I’m definitely not one of those people with a picture-perfect, colour-coordinated Christmas tree that looks like it’s just stepped off the front of a magazine.
I actually was that person for a couple of years — but only by accident! We’d just moved house right before Christmas and somehow lost our tree in all the boxes. So, on Christmas Eve, we ended up tree shopping at the last minute. One of the big stores was selling off their display trees, complete with all the matching silver, white and lilac decorations, for a ridiculously low price. I think we paid about £15 for a seven-foot tree that looked like it belonged in a department store window.
And for a while, I felt ever so posh with my “show tree”. But once it was up in our living room, I realised it didn’t actually feel right. It looked beautiful — perfect even — but it didn’t feel like our tree. It was missing the personality and the memories.
That first year, I couldn’t do much about it (we’d brought it home at about 4pm on Christmas Eve!). The following year it seemed wasteful to change it too much, but by year three, I decided enough was enough. I boxed up most of the fancy ornaments and passed them on to a friend who was just starting out, then filled our tree with cheap, colourful baubles and bright, cheerful tinsel instead.
And instantly, I loved it more.
Each year after that, I added a few homemade decorations and swapped out the cheap baubles for ornaments that actually meant something to us as a family. Those handmade ones are still my favourite — every time I hang them, I remember the fun we had making them together.
When I moved in with my new partner, I left my old decorations behind and I’ll be honest, my first Christmas here felt really strange. The tree we put up just didn’t feel like an us tree. It was filled with ornaments that weren’t part of my story, and I felt a bit sad looking at it — though I tried not to show it.
Apparently, I didn’t hide it very well though, because the next day I came home to find two big boxes of brand-new ornaments on the table in colours I loved. 🥰
That night, we took down some of the ones that we’d put up the night before and replaced them with my new decorations so the tree had a little bit of me worked into it — and suddenly, it felt a bit better.
The following year, I managed to reclaim a few of my favourite decorations from my old tree — just the homemade ones and a couple with special memories — and slowly, our tree started to feel much more like “us”.
Fast forward a few years and it’s now a lovely mix of both of us with some ornament that are older from both of our pasts with lots of memories and homemade ornaments from all the kids along with some lovely new ones that we’ve made, collected, or found together. It’s not magazine-perfect, but it’s perfectly ours!
It’s not just about the tree though, is it?
That’s where it starts, but I love adding little festive touches all through the house. I want it to feel Christmassy as soon as you walk through the door — cosy, cheerful, and full of character, not clutter.
And honestly, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get that look. Some of my favourite decorations have been second-hand finds, costing a few pounds from charity shops, vintage markets, or car boot sales — and they’ve got so much more charm than anything new.
I can’t share all of ours at the moment as we haven’t got them down from the loft just yet but I thought I could share a few of the pre-loved decorations I’ve bought over the last few months to add to our collection this year – including a couple of little treasures I picked up when we were in Iceland for just a couple of pounds each!
I love that they’re not just pretty decorations but it’s a little reminder of a trip we took together. One is a super cute little candle holder and the other is a set of Christmas tins and both are so much nicer than anything I could have picked up on the high street — and they came with the very satisfying second-hand price tag of just a couple of pounds each.
I also bought this guy who isn’t particularly vintage but cost me £1.00 last week. He’s actually a biscuit tin and I think I’m actually going to give him to one of the kids filled with cat treats as they both have kittens. 🐈⬛
This is a brand new tealight holder which I loved as soon as I saw it in the shop and knew I had to have it at just £1.49. When I got home, I had a Google search just out of curiosity to see how much it was worth and was surprised to see the first thing in the search was a tealight holder that I already own and love.
The one I own is one that my partner bought me from a garden centre near us as I love daffodils and was complaining that I couldn’t have them all year round. This is the one I have…
It’s not worth a fortune but they’re selling on ebay for £12 so a bargain at £1.49.
And here’s a few that I loved but didn’t buy…
Shopping second-hand for Christmas decorations isn’t just about saving money (though that’s definitely a bonus).
For me, it’s also about giving a new life to something that might otherwise have been thrown away and actually, my style is definitely more vintage than it used to be – I genuinely found myself admiring some bird decorations last week that I am sure were similar to something on my Nana’s tree when I was younger. I didn’t get them as they were in a little vintage shop near where we live and they were just a bit too expensive but my point is that the style I like now is definitely more vintage than modern and bright.
I also love how second-hand decorations make our house feel a bit special and unique. Instead of a tree that looks like it’s come straight out of a department store window, we have one filled with personality — a mix of old and new, handmade and thrifted, each with its own little story.
And if you’ve never gone thrift-shopping for Christmas bits before, here are a few tips:
Check charity shops early in the season — the best bits go quickly!
Don’t overlook items that could be repurposed. A garland could become a wreath, or old baubles could fill a glass vase for an easy table decoration.
Mix second-hand finds with a few homemade pieces like dried orange slices, cinammon sticks, or paper stars for that cosy, old-fashioned Christmas feel.
Thrifted decorations remind me that Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive to be beautiful. In fact, it’s often the simplest, most meaningful touches that make it feel truly special. 🎄
I’d love you follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉
Discover more from The Diary of a Frugal Family
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Talk to me...