Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Christmas Tree Decor On A Budget

I love Dollar Tree.  Islanders, you know how I love Dollar Tree.  Oh, and speaking of trees (because... well, get it?)...


I shared details of our fabulous Christmas tree yesterday.  I mentioned that it came with clear LED bulbs on it and, while they are beautiful, it had an electrical issue:


Considering the value, it was an easy fix and actually, the person who donated it already had white lights strung on the middle portion so, SCORE!  I know I've already said it but -- like, for real y'all -- we had nothing for the tree besides our 14 family ornaments.  Well, almost nothing.  While shopping at Goodwill, I stumbled upon a section for Christmas villages.  There were several tiny homes on display and my inner granny got the best of me.  I bought five of the tiny buildings and I decided this was the year to finally have a beautiful village under my tree.  I shared how I've always wanted a village on my Instagram story (@tmkeese). OMG!  Are you following me?  Seriously, it's behind-the-scenes access to all things Fabulous Island.  Check daily for some really cool things like deals, tips, crafts, and sneak peeks.  It's different from the blog because it's an in-depth look at thrift findings with price comparisons and more.  I digress.  Anyhoo, with the naked tree standing and plugged in, I pulled out the village and placed it under the tree.


That was all I had and the budget (have you moved?  It's so expensive!) was next to nothing.  I didn't have hundreds of dollars to spend on an over-the-top tree.  I don't think I would even if I had it to spare.  I just wanted something beautiful.

I headed to Michael's.  I found gold tree picks and a few ornaments.  The tree picks were priced at $5.99 with an additional 40% off, making them only $3.60/each.  Large rolls of the wired ribbon for trees and wreaths were on sale and would cost about $7 after the discount.  I was excited to leave with 4 picks and 4 rolls of ribbon... that is, until I saw the checkout line.  It was frikkin' ridiculously long!  I left with nothing.  I walked across the parking lot to Dollar Tree.  It was a GREAT day!


I found ornaments of all sizes but I really loved the extra large ones.  There were a variety of finishes in gold, red and silver.  I decided I was going for a metallic (primarily gold) tree.


The reindeer photographed above was tabletop decor but I bought two for our tree.

 

The Merry Christmas sign was large enough to make a statement and looks great in the front center of our tree.  The best deal of that day was the tree picks.  Ones very similar to the ones I almost purchased from Michael's were sold at Dollar Tree for 2/$1!  I got two kinds, the glitter fruit pick and the gold bird tree pick



Also, while on a trip to my local Goodwill Outlet, I found several goodies and, because they're sold by the pound, I got a large bag of stuff for $1.30.


Included in that price was the roll of pearls and trim.  I believe it is made for clothing but I saw it and thought it would work perfectly on our tree!


You can see both in the following photo.  They just add a touch of whimsy and class.


They also compliment these ornaments on the tree perfectly (from that same Goodwill Outlet bag):


With the ornaments on the tree, the last piece was the star.  I know for a fact the Pier1 Imports star that I had was packed and supposed to arrive to the new place.  I know I wouldn't give it away because I paid a pretty penny for it.  It was beautiful.  It was, however, gone... nowhere to be found.  I headed to TJMaxx, I'd hoped to find the perfect star but to no avail.

I found a star in my box from the rustic mom tree of 2013. 


I spray painted it gold and added glitter.


Every year, the man has one job.  I buy the decor.  I determine the look.  I allow the kid to place the family ornaments on the tree.  He has one job: to put the star on top.


Every year.  1 job.


Every year.  Crooked star.

Every year, we have a main tree and Munch has a tree in her room.  It is always a lot of fun pulling her tree together and this year, her tree is pretty amazing.  See you tomorrow with the deets and a tutorial.


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