Easy and Inexpensive Holiday Decorations and Gifts

Now that I've started decorating for the holidays (which holidays?  See this post), I thought I'd post some easy and inexpensive ideas for holiday decorating and gifts.

First, how about a jingle bell terrarium?

I had a terrarium I bought at Goodwill about six months ago for $2.00.  I found the blue and green jingle bells at Target for $1.00 for a package of four.

It took three packages of bells to fill up the terrarium...

...notwithstanding my little jingle bell thief.

Total cost: $5.00, and all you have to do is put bells in a jar.  You could do this with a vase or glassware or mason jars.  The possibilities are endless! (Oh, and the bells come in all different colors.)

NOTE: After I posted this, I read my holiday Pottery Barn catalog and found this picture:

Source: Pottery Barn

Wow!  Except the Pottery Barn version will set you back at least $24. Gulp.

Second, a gift anyone would love is a personalized coffee mug.

Take a white coffee mug - you can get them at the Dollar Store - and a Sharpie pen and write whatever strikes your fancy.

Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Put them on a cookie sheet to make it easy to get them in and out of the oven.

Wrap the mug in cellophane with some hot cocoa or a favorite coffee and you have a gift that can be enjoyed all winter long.

Third, one of my favorite DIY holiday projects was done by my then-six-year-old son: a DIY menorah.

It is made from a paint stir stick, some little bitty flower pots, and some bolts.  Oh, and plenty of craft paint.  Held together with glue.  Easy peasy.

Last, how about a wreath?

I made this wreath from old sweaters and scarves (yes, I washed them first).  

The tutorial for how to make it is here.  Obviously, you could use any color scarf or sweater you want.  You can use any fabric leftovers you might have, too.  Upcycling or recycling at its best. Total cost: less than $10.

You could also make a wreath from all the holiday shopping catalogs, like my friend Cynthia at Flotsam of the Mind did.  See her post here - it's super cool and cost nothing, other than the bottle of wine she had to drink to get the cork!

Those are just some ideas to get you started...after all, it's still November! 

Thanks for stopping by!