: Christmas 2010 Ways to Save Money on Decorations

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(453 Words)
Santa Claus may have to tighten his belt this year. With the difficult economy of 2010, a lot of people simply do not have the money they had before, and one area that they might consider a luxury is in Christmas decorations. Just because you have less money, however, does not mean that you still cannot have great decorations if you use some innovative techniques.
Purchase decorations from less expensive sources
It is unlikely that anyone will care about where you got your Christmas decorations. So why not get them from somewhere very inexpensive? You can even get them from a dollar store like the Dollar Tree. Costco sells a number of decorations. You will find many places online as well such as Oriental Trading Company. You might even want to consider looking for pre-owned decorations on a website such as www.ebay.com. These items might be outside anyways and you may literally pay a fraction of the cost.
Hand make decorations
There are many beautiful decorations that you can make yourself. Instead of buying expensive stockings for your mantle, you or your children can make some yourself as a craft with a fabric of your choice. Instead of buying expensive wreathes, buy the materials or even just construction paper and have your children make some.
Let’s say you want your home to look like a winter wonderland. Instead of buying expensive chair covers, buy a huge value roll of chiffon and tie pieces around the chairs for a beautiful and inexpensive look. You can also have your kids take big poster boards and write out Christmas memories. Place a bunch of pictures up from previous Christmases.
Buy the year before
Obviously this needs to be done a year in advance, but Christmas decorations are among the items that go on major clearance after the holiday at stores like Target. They are even sometimes discounted to 90% off. Consider buying and then saving.
Buy decorations that do not use up electricity
Sometimes the big cost is actually not the money that people spend on the decorations themselves but the electricity to run them. In 2010, a lot of people are paying more for electricity than ever before. A lot of Christmas decorations such as Christmas lights and inflatable lawn characters rely on this of course. These costs can add up quite a bit. To save money you may want to consider decorations that do not use electricity. These also might look better during the day as the well. You can also turn the electric ones off at night to save money.
Christmas decorations can bring the holiday alive for 2010. With clever and careful planning you can have a great set-up with less money.