My No Spend Christmas Home Tour
No Spend Christmas Decorating is easier than you might think! Shop your home and bins of decor to create a magical Christmas without spending a cent.
Today I am joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for her Christmas Home Tour! Make sure to check out all of the gorgeous holiday homes from other bloggers at the bottom of this post. If you’re coming over from Lori’s beautiful Christmas home at The Stonybrook House, hello and welcome!
Welcome to my home decorated for Christmas!
Welcome to my Christmas Home Tour, I’m Jo-Anna and I’m so happy to have you here in my home! This year my home tour is a little different…I decorated for the holidays without spending any money. Yes, this is my No Spend Christmas Home Tour. Welcome!
How it all came together.
My No Spend Christmas Home Tour came about by accident. As I wandered around Michaels and Winners looking for decorations to add to my home for my Christmas home tour, nothing stood out to me. I just didn’t want to buy anything, not a single thing. That’s when I decided right then and there, that I wasn’t going to buy a single Christmas decoration this year. Not a ribbon, not an ornament, no pillows (gasp!), nothing. Instead, I was 100% going to shop my home for all of my decor. I was going to go through all of my Christmas boxes and use what I had and make it work.
We don’t need new decor every year.
We just don’t. You’d be surprised by how much stuff we already have that looks beautiful. We don’t need to recreate Christmas decor in our home every year. While I like the idea of it, it’s becoming exhausting and expensive. I asked myself what I was even doing this for? This year, honestly, I’m just too tired. But I’m also craving nostalgia. Nostalgia for my cozy, much loved decorations that my whole family loves and looks forward to seeing every Christmas.
Shop your own home.
While decorating my home for Christmas, I went through all of my Christmas decor, but I also tried to think outside the box. I wanted to add in some things from my fall home tour, I also dug up some decor that I haven’t used in years, all to create my cozy, no-spend Christmas home tour. If you’ve come along on my holiday home tours over previous years, you’ll recognize everything I’m sure. But that’s ok. That’s the whole point for me. Reusing, repurposing, reloving what I already have. So come on in, welcome to my Christmas Home Tour. Let’s start at the front door.
My simple Christmas porch.
And I mean simple. I didn’t even buy a sprig of greenery! I barely recognize myself haha! But honestly, I’m quite proud of my restraint. I knew I could put together a pretty porch with what I already had. Starting with this wreath!
A Red and White Flocked Christmas Wreath
A few years ago I created this Vintage Truck Christmas Wreath, and every once in a while it would come out for Christmas, but mostly it just sat in storage. This year I wanted to give it new life, so I decided to take it apart and redecorate it with red and white ornaments I already had. I added white balls, mini red and white houses and some red wooden stars…all ornaments I had collected over the years. I love how they look against the flocked wreath base. Then I added my favourite plaid ribbon, and done. I love how it turned out!
Then to finish off the look on my simple Christmas porch, I added my 3 mini flocked trees and tossed one of my buffalo check pillows and blankets onto my porch chair. Simple and festive, don’t you think?
Come inside!
Now it’s time to come on in, it’s cozy in here! Again, you’ll recognize all of my decor, and that’s the whole point. I used what I already had to make a cozy Christmas.
Try something new with what you already have.
I wanted to create a cozy Christmas couch so I layered in almost all of my Christmas pillows and blankets that I could find. Nothing matches, yet it all matches somehow. I love the blue pillows from my fall tour, mixed in with the plaid and Nordic pillows from Christmas’s past. I love the plaid with the faux fur. It just feels so cozy.
My Christmas Village Mantel.
Last year I put together a Christmas Village Mantel that I loved. It’s simple, cute and perfect for this space. So why why why would I want to do something different? After spending all that money on these adorable little houses? This little village is a holiday tradition now, and one that I love. So here it will live. There is one slight difference in the village this year though…our little elf Ed, has made himself at home hahaha!
And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care.
We use the same stockings every year, but they haven’t made it into a home tour in years…had to keep things fresh haha! But here they are…our adorable skate stockings. It’s just not Christmas without these hung on the mantel.
I love the evening light.
One of my most favourite moments in my Christmas living room is when the sun is about to set, and everything starts to darken, making all the candles and lights glow. I tried to capture this and share it here with you…it’s hard to take pictures in this lighting, but you’ll get the idea…
Adding festive touches to our dining space.
As I do every year, I like to make our every day dining space pretty for the holidays. The same ol’ tree went up, and I filled it with dried orange slices. And the same ol’ red + white cushions were tied to the chairs, along with my mini evergreen wreaths (I did change up the ribbon to red…I already had it). If you love something, just embrace it.
A simple + practical every day centrepiece.
One thing I did make was this pretty centrepiece for the table…ok, it’s really just a bowl of fruit, but that’s the point haha! Take an everyday thing, and make it a pretty decoration. So technically I spent money to make it, but the oranges are groceries…I didn’t even pay for the greenery…they were sprigs from a bouquet of flowers that were sent to our family. Look how simple and pretty this is! I love it. It’s the little things.
