I’ve been very busy the past couple of weeks.  Christmas is just around the corner and I’m very excited!  Hubbie and I are putting up our very first Christmas tree together.  And being the obsessive person that I am, I would look at the internet no end on sample designs, how much it will end up being (cause if it gets too expensive, I’d scratch the idea), would the dollar stores have it, and other worries a tight-wad like me thinks about.   I want a beautiful tree but I don’t want to break the bank for it.  It just doesn’t seem right splurging so much – considering baby Jesus was born poor. 

So I’ve been scouring ebay, the dollar stores, Michael’s and Jo-ann’s, and the second-hand thrift stores.  I’ve been scoring very good finds on ebay.  My first rule tho is that I have to make sure I get a good bang for the buck.  Nothing more than $10 if I can help it and shipping & handling should not cost an arm and a leg either.  Cause if it does, I must as well buy them new at a local store nearby.  And if they’re more than $10, it’s got to be a whole lot of them.  Just last night I’ve received my package of about 25+ pieces of angel ornaments for just $2o including shipping and handling.  They’re all beautiful, I wouldn’t be able to buy them all for just that much money. So that, for me, is a steal.   I’d show them all to you if I didn’t bring them back inside their box.  I got scared that I might break them before I could even use them.

I’ve also been reviving the wreaths I found in our basement and some that I bought from the thrift store for just $5 a piece.  My husband had to throw away almost all the Christmas decorations they had.  (Sort of purging oneself of an ugly past.)  But that fits me just fine.  I’d really want this to be a start of a new tradition for us.  None of the sad  Christmases ever again – as long as I can help it.

I really enjoy being able to find good items from the thrift shops and dollar stores.  And I enjoy it more when I can make something really beautiful out of them.  That’s what I did when I redesigned our Christmas wreaths.  I used the items I got from my discount loot and made (I should say so myself) pretty wreaths, good enough to give to friends and family.   In fact, the materials of the wreath I plan to give my MIL came from those stores.  I found a nice angel topper for just $5 from Goodwill and the poinsettias and ribbons I used, I got from a nearby dollar store.  The result: a magical wreath that’s one of a kind.

I also made a wreath that’s really fun.  I plan to give it to one of my friends whose 2 younger kids are of ages 8 and 6.  I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of the santa clause/snowman stuffed ornament I decorated it with.

For hubbie and I, I have 3 wreaths that I did.  One that’s of bronze and gold colors, a second one of fuschia and green and a third one of purely purple and fuschia.  I have this idea of creating an ‘emerald-like’ christmas tree with lots and lot of angels and ribbons all around.  I got very pretty gold balls from Home Depot and the rest of the balls, I got from the dollar store.  I also got some pretty poinsettias in bronze and purple from Jo-ann’s plus nice purple and gold ribbons from Michael.  But I also got a lot of ribbons from the dollar store to make bows out of.  It’s just that the ones from Michaels come in huge rolls – enough to go around the tree so many times.

I plan to go to Tuesday Morning (again), my other favorite store.  I wanted to get a nice tree topper that’s priced wayyyyyy below its market price.  Tuesday Morning is like Gabrielle, Marshall’s or Ross.  They’ve got items that have been discontinued and are really cheaper than when these items first went out.  The thing about Tuesday Morning is that their items are really elegant.  You’d be surprised at what they sell.

So this year, I’m really psyched for Christmas.  I am in the best of spirits and I’m loving the anticipation and all the preparations.  I’ve even planned out the foodies that I’m giving away this year – something that my friends and their families will enjoy eating.  Hmmm… something out of the ordinary that they’d surely enjoy this holiday season.

And so while I wait for the tree vendors to bring their stuff up for grabs, I’ll be preparing and hoarding all the wonderful things I plan to do and give out this Christmas.  Can’t wait…