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November 22, 2012

How To Shop at a Thrift Store for Christmas Decor

When it comes to Christmas and holiday decor, thrift stores are really great places to find really cool stuff for a fraction of the price you would pay for retail holiday decor.

And we all know I love to save some dollars.


So, today I thought I would show you just how much cool stuff you can find at the thrift store for your holiday decorating. I'll show you what to look for and how you can incorporate it into your current decor. Enjoy!





How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!


When it comes to thrift stores and holidays, you really can find some great stuff. You have to spend some time searching, but it's totally worth the extra effort when you find great stuff for pennies on the dollar. 

For example, on my last thrift store trip, I found this pre-lit giant tree for $40. We didn't have a tree yet, so this was a total score.

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

After looking at store-bought fake trees all morning and discovering that I would have to take out another mortgage on my house to get one, this $40 tree was a pretty cool find.

Case in point:
Hobby Lobby tree = $600. My tree (that looks almost the same) = $40.
How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

For a savings of $550, I'll create snow and flock my own tree. 

Who's with me?

 I was also able to find tons of awesome ornaments just ready to be re-purposed.
Well, I'll admit, they didn't look too awesome when I found them, but you have to see beyond what's there.

For example, you may see brassy gold 1980's ornaments. But I saw something totally different....keep reading.

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!


From that little store, I snagged two boxes of gold ornaments for $2 and a bag of pinecones for $1. 

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

And from that brassy mess, I created these:


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor! Great ideas for saving money & creating a stylish home during the holidays!

and these:


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

You can see the full tutorial for all of those ornaments here.

I also used a bunch of thrift store ornaments to make my ornament wreath (full tutorial can be found here). All of those big silver ornaments were once brassy thrift store ornaments that I covered with silver rub & buff.

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

While I was at the thrift store, I also found a bunch of different things that I used to decorate my tree with, like these napkin rings.




They ended up looking great in the tree, tied with just a simple piece of ribbon.


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

 I also found a spool of white ribbon for 99 cents. 50 yards of wide, satin white ribbon for less than a dollar. I totally did a little dance on that one. 

There are about a million things I can do with white ribbon this holiday season, and with 50 yards, I can do all million.


I ended up using tons of it to wrap around my tree and to make a bow for a tree topper.

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

 I also scored 2 silver platters for $1 each and used them during a party. Can you guess which ones I got?


Nearby was also an aisle with tons of white ceramics and porcelain dishes. That would be a great way to stock up on inexpensive mugs and such if you are hosting holiday dinners and parties.

How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

The very last thing I found and brought home was a little silver beaded ornament for 99 cents. 


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

I absolutely love it. It's become my favorite ornament this Christmas, and it adds a little bit of bling to my tree!


How to shop at a thrift store for Christmas decor: what to look for, what to buy, & what to do with it!! Cool ideas!

You can see more of our Christmas tree here.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my thrift store decor tips! Just remember, it doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful!







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27 comments:

  1. this is awesome. I still have a 4 foot tree and ornaments that I got from the thrift store. I handmade about 8 new ornaments for this year with an idea that they did at a craft-day at our Bible study (which she got from pinterest) where you pour paint into clear ornament balls. they turned out awesome. now I have too many ornaments for my tree. doh.

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    1. What a cool idea! I'm making tons of different kinds...I may have to add that to the list!!! Thanks so much for stopping by, Aprille! :)

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  2. Great stuff! Your little tour around was great - love the jingle bells and those mugs in the basket on the shelf there. Great score on the ribbon and the balls, those can be dang expensive!!

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    1. Thanks Heather!!! Yes, I thought about picking up the mugs, but I think if I brought one more mug into this house, Jesse would revolt!! ha! Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. You're making me need a thrift store fix! I love getting great deals. Why not? Looks like you found some super stuff! Have fun decorating your new BIG tree :)

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    1. I have definitely been enjoying the new big tree, Shannon! There's so much more to LOVE!! ha! Thanks so much for stopping by! xo

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  4. Wow! You have a great thrift store! Now, I want to go dig through some around here! I found lots of things I want at your thrift store! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing, Lucy!! It really is a great store...and there's several in this are like that! The trick is to go to the thrift stores in the nice areas of town. :)

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  5. Love it! Fantastic finds! The Christmas, we are trying to get as much as possible at our local thrift store this year. They have some amazing Christmas stuff at amazing prices.

