No Christmas Tree Ornaments? No Problem

I can remember the year just after I graduated from college and wasn't going to be going home until a few days before Christmas. I put up a little tree just to add some Christmas spirit to my little apartment, but I had no ornaments and not very much money to spend on them. So I found a few ways to dress up my Christmas tree that didn't break the bank.

I found some cheap candy in the bulk food aisle. With a hot glue gun I glued the end of one wrapper to the end of another wrapper and created a cute garland. Peppermints were also another inspiration from the candy aisle. With a little bit of red ribbon I already had and a hot glue gun they were quickly turned into cute ornaments. The plus side of these ornaments was that I spent so little on them that I didn't feel bad throwing them away when I didn't have the space to store them.

Some other low budget ornament ideas are:

• Recycle some CD's. Put some decorative ribbon through the middle and you have an instant ornament. If you are feeling crafty, you can also decorate the sides with Christmas paper and other decorations.
• Turn Christmas cards that you get in the mail into decorations. Just cut around a picture that you like, punch a hole in the top and loop some ribbon through the hole.
• Turn old white socks into cute snowmen ornaments. Gather some cotton balls, a bit of ribbon, some buttons or beads, a black permanent marker and some small bits of fabric. Stuff some of the cotton balls into the bottom of the sock. Tie a bit of the fabric in the middle (this will be the snowman's scarf). Stuff in some more cotton balls to make the snowman's head then use some ribbon to tie the top closed. Put eyes, a nose and buttons on the snowman and you're done.
• You can also turn red and white puff balls into cute candy cane ornaments by pushing them onto a piece of wire then bending the top like a candy cane.
• Ribbon can go a long way. Tie bows directly onto branches of the tree, or tie a knot in the ribbon and put beads on it.
• Cut snowflakes out of coffee filters, thread some ribbon through it and make a loop so you can hang them on the tree.
• Fold boxes out of wrapping paper and make them look like little presents you can hang on the tree.

Almost anything can be used to decorate a tree. If you have a collection or other small items think of using them. I had a friend who collected small spoons; she tied some ribbon on them and used them as ornaments. Get creative and have fun decorating.