There’s something about the holidays that makes us want to bust out some garland, clean off the mantle, and deck the halls! Unfortunately, we’ve got Divine Design taste, on a Design on a Dime budget. No worries, though. We’ve got budget savvy and a designer’s eye. This holiday season we’re decorating the home on a budget!

Budget-friendly ways to decorate for the holidays:

Inexpensive goodies: Styrofoam cones are an inexpensive purchase at craft stores. Buy them in multiple sizes and decorate them by gluing items on: gum drops, peppermint candies, strands of beads (or anything else) than can be wrapped around the cone, small pinecones, dum dums (you can actually cut the sticks down to a minimum and stick them directly into the Styrofoam). Use your imagination! Set these cones out individually or grouped in three’s. You can even raise them on candle pedestals. String popcorn, macaroni or cranberries and use the homemade garland to decorate the tree or a staircase. If you’ve got sewing skills, you can purchase inexpensive fabric and make quick pillow covers to make pretty holiday throw pillows for the couches and chairs.

Use natural elements for an easy, elegant look. Use cuttings from your Christmas tree to make a wreath, or to lay out on coffee tables and fireplace mantles. Fill bowls or vases with pinecones, oranges pierced with cloves (pictured here), branches and the like. Branches can also be decorated. Paint them silver, spray them with an adhesive and use glitter for a bit of holiday sparkle. Almost any fruit can be used for decoration. Fill a bowl with red and green apples. Fill a vase with bright orange persimmons. Take pears and apples, spray them with adhesive and roll in glitter. Sit them out for a bit of country meets rock and roll.

Create a festive glow. Candles are an inexpensive way to make a home feel special. Most people have plenty sitting around the house. Group them in the fireplace for a bit of holiday glamour. Votive candles can be set in almost any type of glass. Fill holiday goblets and set them around the house You can also use fruit as a candle holder. Use a corer to pull an inch or two of core out of an apple or pear, for example, and stick a tapered candle into the hole.

Use what you already have: Take different ornaments of a similar color palette (silver and white; red and green; gold tones, etc) and hang them from a mantle or between doorways at varying lengths. A clever way to use all of those ornaments! Tie candy canes with ribbon and set them on tables, or stand them up in glasses. Tie big red bows on the plants and trees in front of your house, as well as around potted plants in the house. Fill jars with candy and set them out for a colorful, practical display.