Look, I get it. It is near Christmas, your wallet has already been weeping at the sight of spending on gifts and now you are staring at your dull kitchen knowing you cannot spend a lot yet you need it to be done to make it be Christmas. I have tried it, I have seen the credit card bill to say!
The point is, however, that you do not spend a lot of money in order to turn your kitchen into something winter wonderland-like. I have learned some of the most embarrassingly brilliant tricks in over the years that will make it look like Martha Stewart ever came to see you without such a high price tag attached to the house.
Why Your Kitchen Deserves Christmas Love Too
Your kitchen is not simply a place where you cook, that is the place where magic is done on the holidays. It is where cookies are baked in the middle of the night, hot chocolate should be created in the middle of the cold morning, and family can and should sit together. Why must you have all the decoration in your living room?
This came to happen to me very badly during my first Christmas at my home. I indulged in decorating the front room, then I discovered that I was 90 per cent of my time in an essentially un-festal kitchen. Treat depression when trying to welcome the inner elf when making sugar cookies! 🙂
Creative DIY Garlands That Cost Almost Nothing
Paper Chain Revolution
Do you remember having to make paper chains at elementary school? Well, they are in fact getting back, and frankly speaking, they make good sort of genius as kitchen adorno. I do use old Christmas cards or scraps of wrapping papers or even magazine pages.
Here’s what works best:
- Cut strips about 1 inch wide and 6 inches long
- Mix patterns – solid reds with plaid, gold with green
- Hang them along cabinet fronts or around windows
- Total cost: Under $5 if you buy new paper, basically free if you use scraps
Dried Orange Slice Garlands
It is my favorite one as it smells wonderful in your kitchen. Slicing Oranges Slice oranges into slender pieces and then bake them in 200F about 3 more hours and then tie them up together. The sweetness of nature pervades the air and they appear like they cost a lot yet take around 3 dollars to buy a full garland.
Little secret: A few sticks of cinnamon and dried cranberries. And your guests will be convinced that you have a professional designer.
Mason Jar Magic for Holiday Storage
Ever watch how all things in a mason jar are more celebratory? The container version of Instagram filters. After using enough containers, I had to use them as my in-store like vacation garnerers last year, and savor Christmas in the absence of the appropriate packages.
Cookie Display Jars
- Fill clear mason jars with colorful Christmas cookies
- Add ribbon around the rim
- Line them up on your counter or open shelving
- They keep cookies fresh AND look decorative
Hot Chocolate Station Setup
Create a cozy hot chocolate bar using different sized mason jars:
| Jar Size | Contents | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Large | Hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows | $8-12 |
| Medium | Crushed candy canes, chocolate chips | $5-8 |
This system is under twenty-dollar, yet presents as having been much more expensive. By the way, it is also used at all times of the season, therefore it is practical as well.
Transform Your Cabinet Doors Without Damage
Living as a rental also taught me how to improvise when it comes to temporary decoration. You can not fairly easy hole things in to the cabinets doors when you are hoping to retrieve your security deposit!
Removable Vinyl Decals
These snowflake peel decals could be found in my local dollar store at $1 a pack. Toes them on the side of the door of the cabinet, front side of the dishwasher, or the fridge. They clean off in January, and no one knows the better.
Magnetic Wreaths for Metal Appliances
Even teeny wavey throat mini wreaths of small magnetic hook and tiny dollar store wreaths can be displayed on your refrigerator, similar on your dishwasher, and microwave. I would stick one to every door of appliances and everything would feel as coordinated. Cost per wreath? About $2.
Lighting That Makes Everything Magical
Nothing makes a space into a better place than appropriate lighting, and Christmas allows you to get somewhat bonkers with twinkle lights.
Under-Cabinet String Lights
This can be done with battery-operated LED under-cabinet string lights which produce this warm intoxicating effect that makes everything appear more costly. My installation of them is running them parallel to the bottom of upper cabinets- it doesn’t take much time to install (10-15 minutes) and cost is the same as a few dollars to use in the entire kitchen (about 15 dollars).
Window Icicle Lights
You have a window that leads to the neighboring kitchen then icicle lights are your best friends. They themselves are wanted to be hung downwards and planned to fit windows into frame. Even the simplest kitchen is enchanted with the magic of the gentle effect of dripping light during the night.
