I am excited to present my first guest blogger, a fabulous local Atlanta decorator, who has an awesome blog with great decorating ideas and advice.  Check out her website to see all of her client services including a budget friendly service called “A Touch of Charm.”  Cristi has worked on some budget friendly and easy holiday decorating ideas for Bargains in Buckhead.  I am thrilled to present Cristi from Charm Home…. 

Hi Bargains in Buckhead Readers!

My name is Cristi and I write the interior design blog Charm Home.  I came to know Anna and Claire from Access Atlanta’s Best of the Big A - Best Atlanta Blogger post where we were both nominated for Best Blog in Atlanta.  When Anna contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a guest blog and featuring some Christmas decorating tips on her Bargains in Buckhead Blog I was so excited because I love decorating for Christmas.  I started racking my brain for some of the best “bargain” decorating ideas.  Here are some of my favorites that require little to no money but make a really big impact.

The Perfect Centerpiece

This is so simple and extremely popular right now.  Basically all you need to do to make this type of arrangement is collect a bundle of limbs from your yard or a neighbor’s yard and arrange them in a large vase or pot.  If you don’t have a large vase or pot I suggest visiting your local Goodwill or Salvation Army to find an inexpensive one.  Use your existing Christmas ornaments or purchase a value pack of round ball ornaments (approx. $15 at Target and Wal-Mart).  Randomly hang them off of the limbs.  One way to add a little something extra to this arrangement is spray painting the limbs white or off-white before you arrange them in the vase.  Painting the limbs white really helps highlight the ornaments.

Ornaments in Bowls

Add a little bit of Christmas to any table in your home.  This decorating tip probably goes down as the easiest one in the book.  Use some of your extra vases or bowls and place a few ornaments in them.  To spice it up add a little bit of moss to the mix.  There’s no right or wrong way to arrange them.  You can vary the size and the shape of the ornaments and the vases as well as the color.  Don’t be afraid to go bold.

 Festive Burlap

 Make any of your house plants look festive by wrapping the pots in burlap and adding a Christmas-colored bow and an ornament.  You can pick up burlap for less than $3 a yard at most any local fabric store.  Next, cut a circle in the burlap a little bigger than your plant’s pot.  It should be big enough to cover the pot completely with about 4-5 inches extra at the top so that it can be gathered. Then gather the burlap around the top of the pot and tie a bow around it.  Using a ribbon with wire in it will help make your bow hold its shape better.  You can also add an ornament to the bow if you like.  I picked up some cute gold mistletoe ornaments for only a $1 a piece at Wal-Mart.

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