Tips for Finding My #FirstChristmasTree Without Breaking the Bank
As I'm sure it has become very apparent, I currently live with my boyfriend Adrian. Living together with someone else means you share a lot of things with that person, be that your special someone or even a friend/roommate. We're sharing food, we're sharing a bathroom, but we're also sharing holidays. Considering Adrian and I come from two different religious backgrounds, we get to celebrate two different major holidays this winter. It's always nice to be able to learn about someone else's family traditions, which is why we decided to get a Christmas tree for our space. Last year he celebrated with my family and learned from me, so this year we're turning the tables. And so the hunt for my first ever Christmas tree began...
We found ourselves in Canadian Tire, enlisting the help of their Christmas flyer to get the job done without breaking the bank. Keeping in mind that we wanted something that looked natural (regardless of how badly we wanted to get a real tree..), we also decided to get something with lights already included in the tree. This helped to dramatically minimize our overall costs by reducing the number of items we had to purchase. Sure, you can find something decked out with all the bells and whistles (colour changing, brightness adjusting, blah blah blah), but this flyer helped us to put all of our options into perspective. Other than the lights, here are some other things we considered:
- Price vs. product - Were we getting a good price for a good quality product?
- Size - Was it something we could a) manage to fit in our apartment, and b) realistically store for use in future years?
- Realism - No one wants a fake looking tree, so did it come close enough to looking like a real tree?
It was really important for me to make this tree look good. I couldn't have my first Christmas be a tacky one, now could I? (even though sometimes tacky is good, ex. ugly Christmas sweater)
Once we had settled on this fun 7ft tree equipped with soft warm lights, we set our sights on ornaments. Now, our apartment is 95% white, and anything that isn't white is either grey or black. This made it very easy for us to choose a colour scheme. Naturally we went for white and silver. Some of the ornaments we found at Canadian Tire along with the tree, but my favourite way to find quality products for relatively low prices is to seek out holiday sales (everyone loves a good sale).
For example, this past weekend Hudson's Bay had a huge 50% off sale on all of their Christmas items. That included everything from trees, to cute home decor, and even ornaments (lucky us!). We managed to snag some really great finds at really great price points (that managed to prevent my wallet from crying..). Like this cute little guy in white, and these gorgeous babies. By seeking out sales such as this one, we were able to get ahead of all of the last minute shoppers while still reaping the benefits of holiday sale time! We've spent less than $100 on all of our ornaments and decorations so far!!
And while cutting costs is important when you're sharing a space or consolidating with a significant other, sometimes it's also nice to splurge a little bit for yourself. I picked out this stunning white glass ornament with beautiful sparkle detailing, just a little something of me to put on the tree. If you want to pick up this exact same one, you can find it by clicking here! Be sure to really make your tree your own (or the decorations for whichever holiday you're celebrating).
I'm going to be doing a mini-series that focuses on #myfirstchristmas, and everything that Adrian and I are doing to prepare for the holidays (not just his, but mine too!). Be sure to check back the next few weeks for more exciting stuff, and check out these seriously snuggly sources of Christmas inspiration! And let me know what YOU'RE doing to prepare for the holidays in the comments.
