Orna-Mental Breakthrough

Holiday decorating is so much fun, and it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Thrifting for Christmas decor is a great alternative to buying it all full-price. One item in particular that I’ve seen over and over at Thrift Town, is SO versatile, it can light up almost any drab corner of your house. For a couple bucks you can grab a bag of ornaments at Thrift Town, and you’re on your way to holiday decorating bliss. Here’s a peek at some great ideas for using ornaments to add some shine to any decor.



Give dining room chairs a Christmas makeover with a few simple elements. Drape a piece of fabric — a pretty towel, oversized napkin, or silk scarf — over the back of a chair and wrap a ribbon
around the chair. Secure the ribbon in a knot at the back of the chair. Thread a short piece of wire through an ornament hook and wrap the wire around the ribbon knot. When thrifting, it’s easy to pick a color scheme, and use different, but coordinating, ensembles of ribbon and fabric for each chair. You don’t need a matching set of fabric/napkins to make a fab co-ordinated set of festive chairs.


This drink is stylish with a single ornament holding flowers. Simply remove the hook on an ornament and insert the flowers of your choice into the ornament. Prop the arrangement in a clear glass. This could be a classy place to set a place card on a holiday table, with different ornaments for each guest. The glass, ornament and little saucer, all inexpensive TT finds.


Make ornaments an integral part of your holiday table. Roll crisp napkins and tie a wide length of ribbon loosely around a rolled napkin. Slide a narrow length of ribbon through the knot of the wide ribbon, pull the ends of the wide ribbon to tighten the knot. Thread small ornaments onto each end of the narrow ribbon and secure the ornaments with knots. For this idea, it’s not only the ornaments that are a bargain. Cloth napkins are a steal at Thrift Town too!


A mix of small ball ornaments gives sparkle to this centerpiece. They also hide the florist’s foam underneath the holiday arrangement of calla lilies. Be on the lookout for great containers like this silver one at TT. Pretty with or without the flowers!

Old ornaments get a boost when teamed with sheer ribbon and a small bucket. This little tree could be done on a small or large scale, and is very versatile in it’s cheeriness.


Add some shimmer and shine to your holiday decor with candles and sparkly silver-and-white ornaments. Arrange chunky pillar candles (in varying heights) on a round tray and surround with Christmas ornaments, rhinestone jewelry, and baubles - all inexpensive TT finds.


Make a striking statement with two Christmas staples — poinsettias and ball ornaments. Spray-paint small terra cotta pots to match your ball ornaments; let dry. Remove their hanger tops and fill the ornaments with water. Place a cut poinsettia flower in the ornament and nestle the arrangement in the pot. Make several to display en masse on a shelf or your mantel.


Ornaments not only dazzle on the tree, but can also add Christmas cheer to other places throughout your home, such as your staircase. Knot a length of thin ribbon around an ornament hook and wrap the end other end of the ribbon around your banister, securing with a knot. Let ornaments hang down at different lengths for a variegated display. Consider topping an entryway table with a small tree.

Turn miscellaneous TT ornaments into a dazzling Christmas wreath. Spray-paint a foam wreath form with silver paint and let dry. Then, using hot glue, secure the largest ball ornaments to the inside and outside circles of the form, and fill in the rest of the wreath with smaller ornaments. Fill in bare spots with bunched up lengths of bead garland. This does take quite a lot of ornaments. Starting with a 24-inch wreath form you’ll need about 140 ornaments to cover it. The finished wreath is 33 inches in diameter. So cute!

{Thanks to bhg.com for the holiday inspiration & images. }

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Hope you’re now a bit more ornamentally inspired for the holidays - Happy Thrifting! - Kari

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Have any great thrifted decorating tips?
Any ideas on more fun with ornaments?

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