Salt :: This stuff is super cheap and is wonderful in a lavender bath, so I keep big bags of it always. It also can be used as faux snow! Last year I made these simple bottle brush tree scenes in a mason jar with epsom salt as snow.

And I used it this year to hold up the candles in mason jars on my galvanized cubby in the entry way. You can’t see it very well in this pic, but it works well to hold up the candles and it looks like snow down in there.

Mason Jars :: As the above photos show, mason jars can be used for cute candle holders, scene displays or whatever your heart desires. They can be used as a vase for anything all year ’round. I keep a pack of 12 on hand and even use them for extra cute glasses when I’m having a party. I’m always using them and they are just so pretty!

Heritage Collection Blue Mason Jars

Chalk :: I’m always needing to update my chalkboard in my kitchen, or write on one of my other chalkboard surfaces. So, I keep a pack of white chalk on hand at all times. Chalkboards are cute and easy to change for every occasion or holiday!

Christmas in the Kitchen 2014

Clothes pins :: You never know when you’ll need to hang up a ribbon and attach something cute to it. Enter clothes pins! They can be so cute, especially these mini gold clothes pins I use on my Christmas card holder. But the regular ones from the laundry room work great, too!

A Very Merry Christmas Home Tour

Wrapping paper :: Of course when decorating for Christmas, you’ll need presents under the tree. And wrapping them and making them cute before Christmas day adds to the pretty tree. Right?

I love getting my presents all wrapped up early so that the festive paper and tags add to my decor. As you can see I used some twine on my packages as well. 😉

I like to keep plenty of brown kraft wrapping paper around because it’ easy to dress up any way you like.

And this year I needed something to fill the top frame on my new photo display wall. So, I grabbed some cute deer paper and voila! I also needed something to cover my DIY abstract art, so I wrapped it in paper and added a burlap bow. Easy, peasy and cheap!

Gift bags :: Do you know what the polka dot and chevron prints are in the frames in the above photo are? Gift bags. From Target. 🙂 I plan on taking them out and using them before Chrstmas. They will be cute under the tree, too!

Pretty paper :: You can’t go wrong with some cute paper. I love scouring the scrapbook paper aisle to see if anything strikes my fancy. You can cut out large snowflakes for your tree. Or dress up your gifts, like I did here. Or you can make the scrapbook paper garland I made. Add it over a picture frame with seasonal art. I did that one year because I was lazy and didn’t feel like changing the art out for Christmas

Festive old shirts and sweaters :: This year I saved a red sweater I was going to give away and cut out pieces of the sleeves to fit around my mercury glass candle holders.

I’ve also re-used an old sweater as a pillow cover. And I’ve seen some cute flannel shirt rag garland and wreaths out there. If it’s old fabric, especially the festive kind, then keep it and re-use it!

Ok, so those are my inexpensive ideas from household items. I’m always trying to think through items I have at the house and using them instead of always running out to the store.

Do you have any household items you regularly use in decor? We’d love to hear them in comments!