What better way to show your holiday spirit than by adorning your home with ornaments and decorations that spread Christmas cheer? Whether it’s for your family, friends, guests, or for yourself, decorating your home for Christmas is a great way to change up the atmosphere.

One thing that a lot of people tend to do, however, is spending outrageous amounts of money for Christmas decor. You don’t have to spend a lot to make your home more festive. Below, we share unique, inexpensive, and effective holiday décor ideas using the items you already have in your home.

Cookie Cutters

Many households have cookie cutters, especially if someone is into baking. It may not occur to people that these items can serve as fancy-looking decorations, too. Cookie cutters can easily be turned into Christmas tree ornaments when combined with stationary scraps, some twine or ribbon, and glitter.

Wristbands

People tend to store away items from memorable events. Some of these memorabilia include custom-designed silicone wristbands from your favorite concert, party, or fun run. Instead of just letting these items gather dust in your drawer, why not use them as unique ornaments by dipping them in different colors, tying some ribbons, and adding a bit of glitter?

Plastic bottles

If you have several plastic bottles you’ve been keeping to reuse, now is the time to bring them out. Turn those containers into festive decor that you can hang around your home by painting them in Christmas-themed colors and attaching them on a long piece of rope or ribbon. You can also dress up these bottles and turn them into little snowmen, snow penguins, or even as Santa’s little helpers.

Old CDs

Many households have long moved on from CDs in favor of more convenient data storage formats, so you’re bound to have several of them in your home that you’re just waiting to throw out. In the spirit of recycling, you can turn old CDs into ornaments too by adding a layer of paint, some glitter, and tying them on a ribbon so you can hang them on your Christmas tree.

Glass Jars

You can use extra glass jars, paint them in Christmas colors, place a candle on the bottom of the jar and use them as luminaries, both indoors or outdoors. Additionally, you can fashion homemade snow globes by placing Christmas figurines at the bottom of the jars, closing the jars with a lid, and painting the jar with some white dots for the snow.

Straws

Straws can be used in many ways and shaped to create jolly ornaments. You can cut them in smaller pieces, string or glue them together, or even form them into different geometric shapes.

Cardboard Boxes

If you want to make a miniature Christmas village, use cardboard boxes that you don’t need anymore. You can decorate them with wrapping paper, candy canes, glitter, and more. You can also use these boxes to make fake empty gift boxes and place them around your home—just make sure they’re easy to distinguish from the real gift.

Light Bulbs

Spare or non-working light bulbs are a perfect tree ornament alternative. You can paint them in various colors and even decorate them to resemble some of the most famous Christmas characters like Santa Claus, Snowman, Rudolph, etc. Furthermore, if you have Christmas lights that have burned out, you can coat them in different colors and recycle them by assembling a multicolored bulb wreath for your front door.

Your hard-earned money can be put to better use during the holidays. Instead of buying new and fancy decorations that just tend to get damaged or look worn out when they’re stored away, utilize the common items you can find in your home and turn those into decorations instead. It’s also a great way to spend more time with your family as you create these decorations together.