Cheap DIY Christmas Decorations Using Recycled Elements

There are many cheap ways you can decorate your table for Christmas celebrations. One of the best ways to save money is to make your own DIY Christmas decorations! Using recycled elements in your Christmas crafts will save even more money, plus it is environmentally friendly.

Recycled CD Votive Candle Holders

Reuse old CDs and CD-Rs by using them as a base for Christmas candle holders. You will need to find or purchase several clear glass votive holders (which are often available at dollar stores). You will also need glue that is rated for use with glass, red and green ribbon, and red and green votive candles.

Place an old CD or CD-R with the shiny side up and carefully glue a votive holder to the center. Tie some ribbon in a bow around the votive holder for a festive touch.

When inserting candles, use a candle in the opposite color of the ribbon. (If your candle holder has a red ribbon, use a green candle, and vice versa.)

Recycled Cardboard Tube Napkin Rings

The heavy-duty cardboard tubes found in large rolls of food film wrap are perfect for making napkin rings! Use a fine-tooth saw to cut the tube into 1 1/2 inch sections, then use fine sandpaper to clean up the edges of the slices if necessary.

Use red, green, silver, or gold spray paint to quickly and easily decorate the napkin rings for Christmas. They can also be painted with decorative Christmas motifs, or decorations can be glued on as well!

Decoupaged Christmas Glass Bowl

Decoupage is a cheap and easy way to dress up many items, including a plain glass bowl. Find a clear glass bowl in a size that you like. A smooth bowl without any waves or ridges will be easiest to decoupage.

Cut out Christmas images to glue on the bowl. Old magazines are a good source, and scraps of Christmas wrapping paper too small for wrapping gifts have many nice graphics as well.

Place the bowl upside-down on your work surface. Use a decoupage medium such as Mod Podge to attach the images to the bowl face-down, so that they will be visible from the inside of the bowl. Seal the design in with several more layers of decoupage medium.

Once the decoupage medium has completely dried, place the bowl upside-down on some old newspaper and spray paint it with multiple light coats of silver or gold spray paint, followed by several coats of clear spray polyurethane for extra protection.

Fill the finished bowl with candy or other snacks for your Christmas guests!

Christmas Flower "Bow"-quet

Recycle Christmas bows into a fun, funky flower arrangement!

For each flower, you will need a gift bow, a large button, and a pipe cleaner or length of wire. You will also need embroidery floss, a large needle, and tape or glue.

Use embroidery floss to sew a large button to the center of each bow. This will create the effect of a flower. Attach the finished flowers to wire or pipe cleaner stems, and arrange in a vase. Add a bow of wide, Christmas-themed ribbon around the vase for an even more festive effect.