easy christmas decor

There is nothing too special about these Christmas decor ideas except that they add a little charm in their details and they are el-cheapo!

Item #1: buy dollar-store ceramic houses, spray paint white or cream (or whatever color you'd like or have on hand... I think a very pale aqua would be charming, too!) and while the houses are still tacky, sprinkle glitter over the top.  DONE!

This cloche is actually a large vase (I guess!) turned upside-down from Ikea for 10ish bucks!

Item #2:  buy dollar-store/cheap wreaths.  Spray paint with white paint and immediately sprinkle on some fake snowflakes.  I also added a little glitter to these as well but you can hardly see it.  I also added a black ribbon but you could leave them alone and they'd still be cute.  Then hang them up :)  DONE!  (PS: these were seriously ugly wreaths before I painted them!)

Item #3:  Add white lights anywhere and everywhere!!

 Item #4:  Deck the halls (or bookcases) with dollar-store nutcrackers.

Item #5:  Give your kids a needle and thread and felt balls which instantly adds Christmas cheer to an everyday area.  I've strung this string of felt balls on a horizontal door we have hanging on our wall.

Item #6:  Christmas isn't Christmas without Christ!  So get out that nativity scene!  I found this one at a craft store for $10.  The pieces were glued to a stable that I didn't like the look of, so I carefully broke them out.  If you didn't care for the colors, again you can spray paint anything.  I turned an old box on it's side and slid this into my bookcase instead.

 Item #7:  Get out some chalk, make a chalkboard, and write your favorite Christmas phrases.  Your chalkboard doesn't even need to have a frame on it.  The bottom picture is just chalkboard paint over a piece of plywood.

Item #8:  Bring in some greens.  You can never bring in enough greens.  Ever!  And if you're like me, you can't keep enough greens alive so you have to keep bringing in replacements. I clipped some boxwood and pines from the landscaping.

Hope those ideas were some-what helpful!  I am always so anxious to decorate for Christmas.  I think that simple is sometimes better... beware of Christmas clutter!!

Joyeux Noel!