Use these tips to save on your festive décor and use your extra cash for something worthwhile.

An apple a day

Basic table décor with fruit ticks all the boxes for budget décor.

Use a plain coloured tablecloth or runner and arrange red and green apples or other red fruit like cherries and green pears along the centre of the table. Add a couple of dark green leaves and snake some LED fairy lights through it for the perfect, long lasting festive table-scape. You can play around with tea light- or tapered candles as well, and just replace the fruit or leaves throughout the festive season as it becomes necessary.

Top Tip: If you are celebrating a traditional Christmas, you can even use some of the fruit to make your very own apple sauce for your roast pork!

Deck the halls

Boughs of green leaves can give even the dullest of rooms a festive flair.

Traditionally, Europeans and people celebrating in the northern hemisphere would use festive boughs and wreaths made from holly or pine branches to decorate their homes for Christmas.

As most of us don’t have shrubs of holly growing rampantly in our gardens, we should try to give our decorations an African edge.

Greenery like eucalyptus leaves, conifer branches, acacia branches and even combretums can stay green without being in water for long periods and will eventually dry into pleasing arrangements as the season wears on.

Wrap it up

Use swathes of left-over fabric like old tablecloths or even clean clothing like men’s shirts, t-shirts or dresses.

If we are serious about combatting climate change and unchecked consumerism, we absolutely have to normalize repurposing things like fabrics instead of buying yet another roll of mass-produced wrapping paper imbibed with harmful chemicals and decorated with plastic bows and ribbons.

Other frugal and eco-friendly wrapping ideas include basic unbleached brown paper and twine.

Make your own wrapping paper by stamping brown paper with non-toxic paint and stamps made from half a potato cut into shapes like stars and hearts. Get the little ones to help you and turn your new wrapping style into a family affair!

The festive season does not have to be a big money drain. By thinking outside the box, re-using and repurposing household items and normalizing handmade or second-hand gifting, we can all not just save money, but do our bit for the planet as well.

Forget about a WHITE Christmas and make 2022 a GREEN one instead.