    Looking forward to see how you decorate everything. :)

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    1. Thank you!! I wish you luck on your hunt! Thrift stores really are a great place to find little trinkets to decorate with...especially if you've got a little creativity! :)

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  6. I can't wait to see what you make with these finds ... and that white dishware in your thrift store ... SWOON!

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    1. Thanks Keri!! I know, I thought the dishes were cool too. We have a dish overload situation going on around here, so I had to show some restraint!!! :) I love dishes!!!

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  7. Oh, now look what you've gone and done. Now I'm in the mood for some thriftin!

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    1. I put you in the mood?? Oh wait...for shopping! haha! Thanks for stopping by, friend!

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  8. My parents have that exact same silver tree! It was my grandma's so we keep it out of sentimentality....so now you need to tell me how to make it look a little less ridiculous :)

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    1. Well, maybe I was hoping no one would make me prove that statement about the little silver tree, HEATHER!!!! hahaha!!! That's so sweet that ya'll kept it. Thanks for stopping by, sweet friend!! xo

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    2. Colorado Gal...The way those silver trees were decorated "back in the day" was usually with simple one color glass balls (blue was really popular)...sometimes light strings but usually not because some of the trees were not fire-proof. So then they used a special light on the floor that had a sort of filter disk, that rotated between 3 colors. It shined onto the tree and gave it those cool changing colors. OK...so now you might have guessed how old I am cuz I know about these Xmas trees...hahahhah! :-)

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  9. Can't wait to see how you upgrade all of your finds. I know it will be spectacular.

    PS.How do you keep the man-flannel pj bottoms up???

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    1. Well, now, Nancy...I can't divulge ALL my secrets!!! hahah!! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  10. What a fun description of your shopping excursion! Can't wait to see what you do! :-)

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    1. Thanks so much Stephanie! I can't wait to show ya!!! :)

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  11. Kudos to you for finding great treasures at your thrift store! I must say, I too am blessed because not only do we have a lot of thrift stores but one of them has an entire room devoted to seasonal decor...now of course it's Christmas. The Easter things are fantastic too! One year I totally decorated a tree with mostly brand new ornaments (some beautiful Martha Stewart glass ones too!) from the thrift store. Funny...I always wonder why people buy new stuff and then give it away! My win though ;-)

    Will be eagerly awaiting your next posts to see what you come up with!

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  12. Oh you sure had fun didn't you, lucky girl with the really cool thrift shop nearby! I sooo want that green glass bottle thingy in the first photo. I had so much fun reading this post, I am a new follower and can't wait to read the next sequel. In the meantime I will be going through your archives, I know it will be a blast! AND I am going to try and recreate that last beaded ornament AFTER I go hit up the local thrift shop...oh wait I think deal day is tomorrow. Well I can go mark my territory and hide my favs behind something totally atrocious! heehee

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  13. Girl, You are truly an inspiration to the holiday DIY....I love it too! I rent however and it's hard to put in those expensive decor items like garland outside...if it fits here it may not fit elsewhere. But, Two years ago we sold everything we had and I regret it. I cry all the time because of it. It's like a storm came threw and threw our stuff out. So trying to gather things I used to have sucks to say the least. But your Ideas hit me today to try to DIY MORE and look at it as a fresh start of new thing we can get or have. Thanx so much sweetie. And LOVE that Mirror!!! You ever find another like it let me know!!!

    Much hugs and thanx again,
    Julie Draper
    Something Wicked Studio

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  14. Good grief, what I would give to have a thrift store like that near me. It looks like a major department store. Try living in a town of 20,000, the pickings are few and far between. And I go often. The garage and estate sales are some better. We are getting a few more antique stores which is a good thing, but not always a thrifty way to shop.

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  15. One year I was too busy to shop for new ornaments which a favorite holiday treat for my family. Frustrated with my busy schedule, I returned home one evening to find the tree festooned with my vintage jewelry including pearls earrings and brooches. It was glorious!

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  16. It would look really cool if someone took white ornaments like that and placed a doily on top Spray painted it metallic gold and then removed the doily you know or start off with gold as the base color.

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment!! I do the hammer dance every time I read one.

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