Repurpose What You Already Have
It is at this point that I become somewhat mocking of all those that scheme the evolution of shows that instruct you to invest in new containers. Take a glance around To you, most likely you have all that you need!
Coffee Mugs as Votive Holders
The random mugs that you do not use? Ideally used to carry tea lights or small candles. I will set various sized mugs on my counter bring down some battery-operated tea lights and viola a warm atmosphere.
Wine Bottles as Bud Vases
Holley branches create very good single stems of wine bottles used as vases, or even fake Christmas pointed sticks. Eric, just toss off the label, with just a small piece of ribbon, and smart holiday decoration is free.
Budget-Friendly Centerpiece Ideas
And your kitchen table or island should be loved as well, however, when you are not very attentive centerpieces might become rather costly.
Fruit and Greenery Bowls
Put your red apples into a great compote, put in some pine branches that you found in your yard (ask at the Christmas tree lot they have pretty copious supplies), and place herein a few pinecones. This can be a cost of perhaps $8 and it resembles you were a magazine spread robber.
Candle Groupings
Various heights of candles of a wooden cutting board or tray. Add some greenery, perhaps some decorations and you have made the appearance of a professional looking centerpiece and have spent less than $15.
The Power of Scent in Holiday Decorating
People do not remember that the decorations at Christmas are not only visual but a whole experience involving all the senses.
Stovetop Potpourri
Whole cloves, simmers orange peels and cinnamon sticks to a pot of water. Your kitchen is going to be smelling like Christmas morning and it will only cost you next to nothing. I do this when I am preparing people to come and they are always inquiring the candle I am burning. Plot twist Despite everything, it is only fruit scraps! :/
Herb Garden Christmas Style
Providing you have fresh herbs, attach some ribbon bows around the pots around the pots by inaching fresh herbs. Rosemary automatically resembles small Christmas trees and the smell contributes to the feeling of the holiday.
Storage Solutions That Double as Decor
Basket Organization
Wicker baskets full of Christmas dish towels, pot holders and aprons make things still seem organized and also provide texture and warmness. Three of the various-sized baskets cost me a total of six dollars when I discovered them in a thrift store.
Open Shelving Styling
When using an open shelf, you can match your daily dishes with some red or green ware and some tiny decorations or plants and all of a sudden your everyday storage spot would intentionally look festive.
Quick Wins That Make a Big Impact
Sometimes you just need fast results, and these ideas deliver:
Five-Minute Fixes:
- Swap out regular dish towels for Christmas ones
- Replace regular salt and pepper shakers with holiday-themed ones
- Add a small Christmas tree to an empty corner
- Hang a wreath on the inside of a glass cabinet door
- Tie ribbon bows around cabinet knobs
In my opinion, such minor modifications have the most significant impact since they are mixed-eyed and can be seen every minute of the day.
Making It All Work Together
The art of low cost decoration lies in the simple color scheme and environment followed. I was taught that when there was one especially good year when my kitchen resembled a Christmas store when it had exploded inside.
Take no more than 2-3 colors such as red and gold, or green and white with silver ornaments. In this manner, your less expensive decorations are deliberate and well integrated as opposed to being untidy and cluttered.
Your Kitchen’s Christmas Transformation Awaits
It does not need an expensive designer budget and the ability to use Pinterest that is perfect at creating a great festive kitchen. One would only need some creativity and be open to identifying something in the most common things.
Only one or two ideas caught your eye most of all at the beginning, the mason jar showcases or the pedestal lighting under the cabinet. As unexpected as changes may appear, as soon as you will view them going into enormous effect, you are likely to start looking at your kitchen with different eyes, and you will see an opportunity everywhere.
A good thing with low-cost decorating? Come January, when you have some of this money to spend, and you are accomplishing something, then you have not put that much money in it that you end up guilty of changing everything. Your wallet remains cheerful, your kitchen is beautiful and you have the privilege to experience the accomplishment feeling of making something beautiful with your own hands.
And now feel free to put out that book and do what you can to get your kitchen looking as holiday just as your heart might want it to be, your morning coffee routine will be reason to get up after all!