Christmas Decorating with Vintage and Upcycled Decor

Come see my home decorated for Christmas using DIY projects, vintage Christmas decor, and budget-friendly ideas to decorate for the holidays.

Around here, I’m all about creating a home we love, but yet also can live in with 4 young kids, without spending a lot of money. I rarely purchase anything new for holiday seasons, and instead use second-hand finds, vintage pieces, and tons of DIY projects to create decors pieces I love.

I hope you find some ideas for ways to bring vintage Christmas decorations and upcycled Christmas decorations from second hand finds into your seasonal decor this year!

Christmas Kitchen Ideas

I love adding wreaths to my kitchen cabinet doors. Because my cabinets are green, I decided to make natural woven wreaths with little red berries for some color.

A simple DIY dried orange garland adds to the natural Christmas look.

Christmas Dining Room Decorating

We have a very small “dining room” in our home. In fact, I’d actually call it a large eat-in kitchen. Here are some ways I’ve added Christmas touches to this space over the years.

I love using vintage shiny brite ornaments in my Christmas decorating every year. I hang them from signs, picture frames and shelves for a little vintage charm.

I think vintage ornaments are my all-time favorite Christmas decoration. I love taking them out of the box every year and forgetting what new ones I found second hand throughout the year.

Vintage Centerpieces for Christmas Decorating

Because we have a small dining room, it means our table is also small, and it’s the only table we have in our house, so we use it everyday for meals.

I don’t like making huge table centerpieces that take up all our eating space, so I try to create little Christmas decor pieces that are inexpensive and don’t overwhelm the space.

A vintage 7-up crate is perfect for Christmas with its red lettering. I remove the bases from faux trees and stick a block of foam into the crate holes for the trees to stick into and stand up straight.

Cast iron muffin tins can be used to hold greenery and candles as a table centerpiece.

This chippy green vintage berry crate is one of my favorite small vintage finds to decorate with. I added bottle brush trees and a little cast iron tractor man to create a small winter scene for our table.

Living Room Christmas Decor

We’re lucky to have a large fireplace (and I personally love the original brick!) in our living room. This is the main area in the room that I decorate for Christmas each year.

I love using mirrors or vintage windows to add height to the mantel decorations. Plus, they’re great for hanging wreaths on!

I made our stockings over ten years ago, and I plan to use them forever, even if the colors don’t match current trends. My kids and I love them!

I have this problem- when I see vintage brass deer throughout the year when second-hand shopping, I can not pass them up when they’re priced right. They just make me smile.

I made these stocking markers with wood letters from the craft store, gold glitter, and wood beads. My girls always seem to remember which stocking color is theirs every year, but I can never remember, so these help me!

Using a piece of scrap wood, I white-washed (here’s post on four different ways to whitewash wood) and used my favorite lettering technique to paint perfect letters on wood.

In our “office” area in the hallway, I found second hand Christmas houses and spray painted them to make a cohesive white Christmas village.

Now that I have the vintage Christmas decor items I love, I end up just rotating them around and using them in different places and in different ways year after year.

Other Inspiring Ideas for Christmas Decor

Lovely Etc * DIY Beautify * Up to Date Interiors * What Meegan Makes * Sunny Side Design

Chatfield Court * Sweet Pea * Repurpose and Upcycle * Hey There Home

At Lane and High * Postcards from the Ridge * Making it in the Mountains * Lehman Lane

Newly Woodwards * Thrifty and Chic * Bright Green Door * Refresh Living