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    Home » Blog » Handmade home

    Thrifty cottage Christmas decorating ideas

    Categories: Handmade home Author: Emily Date Updated: December 3, 2022

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    In this blog I'm taking you inside our little suburban homestead to share my favourite thrifty cottage Christmas decorating ideas. Be inspired by these budget-friendly DIY Christmas decorating ideas to make the most of this cozy season.

    Cottage style Christmas tree set next to a box of decorations

    I love decorating for Christmas. It's one of the only times I go to a lot of effort to swap out my home decor.

    Even though here in the Southern Hemisphere we celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer, I still love decorating my home with cozy cottage-farmhouse inspired decor.

    The air conditioning is usually blasting away, so inside it can quite often feel quite cool. And after a long summer's day, I love snuggling up under a throw on the couch, next to our faux fireplace, surrounded by the twinkle of fairy lights and the soft glow of candles.

    It really is the most magical time of the year.

    Decorate with me

    It can be tempting to spend lots of money on new Christmas decor, especially when your Pinterest feed is filled with inspiration and the stores are overflowing with shiny new things.

    However, I really like to embrace a simple, nature-inspired cottage style aesthetic and prefer to decorate with collected, thrifted and DIY items.

    In this blog I'll be sharing some of my favourite ways to decorate with thrifty cottage Christmas style so you too can enjoy a cozy Christmas without blowing the budget.

    Top tips

    • Shop you're home and use what you already have!
    • Repurpose items in new and creative ways
    • Purchase decor items that have neutral tones so you can use them again and again
    • Purchase new decor at the end of the season for the following year at a huge discount
    • Start visiting thrift stores in November to snag some bargains before you hit the shops.

    Thrifty cottage Christmas living room decorating ideas

    The living room is one of my favourite places to spend summer nights with a good book or movie.

    Cottage style Christmas tree adorned with handmade ornaments and linen look ribbon

    It plays home to our Christmas tree which I have decorated in neutral tones with rustic and handmade ornaments and linen-look ribbon.

    Christmas trees can be expensive, but I'm still using my old faithful ex-display model I bought for $10. Its greenery is quite sparse which I think l lends itself well to the cottage aesthetic, and fits perfectly in this space.

    Sources: Tree, Pillowtalk. Ribbon, Big W.

    Homemade baking soda ornament in the shape of a star stamped with the word Emily

    My favourite DIY ornaments are my Baking Soda Christmas Ornaments which are super simple to make and a lovely way to embrace your creative side. They cost pennies to make and you can customise them to any shape or size, emboss them with lace or stamp them to create sweet messages.

    Sources: Jute Twine, Big W. Letter stamps, Kmart.

    A handmade wooden bead Christmas ornament

    Last year Elsie and I made natural wooden bead ornaments by simply threading wooden beads onto white pipe cleaners. These ornaments are simple to make and inexpensive with all materials coming from the craft section of the dollar store.

    Cottage Christmas mantle inspiration

    The mantle is decorated with cottage style Christmas decorations including hand knitted stockings, a thrifted bowl and small Christmas tree and silver bells

    Having a place to decorate for Christmas and hang stockings was the main reason I designed and built my DIY faux fireplace. This year I've added a greenery garland, with a couple of berry picks as accents, some of my baking soda ornaments and a silver bell garland.

    A small Christmas tree in a thrifted mixing bowl

    On top of the mantle I have placed a small Christmas tree which I got on clearance at my local pharmacy in a thrifted vintage-style mixing bowl.

    Four handmade cable knit cottage style Christmas stockings

    The sweet cable knit stockings were knitted by Justin's grandmother. The pattern is available on Etsy. I can't wait to fill them with goodies on Christmas Eve.

    Sources: Garland, Royal Collectibles Yeppoon. Berry picks, Big W. Bell garland, wooden tree lights and white candle lantern, Bed Bath and Table.

    Thrifty cottage style Christmas wreath

    A blue reading chair with cushion and crochet throw rug next to a lamp table with a lamp, thrifted pitcher, and DIY cottage style Christmas wreath

    I made a simple cottage-style wreath using some left over greenery garland and attaching it to a large embroidery hoop I had on hand. I then added some berry and greenery picks and a large bow made out of scrap fabric.

    Hot tip: Always purchase your more expensive decor pieces during the end of season sales to use the following year. I got this garland for half price last year and was able to use it to make both my cottage style wreath and mantle decor.

    Pitchers adorned with greenery and white berry picks and an heirloom crochet throw help bring a cozy cottage vibe to this little reading nook. The cushion slips were sewed by me.

