Holiday decorating from Goodwill

This post brought to you by Goodwill of North Georgia. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Frugal Homemaker.com.

I was recently challenged to decorate my house using some holiday finds from Goodwill.  Well, if you know me, you know this was not really a challenge as I already decorate my house with lots of Goodwill finds!  Yes, GW Home is my favorite store.   When you are on a frugal budget but still trying to create a beautiful home, Goodwill is the place to shop to find budget friendly, unique decor.  Not only can I find inexpensive decor but it also helps others as Goodwill’s mission is to put people to work. I had no idea that Goodwill had been around for so long, but Goodwill of North Georgia actually celebrates their 90th birthday this year of putting people to work!  Man, I am practically drooling thinking of all the amazing bargains and finds people have found over the last 90 years!  

My first stop of the day! 🙂  I actually dropped off a donation first from cleaning out my closet at one of the Donation Locations and then headed in the store.

When I am looking for things at Goodwill specifically holiday décor, my #1 tip is to shop the ENTIRE store.  You can find so many things that are not on the one seasonal/holiday aisle that can be used for seasonal décor!

For instance – pillows, linens, and throws.  I always browse through those items looking for items that can be used not only year round but also seasonally.

Like this throw – perfect for Christmas!

I also shop through clothing – you can repurpose clothing into so many décor items.  Pillows or fancy boot cuffs made from sweaters or old plaid shirts, ornaments from sweaters or plaid shirts.  I saw this skirt and almost got it – it would have made the perfect tree skirt and cost less than $5.00. 

Then of course do browse the seasonal aisle.  And my #2 tip would be to shop for seasonal décor year round.  I always browse the seasonal aisle and am not against buying a pretty Christmas wreath in July if I find it.   

So I know you want to know what I found to buy.   Here’s what I brought home:

• a tall silver tree for $3.53
• a silver berries candle holder for $0.80
• a black metal candle holder for $1.91
• a set of white curtains for $3.93 (threw in wash before I took picture – whoops!)
• and a bundled set of brand new picture frames from Pottery Barn for $4.94 – this was my FAVORITE find of the day!

I seriously LOVED these frames!  And they will work for Christmas décor but also all year round.

And I knew this metal candleholder would look super cute with a little spray paint makeover.

So here’s how I used my finds to decorate for Christmas in my home. 

I draped stands of white lights on white wires over a curtain rod and hung it over my bed.  Then I took the curtains and pinned the tabs over the curtain rod to make it look they were hanging.  It created this beautiful backdrop of lights for our Christmas bedroom!  You can see my complete bedroom tour in this post.  But I LOVE this – it will actually probably stay up (minus the wreath and greenery) long after Christmas – probably through the winter.    Not bad for a set of curtains less than $5 from Goodwill and lights and a curtain rod and greenery that I already had. 

Then I browsed Pinterest for some pretty Christmas printables to put in those pretty frames I found.   

The 5×7 frame got filled with this Holly Jolly old car printable from Craftberry Bush.

I also used part of a sleeve of a sweater I got a while back from Goodwill for crafting to make a little sweater cover for the glass hurricane in the silver berry candle set I bought.   This little display sits on my end table and is just fun and festive.

The metal candleholder got spray painted red – doesn’t it look so pretty now surrounded with some free greenery tree cuttings?  I filled the largest frame with this Tis the Season printable from On Sutton Place, and then added the tall silver tree and it created the perfect vignette behind my sink!  I always struggle with this weird shaped area so sometimes finding things that will work back there is hard.  But these items were perfect!

So if you are on a budget or maybe just looking for some décor that you can repurpose, hop in your local Goodwill store and see what they have to offer.  I have a lot of success in furnishing my home with beautiful and unique items from Goodwill. 

And remember my 3 tips for finding seasonal decor at Goodwill:

1. shop the whole store

2. buy things you love when you see them regardless of the season

3. be willing to repurpose/paint/transform things you find.

What seasonal decor have you found at Goodwill?  You know I always love to see what other people find too – so share some pictures on my facebook page! 🙂