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The Ultimate Guide to Thrifted Holiday Decorating

By Rachel

published 11/14/2024

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Using a bit of thrifty holiday magic, you can totally deck your halls for less!

Are you tired of overspending on holiday decorations year after year? Do you want to add a special touch to your home for the holidays without breaking the bank? Well, the answer to all of your Christmas decorating woes lies in the world of thrifting! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of thrifting for holiday decor and how it can transform your home into a festive wonderland.

Decorating Your Home For Christmas Using Thrifted Finds

From vintage finds to budget-friendly DIY projects, learn how to elevate your holiday decor without spending your whole paycheck. I’m offering advanced tips and tricks for scoring the best holiday finds at thrift stores and beyond. Whether you’re a seasoned thrift store enthusiast or a first-timer, this Christmas thrifting guide has something for everyone.

Join me as we delve into the ultimate guide to thrifted holiday decorating: a one-stop-shop for all your thrifty and festive needs!

Table of Contents

Budget-Friendly Holiday Decorating with Thrift Store Treasures

Hello, guys!

The holiday season is upon us once again. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to spend less and save more, especially this time of the year.

My all-time favorite method for saving money on things that I need is by shopping at the thrift store. For the Christmas season especially, I always have a list of holiday-related items that I’m on the look out for while thrifting. This list helps me to stick to only what I need and curbs over-spending. Many of these things can be found thrifted for mere cents!

These thrifted items can include:

holiday gift bags and wrapping paper
ribbon
sets of holiday or Christmas cards
candles (real or faux)
holiday-themed napkins and paper plates
dish towels or other Christmas linens
holiday dishware, mugs, or drinking glasses

…the list goes on. You can find just about ANYTHING you are looking for to use for holiday baking, wrapping, tablescapes, etc…at the thrift store. It’s incredible the amount of money that can be saved by purchasing holiday items secondhand!

Shop the Thrifty Holiday Look!

The Ultimate Guide to Thrifted Holiday Decorating

Below, you will find six of my top tips for sourcing, and styling, Christmas decor for less. I’m here to tell you that you can totally have a magazine-worthy holiday home without spending thousands! Let’s get into it.

1. Best Places to Find Secondhand Christmas Decorations and Ornaments

First, let’s chat about where to find inexpensive Christmas and holiday decor.

My go-to spot, and the place I always check first, are my local thrift shops. This is your best bet for seeking out items such as:

Christmas village houses
ornaments
garland or wreaths
Christmas trees
berry picks or other greenery
bottle brush trees

Other secondhand options for sourcing Christmas decor include vintage or antique shops, Etsy, e-Bay, or Mercari.

Shop Vintage Christmas Ornaments!

2. Tips for Scoring the Best Deals on Thrifted and Vintage Christmas Decorations

One of the best parts of thrifting is getting the most amazing deals! You can find the best, most unique Christmas decor for just a few dollars. But, from experience, there are a few key tips to keep in mind, especially when hunting for holiday items.

Subscribe to thrift store e-mail lists if they have them. That way, you will be the first to be notified when the Christmas section is out and available to shop. Try and get there early to get the good stuff!
At most stores, ornaments are priced around $1.00 per one. However, there are some thrift stores that price ornaments in bulk, meaning they have a whole bunch of ornaments together in bags for between $3-5.00. I’ve found some incredible ornaments in these bags…even if you don’t want all of the ornaments in the bag, it’s worth buying for the ones you do want because it’s still a way better deal. Then, you can either gift the other ornaments or donate them back.
I know it’s super tempting to buy all the things. Trust me. But, to help curb over-spending and buying things you don’t need, take inventory of your Christmas decor before you leave the house. Make a list on your phone of the things you need or that you’re looking for. You can even write down gift ideas for others to keep an eye out for…you never know what you might find!

3. Favorite Thrifted Christmas Decorations

I think all of us have our favorite Christmas decor that we like to style year after year.

For me personally, my most special Christmas decorations are vintage and have been thrifted for just a few dollars each. Many of these items I use all year round and simply tweak them to feel more Christmas-y. This method gets you more bang for your buck and you get to enjoy them more than just once a year.

Some of my all-time favorite Christmas decor pieces to thrift for include:

milk glass
ironstone
green and white restaurant ware
green glass jugs or jars
vintage ornaments
small flocked trees and bottle brush trees
vintage creamers and pitchers
vintage platters

4. Unique Ways to Decorate for Christmas with Thrifted Finds

Styling thrifted decor finds is, like, my favorite hobby…especially when it comes to thrifted Christmas!

There is truly no right or wrong way to decorate your home, Christmas or otherwise. However, over the years, I have experimented with decor pieces and found a few super cool decor ideas that I love to incorporate each Christmas season.

Stack vintage platters, plates, or butter pats.

I love to stack ironstone or other vintage dishes, either in a hutch, on a shelf, or on a credenza. Top the stack with a creamer, pitcher, or other vintage Christmas accessory. Then, to add a Christmas feel to the vignette, place holiday greenery, berries, or a small tree next to the display.

Incorporate vintage Christmas postcards.

Another decor element that I recently started doing, and completely love, is styling antique Christmas postcards into vignettes. There’s just something so nostalgic and special about these old pieces of paper that brings a timeless feel into any holiday display.