My Christmas Bedroom
I even decided to do a little decorating in our bedroom this year. I always bring out the cozy flannel sheets, but I also added a little wreath, plaid pillows and a blanket…all things I already had, just moved to a different room for a different feel. So simple and the perfect festive touch.
Simple is beautiful. And less stressful too.
That’s the whole point right? I want to enjoy the holiday season so I my goal was keep things as simple as I possibly could. And for me, that meant reusing and reloving what I already had. The Christmas season is about nostalgia, and I think I achieved that this year. Thank you so much for coming along on my No Spend Christmas Home Tour. I hope you enjoyed it! xo
No Spend Christmas Decorating Tips
- Use what you have. This is the whole point. Go through the Christmas decor you already have, and decorate!
- Shop the outdoors. Head out into your yard or a forest and gather fresh greens for decorating.
- Fruit makes great decor. Create a simple centrepiece with seasonal fruit and greens. If you’ve got oranges that no one has eaten, slice and dry them to make ornaments or make pomanders.
- Make a popcorn garland. If you’ve got kernels in the pantry, make a simple popcorn garland for the tree. So nostalgic and pretty too.
- Think outside the box. Do you have decor from other seasons that you can use for the holidays too? Things like pillows and blankets, ribbons and dishes…
- Repurpose, Reuse and Recycle. Have an old wreath, take it apart and redecorate it. Have ornaments that have seen better days? repaint them. Have old sweaters? make stockings out of them. Have mason jars and candles? make some pretty candles.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s perfect if you love it.
More Christmas Home Tours:
Next up on today’s Christmas Home Tour is Kathy at Up to Date Interiors, so make sure to check out her beautiful home all decorated for the holidays! Then hop on over to all of the other pretty tours in the links below. I hope you leave here feeling inspired to decorate your own home this season.
Coming Thursday December 8th
Coming Friday December 9th
Merry Christmas!
PIN IT for inspiration!
Love this! You’re right, we don’t need to buy new decor every year. Too late for me this year, but maybe next year…. I love the simplicity!
Thank you so much Lori!
Oh I love it all. I definitely don’t think you need to buy anything new. Using all the pretty red, and plaid and filling each space with the nostalgic type of Christmas we all love is perfect. I love how you’ve added all the little houses to the mantel, and those ice skate socks are amazing. Thanks so much for joining the tour again this season, such a warm and inviting tour.
Thank you so much for having me Marty! I love to see everyone’s home decorated for the holidays…theres’s so much inspiration!
I love all of this and appreciate the message of ‘use what you have’. So much rampant consumerism and fast fashion is environmental and financial disaster.
Thank you Susanne! And it’s so true…we’re made to feel like we need to buy buy buy, but we don’t need to. I get caught up in it too, but this year I really focussed on not doing this.
Love your ice skate stockings!
Thank you Alexandra!
Not only is your home beautiful, but I am so impressed with your no spend idea! I don’t know why I haven’t tried that…I have so many bins in my basement that I haven’t even opened this year. You’ve totally inspired me! Thanks for the gorgeous tour!
Shelley
Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!
I love your “no spend” theme this year! I actually thought about doing the same! We all have so much decor that there really is no need to add more! And, your home looks so beautiful!
Thank you Doreen! It was actually quite freeing to give myself permission not to buy anything!
I love all of your ideas! Totally agree with the no-spend holiday decorating. I’m going to aim for that next year. Too late this year, but mainly just bought ribbon. Your home is just beautiful!
Thank you Christy!
Oh my goodness what an inspiring post. I adore your wreath! Such cozy décor. It’s truly a delight to be on tour with you.
Thank you so much Laura!
Your porch is stunning! Love these no spend ideas for the tour this year! Pinned!!
Thank you so much Anne!
You had me at “no spend”! I love using what I already have and you have done such a beautiful job decorating your home for the holidays. Merry Christmas!
Thank you Kim! Merry Christmas to you!
Love the wreath & especially the way you let the ribbon hang down. Creative & new! Will be using that technique. Thank you. Merry Christmas!
Thank you Candace! I hope you make one!
Joanna… this truly resonated with me so many levels. Your tour was absolutely beautiful and such a testament to your message. All about the simplicity ! Such a pleasure touring with you. 🙂
Thank you so much Erica!
This is such an informative post with great decorating tips Jo-anna. I love the challenge of using what we already have in a new way each year. Your home looks beautiful from the front porch to every room. The fruit is such a pretty touch and lovely candlelight pictures.
Thank you Kathy! Merry Christmas!
What an inspiring post and the tips are spot on! It makes me want to aim for buying less next year, although I don’t think I’ll be quite as successful as you. It all looks so lovely, and I especially love the oranges on the kitchen tree and in the bowl. It’s wonderful to be on this tour with you – Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much Kate!
Absolutely beautiful! Merry Christmas!