Fabulous fall décor fills the stores for the new season. There are artificial and real pumpkins for your porch, beautiful Thanksgiving themed center pieces, and amazing embroidered leaf dish towels. If you’re like me, you want one of everything, but unfortunately don’t have a lot of extra cash to blow on that scarecrow wreath. I’ve discovered that with just a few dollars and a little planning, I can have fantastic fall decorations that look as good as the expensive ones.
You can have a themed yard and still be thrift! Ask yourself what says fall, what do you want your yard to look like, and what is your budget? To me fall is pumpkins, hay bales, fall vegetables, and scarecrows. If you live out in the country, grow your own veggies, or know someone who does you have a head start in fall décor savings. Do you know a farmer? Ask them if you can borrow some hay bales for your front yard. Plop on a homemade scarecrow and you’ll have a cute yard setup that didn’t cost you a dime.
Believe it or not, you can get cheap fall décor from the grocery store. My local chain store has corn in the husks on sale for 3 for $1. When your store has corn on sale buy $1’s worth (or several dollars worth if your family eats a lot of corn), put them in a bowl, and set them out for an instant fall theme. This could work on a hall table, in the kitchen, or even on a coffee table in the living room. Eat the corn when you’re ready, and if it’s still on sale replace it with more corn. It’s not really blowing money on house decorations if you’re going to end up eating it! The same thing goes with pumpkins, if you want one wait until they are on sale. If you turn your pumpkin into a pie, it could logically come out of your grocery budget.
I love themed dish towels. I like to have several for each season and place them around the kitchen and in the bathrooms. I could go out and drop $5 a towel (or more) to have towels like everyone else, but that takes up all my spending money. Instead, I buy a pack of the plain towels when they are on sale or clearance, some seasonal fabric, and use my sewing machine to make my own one of a kind creations. Fabric can be expensive if you buy a full yard, but it only takes a small piece to do appliqué designs on several towels. If you can’t sew, cut out your appliqué, and use fabric paint and glues to glue down the edges. Your friends will all want to know where you bought theme!
Seasonal home decorations are one of those items that you can buy this year after the holidays are over, and save for next year. I have a huge box of Christmas decorations I got for 90% off in January that will be coming out this year. You can buy these decorations a year ahead for each season and holiday and re-use them for many years to come. As long as it’s not edible, it’s safe to buy and save for future use.
As always, don’t spend more than you can afford too on seasonal décor and crafts. Set a budget and stay under it. If you have no budget, look around for items that you can use around the house, such as the corn you’re going to eat afterwards. With a little planning, you too can have fantastic fall decorations to celebrate the season.