Try a mix of both horizontal and vertical graphics. Postcards can be tucked into a garland or wreath, styled simply with ribbon, paired with milk glass or vintage brass, or hung on a tree!

Place light-up Christmas houses inside a hutch.

A few years ago, I thrifted a light-up Christmas house for a few dollars. At the time, it was the only one that I had but just adored how it looked lit up at night. Well, fast forward to now and, to date, I’ve thrifted three beautiful, vintage light up Christmas buildings, complete with a Christmas barn!

Each year, it’s brings me such happiness to style a countryside scene with my houses, as if I’m out in the country near my favorite fly fishing river. My favorite way to style the thrifted Christmas village is on the bottom shelf of my hutch. After I have all my the houses placed, I add in trees in various heights and shades of green.

Tip: For power, I feed a cord down through the top of my hutch and run each of the house cords to the plug on the left side. To cover the cords, I use white vintage hankies. It looks like snow!

Style vintage ornaments in bowls.

Another one of my all-time favorite Christmas decor ideas is to style vintage ornaments in bowls. I do this all over my house! You will find bowls of ornaments in my bathroom, on the bottom of my nightstand, in the kitchen, and on end tables, just to name a few.

Putting vintage ornaments in bowls is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to use thrifted ornaments! And, to take it one step further, try utilizing vintage, glass bowls like milk glass, green glass, or pressed glass.

Utilize thrifted linens for Christmas decor.

Finally, a super cool hack that I love to use for holiday decorating is to use thrifted linens such as plaid scarves or vintage lace tablecloths for Christmas decorating.

When styling Christmas decor, it’s helpful to have a fabric or textural base on the shelf or whatever surface you are decorating. This styling element helps all of your decor to feel grounded and stable.

Years ago, I found this red plaid scarf at the thrift store for a few dollars. It’s a super cozy and colorful accent that I add to my shelf each season!

Another way to use thrifted linens, that I just love, is to wrap a lace tablecloth around the base of Christmas tree as a tree skirt!

Tablecloths or other table linens can be found at thrift stores for a few dollars a piece and make the most lovely, neutral tree skirts. I simply wrap the table linen loosely around the tree base, making sure to leave enough play in the fabric so it flows nicely on the floor.

5. How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Thrifted Items

Another biggie when it comes to Christmas decor on a budget is the star of the show…the Christmas tree!

I know, from experience, that your Christmas tree can easily be the most expensive item to decorate over anything else. But, it doesn’t have to be! There are a plethora of things you can do to decorate your tree on a budget.

Budget Christmas tree decor ideas can include:

shop at thrift stores for ribbon, lights, ornaments, tree toppers, tree skirts or collars, etc…you’ll be so surprised at what you can find for cheap!
create or DIY your own ornaments
shop secondhand for a Christmas tree if you need a new one. FB Marketplace is a super good option as are thrift shops.
try a minimal aesthetic on your tree
ask your family members if they have any hand-me-down Christmas tree decor items that they aren’t using
a completely free option would be to forage the woods for pinecones, sticks, dried hydrangeas, or pine boughs to stick into your tree

My one piece of advice for this is to please don’t compare your tree to anyone else’s tree. If all you want are lights, do that. Maybe you just want to use a few ornaments. Totally okay. Don’t want use ribbon? Cool! You don’t have to give into the societal norm of packing your tree full of stuff. I’m all about using what you have!

6. Easy DIY Christmas Decor from Thrift Store Items

The last thrifty Christmas tip on the list is to make your own decor!

I’ve DIY’ed endless holiday decor items over the years and, in the process, have saved myself so much money. And, the beauty about creating your own Christmas decor is that you can thrift for many of the needed materials, making it even cheaper than going to the craft store!

Some DIY Christmas decor materials from thrift stores can include:

ribbon
foam balls and cones
fabric scraps
stamps
sheet music
frames
thread and twine
beads

For a comprehensive list of DIY Christmas decor on a budget, you can check out these posts:

DIY Christmas Gift Tags with Stamps

Homemade Clay Christmas Ornaments

Christmas Garland with Vintage Sheet Music

How to Make a Wood Round and Bead Garland

Closing Tidbits on Decorating for Christmas with Thrifted Items

You guys…decorating for the holiday does not have to cost hundreds of dollars…I promise! You can completely turn this expensive holiday into one that is super fun, frugal, and budget-friendly.

Take a deep breath and know that, will a little help from a few thrifted finds, you can totally create a beautiful Christmas home for all to enjoy. And who knows? With all of the guests and hosting of gatherings this season, you might just nudge someone else into the world of thrifting!

Be encouraged to thrift this season, finding unexpected treasures and saving money along the way.

Leave me a comment! How do you decorate for Christmas? I love hearing from you!

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If you are new here, I’m Rachel, the writer and content creator here at The Antiqued Journey. I’m so happy to have you! I encourage you to stop by the ‘about me’ page to get to know me a little more.

Here on the blog, you will find loads of inspiration for decorating with vintage and antique decor, simple DIY crafts and many thrifting adventures. If that interests you, I invite you to sign up for my e-mail. You will receive a free digital download as a thank you!