    Sources: Garland; Royal Collectibles Yeppoon. Embroidery hoop, Spotlight. Greenery picks, Big W.

    A different kind of advent

    A group of small bags with advent activities on a antique platter from the thrift shop

    Last year I found this great little Camp Quality 25 days of kindness advent calendar at my local thrift shop. Each bag contains a card which outlines with a seasonal kindness-inspired activity for the day and a little Christmas chocolate for Elsie and William. This year I have arranged them on a thrifted vintage platter.

    I'm looking forward to our first activity on December 1, 'enjoy a family game outdoors'. We'll also be baking cupcakes to share with friends and neighbours, and creating our own Christmas cards.

    Unfortunately these are no longer in production, but why not create your very own custom version!

    Thrifty cottage Christmas dining room ideas

    The dining table is set with a thrifted table runner and centrepiece with a china hutch in the background

    The dining room is where we all come together to enjoy the Christmas feast so it's worthwhile spending a little time to make it feel warm and inviting without being over crowded.

    A close up image of a cottage style table centrepiece with candles and pinecones set on a thrifted white crochet edge table runner

    For the dining table I have gone with a simple thrifted table runner with a crochet lace edge. Onto this I placed an heirloom enamel washbasin as my centrepiece.

    Inside is a marble tray and three pillar candles. Pinecones and some thrifted white berry picks provide the perfect natural touch for a budget friendly centrepiece that will last all season.

    Sources: Pillar candles: Big W.

    The china hutch is decorate with a vintage frame with poster print, a small Christmas tree in a thrifted enamel bowl, a blue and white vase, brass bell, two enamel pitchers and lights

    The china hutch is adorned with twinkling silver medallion lights, a mini tree in a thrifted enamel bowl, heirloom brass bell and enamel pitchers. But what really makes this space pop is the repurposed heirloom picture frame and vintage-style print I purchased from Etsy.

    A vintage style poster reads "have yourself a merry little Christmas" in a vintage frame, set next to cottage style Christmas decorations

    Sources: Medallion lights, Bed Bath and Table. Enamel pitchers, Falcon Enamelware.

    Cozy cottage kitchen

    The kitchen is the hardest working room of the house so for me the decor needs to be practical and beautiful at the same time.

    a collection of jars filled with hot cocoa powder, marshmallows, and candy canes next to an assortment of Christmas themed mugs

    I was inspired to set up a hot chocolate bar on my open shelves with supplies in glass jars alongside thrifted Christmas mugs and snow-scene plate. The kids love it and I'm looking forward to many happy evenings sipping hot chocolate together.

    I also grabbed some cute Christmas cupcake baking supplies, wrappers, picks and cookie cutters and put them in glass jars for a cheery festive touch. I feel a lot of holiday baking coming on!

    I hope you have enjoyed browsing my thrifty cottage Christmas decorating ideas and feel inspired to start turning your own home into a cozy space for the holidays.

    Thanks for following along.

    More Handmade home

    • open shelves in a kitchen with a kitchen cabinet in the middle
      DIY open shelving: Converting kitchen cabinets to shelves
    • Christmas gift hamper basket with lip balm, bath salts, handmade baking soda ornament, dried herbs and a soy wax candle
      5 Homemade Christmas Gift Hamper Ideas
    • Image of a group of empty glass jars, an enamel colander filled with blue and white folded tea towels, a white and blue enamel plate, two wooden serving boards arranged on a shelf
      What to put on open kitchen shelves
    • Close up image of a glass soy wax container candle which is lit, sitting on a cotton and lace doily, next to eucalyptus leaves with candle making supplies in the background
      How to make soy wax candles with essential oils

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    1. Margaret

      December 03, 2022 at 9:01 pm

      Loved it all ‘Em. Recognised a few things and you have done wonders with them. You should be so proud. Love xx

      Reply
      • Emily

        December 10, 2022 at 8:41 pm

        Thanks Margaret! I'm lucky to have you and Toni to share your family heirlooms with me 🙂 Xx

        Reply
    2. Celeste

      December 10, 2022 at 3:02 pm

      I love all of these simple ideas, especially the baking soda dough ornaments! I feel like that would be a fun thing to do with my kiddos.Thanks for sharing your home and traditions. Your handmade stockings gave me ALL the feels.

      Reply
      • Emily

        December 10, 2022 at 8:40 pm

        Thanks Celeste, I plan on sharing a baking soda dough ornament video soon. They are the cutest! Enjoy making them with you little ones.

        Reply
        • Celeste

          December 12, 2022 at 5:00 pm

          whoo! Not me over here bookmarking this page so I don't miss out on that video 🙂

          Reply

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