Thrifting Find: Vintage Wooden Ornaments

This year's Christmas tree in our apartment is studded with vintage wooden ornaments that I collected this November at thrift stores.  They are gorgeous and beat up a bit and perfectly lovey.  They definitely breathe a bit of child-like goodness into our apartment.  And the best part... 95% of the ornaments were only 25¢.  The other 5% were only 50¢.  I got over 75 ornaments.  That's about $20 for a tree full of vintage ornaments.  Considering how much the plain ole glass ornaments are... that's a stellar deal.  It's also pretty priceless not looking like everyone else. 

Nutcrackers are my favorite.

 

Our lights were the big vintage ones as well. So dreamy....

Super Easy and Cheap Christmas Decor DIY

Andrew and I were gifted a very large and very pretty vase for our wedding.  I think it's beautiful, but I wasn't sure how to decorate with it for Christmas until... I went on a walk with Bailey one day and was inspired.  So here's a very easy and cheap decor DIY for Christmas that is very easily customizable to your tastes and needs.

Step 1
First things first, gather your supplies.  You will need branches that fit your space.  Mine are about 2.5 feet tall. (yeah BIG vase)  You want your branches to be DRY, clean, and branchy.... with lots of little branches shooting off everywhere to create interest and movement. 

I found mine by just walking around outside.  You really shouldn't have to cut them off a tree so just keep looking so you can keep our trees intact. 

Step 2

Gather some ornaments, bows, ribbons, candy canes, lights, etc to decorate your tree. I grabbed some simple glass ornaments I got at the thrift store.

Step 3
Because I liked my branches the way they were, I skipped this step, but if you want, you can paint your branches to compliment your decor.  Gold, silver, etc.

Step 4

Arrange your branches however you want in your vase.

 

Step 5

Decorate till your heart is content.  For me, simple was better :) 

Christmas the Simple Way

Christmas and the holiday season is the opposite of simple for a lot of people.  You may feel this way as you rush around buying gifts, decorating the house, and cooking and planning and cleaning and on and on and on.  

Yeah... 

The holidays often play out this way, but there are other ways you can make the holidays simpler and more fulfilling.  You can refocus your thoughts and activities to what the holidays are really about for you whether that be a spiritual connection or a time for getting together with friends and family.  You can make it about serving others and the environment. 

In order to help the holidays feel a bit less stressful on the mind, body, and budget, during December I will be sharing simple living tips that revolve around holidayness.

So for the first tip, GO THRIFTING not shopping!

Being newly married, Andrew and I don't have Christmas decorations. We've conquered this lack of festiveness in two main ways that revolve around simple living.

1) Our families have generously donated some on our behalf.  This is a very easy way to not spend money (aka save some awesome cash) and to reuse and upcycle as to not create more waste in the world. We've got enough of that.  People often have so many holiday decorations stored up, they don't minded sharing.  Which leads to....

2) We go thrifting for  Christmas goodies. The key to thrifting is to go often, as thrift stores put out new goodies almost daily so I have been doing a lot of decoration thrifting.  This is cheaper and again reuses old stuff so it ultimately reduces waste.  The profits from thrift stores also usually benefit charities.  The one I frequent most in Knoxville for example, benefits the American Society for the Blind.  I got these old school Christmas lights for only $2 and they look great in our sun room along the top of the window. I love the big bulbs and they were in perfect condition.   I will have to share how I have used my other holiday thrift store finds soon!

These are great ways to conserve this holiday season.