Thanksgiving is one of my favorite frugal family times of the year. I like fall in general due to the overall weather that is cooler and the beautiful leaves. Nature provides so many decorating opportunities. Best of all, most of it is free. Fall is a refreshing time of year where the weather is generally cooler at night and warmer during the day. One of our favorite things to do as a family is to pick up various sticks, stones, leaves and other cool items from our hiking trips.
Simplicity is my theme now each year for all of the holidays. We have enough storage boxes to tend to and I don’t want more. My goal is to have one Thanksgiving box for decorations each year. The kids’ love to decorate so that box is for their pure decorating enjoyment. Most of it is from them when they were little. Craft time is a special time. I have compiled a list of a few ways to decorate your home with easy accents to bring out the fall colors and comfort.
Frugal Family Floral Arrangements
Fall has so many wonderful options for color. My favorite are mums, they hold color for a long time, do not need to be watered and complement any setting. Inside a small mum on the table adds to the eye appeal. Kitchens’ are where people gather. Usually, most kitchens are accessible as soon as one walks in the home, so they should have a focus point. Based on the colors of the kitchen, choose a small potted mum for a centerpiece.
Next, if you have a dining room table a nice fall floral bouquet set in an elegant vase or pitcher grabs the attention. If you are like us with no dining room table then try a small end table. I like to use flowers and bouquets as focal points for the autumn theme. Frugal family mom’s figure out how to decorate without expense.
Pumpkins and Pinecones For A Frugal Family
No home can be without pumpkins or pinecone decorations. I absolutely love to pick up pinecones this time of year. They really are a fascination with us. Setting a bowl of pinecones with some handpicked acorns in a bowl is easy decor. Another way to use pinecones is gently lay them scattered across a piano or fireplace. In addition to being used for decorations pinecones are great for crafts. Many times I use pinecones from my Thanksgiving decorations and add them to a handmade gift at Christmas time.
Pumpkins are another great accessory to decorations. All the various colors and sizes make choosing the right ones hard. Indoor I like the small white pumpkins. Those get placed along my windowsill in the kitchen. As a frugal family we like multipurpose decorations, so the remaining pumpkins are great because they become chicken food.
Foliage and Feathers
Fall foliage is one of the crafts that we enjoy as a frugal family. Using only leaves we decorated one year. Actually, each year we take leaves and either mod podge them onto a block of wood, or use contact paper to stick them on paper. Those are a family favorite and have been hung up in our home for many years now. First, I love to look back at the memories created by my kids. Second, they are part of nature and we learn about why the fall leaves change color in homeschool.
Feathers add color in any arrangement. I add in my flowers any bird feathers that we have picked up on our hikes. They also go very well in the pinecone basket or along the piano.
Baskets and Barrels
My rule of thumb with baskets and barrels is leave them empty. As the day or week goes along add in a fall blanket draped out of the basket, a pumpkin in front, or throw in some pinecones. The great part of a basket or barrel is they end up being filled by the time Thanksgiving is over. I am not one of those fancy decorators, and I definitely like to decorate creatively. If I do it all at once then that takes the fun out of it. We set stuff out, and when I dust or vacuum move it to another spot to fit better.
Decorating is all about creativity, so don’t just set stuff out on the mantel and move on to the next thing. This year, take a moment and decisively choose good spots to accent your home and show off your artistic talent.
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