Thrift Store Christmas Tree

November 22, 2016

By Melessa

You know that saying, “One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” Well, that couldn’t be more true for my Christmas tree.

My husband isn’t really big into Christmas decor. No, he’s not a scrooge. He just likes things very simple and less complicated. HA! Too bad he married a designer like me!!

When we first got married we were incredibly poor, with heavy student debt. Think “well-to-do ,” but in the negative. Because Nate wasn’t a fan of decorations, I thought it would be fun to hit up thrift stores, as well as my parents’ and grandparents’ Christmas decorations. I really love twinkling lights and sparkle, so I was determined to find what I could and make what I couldn’t find.

Nate’s favorite color is blue, so I knew I could woo him easily with a blue tree. So that’s what I did.

Over the years, I’ve collected Christmas ornaments from thrift stores all over the place, even out of state. I also made or repaired a majority of the ornaments out of old jewelry, cheap dollar store decor, and broken old birds that had lost their color that I mended back together then painted and glittered. Some I even made from making homemade paper. There are a few additions I purchased last year that are not from a thrift store, but only a small handful like my retro star bursts (from Target).

I broke apart two Dollar Store ornaments, glittered them, and glued on some of my grandmother’s old jewelry.

Fixed the feathers, glued wings and legs back on, painted and glittered wings with a chunky glitter, and glittered beak.

Fixed the feathers, glued wings and legs back on, painted and glittered wings with a chunky glitter, and glittered the beak.

Made the paper and the ornament.

All my bulbs are vintage. I found all of them for pennies which was soooo awesome. I probably spent maybe $10 for all of them.

My mom’s very first ornament.

I’ve had my popcorn strand for 13 years!! Yup, each year it hangs on and becomes more rubber-like. When I made it, I remember Nate was reading the book, “Angels and Demons” to me out loud as I strung each piece of air popped pop corn. It took a really long time, but totally worth it, if you can make the time and manage to not eat all the popcorn as you’re stringing it. We just store it in an air-tight container each year to keep critters away and to prevent it getting squished.

My grandmother made this ornament (in the 40’s) out of sequins and beads.

My favorite part of my tree are the transparent leaves that I found years ago and sprayed them off white and glittered them. Every time I put them on the tree I can hear the Sugar Plum Fairy song from the Nutcracker play in my head. I like to tell children that fairies live in my tree. Because I loved the leaves so much, I had to make a star that matched. I’ll never use another star, I love it so much!

Sprayed and glittered.

After Nate saw the tree finished, he smirked and said, “Yeah, I could get used to this. It’s really, really nice.” He’s liked it ever since.

We’d love to see your Christmas tree (or trees)! Take a picture if you can, or just tell us about your favorite ornaments. Do you have any traditions or memories about tree trimming? Share them in the comments below!