More Christmas bang for your buck with simple embellishments

Decorating for Christmas is one of life's win-win situations for me. I love listening to Christmas music at top volume and decking the halls for all I'm worth. The process of decorating for Christmas is a lot of fun. And then, when the fun decorating projects are done, my house looks festive and welcoming.

But like many of you, I'm working to keep my holiday decorating costs as low as possible. One way I accomplish this is by adding free or inexpensive bolstering to decorating pieces I already own.

Here's the wreath for my front door. It's the right size, but it looks so sad. I'm not a big fan of artificial wreaths, but the real ones are too expensive. So I use this wreath as a base

and stuff real greenery (clipped from our Christmas tree) right into the artificial wreath. Suddenly my flat artificial wreath is looking plump and fresh:

And with some simple embellishment and a bow, voila:

Look at them side by side:

A big difference for no money!

I use the same artificial garland on my staircase from year to year, but I like to plump it up with some fresh greenery, too:

It's amazing how adding fresh greenery to an artificial base works. Somehow the whole thing seems fresh.

I also love to use poinsettias in my decorating. There's just something about their vibrant color that works for me. I'm a sucker for traditional red and green. You can find really inexpensive poinsettias at nearly any store at this time of year. The only thing I don't like about them is that they come in those foil-wrapped pots. Love the flowers, hate the pots. My solution? I remove the poinsettias from their wrappers and place the plastic pots in my DIY textured pots.  Then I add Spanish moss (available by the bag at Dollar Tree):

This display is in my entry hall. I bought four cheap poinsettias. The one in back is elevated on clay flower pot turned upside down. I like the way this gives the grouping a bit more presence, and the unsightly pedestal is hidden behind the flowers in front. The Spanish moss hides the tops of the plastic pots and keeps the attention on the flowers. I love the massing of flowers, and I spent very little money on it.

Do you have any tips for creating a festive look you love without breaking the bank?  Please share!