Create a Cozy, High-End Christmas Look on a Budget

Between work, family, and Chicago’s busy pace, keeping your home clean and festive can feel overwhelming. If you’re dreaming of a cozy, magazine-worthy holiday space without the stress or high cost, we’ve got you covered with these simple DIY transformations.

Bottle Brush Tree Forest

Pottery Barn sells stunning bottle brush tree displays starting at $150. Here’s how to create the same magical look for under $25 using Dollar Tree finds:

• Collect bottle brush trees in various sizes and colors
• Arrange them on cardboard or a repurposed sign
• Hot glue trees in place
• Cover the base with white sprigs or fake snow
• Add extra lights for that glowing effect

The result is breathtaking – and you’ll have extra money to invest in professional home cleaning to keep your space sparkling through the holidays.

DIY Gingerbread Village

This year’s hottest trend brings back nostalgic gingerbread everything. Instead of baking (or spending hundreds), transform Dollar Tree dollhouses:

• Spray paint houses with nutmeg-colored paint
• Use oil-based Sharpies to draw gingerbread details
• Create a charming village in an afternoon

After crafting, you might need deep cleaning help to tackle any paint or glitter mess – we’re here for that!

Glowing Mantle Lanterns

Create beautiful, safe lighting for your mantle with this simple hack:

• Spray paint Dollar Tree jars and candlesticks
• Add peel-and-stick push lights inside
• Hot glue mini trees and decorative elements
• Finish with fake snow and greenery

These stunning lanterns cost under $5 each and create that warm, cozy glow we all crave during Chicago winters.

Elevate Your Table Settings

Don’t underestimate the power of beautiful dishes to create that nostalgic Christmas feeling. Dollar Tree offers surprisingly high-quality holiday plates and glasses that can transform your table for about $12 per place setting.

If the thought of post-holiday cleanup has you stressed, remember that our cleaning service near me can handle the mess so you can enjoy the memories.

Placemat Throw Pillows

This might be the easiest Pottery Barn dupe ever: transform Dollar Tree placemats into beautiful throw pillows by making a small slit and stuffing them. At $1.75 each, you can create a cozy, trendy look without the $100 price tag.

Fake Treat Decor

Create permanent “whipped cream” topped goodies using lightweight spackling:

• Spray paint mugs or jars brown
• Stuff with styrofoam or paper
• Pipe spackling to look like whipped cream
• Add cinnamon sticks and sprinkles

These adorable decorations look good enough to eat but will last forever.

Pom Pom Light Strands

Pottery Barn sells snowball lights for $150. Create your own stunning version for $15 by hot-gluing Dollar Tree pom poms to LED lights. The result is whimsical, beautiful, and perfect for adding holiday magic to any room.

Wrapping Paper Transformation

For zero-clutter decorating, wrap existing artwork, storage boxes, or cookbooks in beautiful Christmas wrapping paper. This instantly makes your space feel festive without adding any new items to store later.

Embrace the Cozy Trend

The Ralph Lauren/grandma’s Christmas trend is all about warmth, nostalgia, and creating spaces that feel like a hug. The best part? You can achieve this look with items you already own or one quick Dollar Tree trip.

If crafting and decorating leave your space in need of some TLC, our Chicago cleaning company offers fast cleaning services to get your home guest-ready in no time.

Keep It Clean During the Holidays

Between glitter, fake snow, and craft supplies, holiday decorating can create quite a mess. If you need someone to clean my apartment after your DIY projects, we’re here to help. Our cleaning services in Chicago make it easy to schedule a cleaning that fits your busy holiday calendar.

Whether you’re doing major crafting or just want to maintain a clean space during the busy season, sometimes it’s worth it to book an appointment with professionals who can clean your apartment quickly and thoroughly. If you need to get your space cleaned before guests arrive or after holiday parties, we’ve got you covered.

I’m going to show you how to make your home feel cozy, nostalgic, and high-end this Christmas. And everything’s from the Dollar Tree. I don’t know if you’ve seen this year’s trend. It’s all over social media. It’s all about like Ralph Lauren or Grandma’s Christmas. Both of these trends really are very similar. It’s about bringing back that nostalgic ‘9s cozy feeling. Lots of rich reds and greens and gingerbread. And I’m going to show you how to do this in your house on a dime. Checking out the Pottery Barns website. These start at $150. And I’m starting with my favorite. I know I showed this to you two years ago, but still this is hands down my favorite Christmas decoration of all time. I get so many compliments on it and it’s around $20 to make and this doesn’t totally go with the theme of like grandma’s Christmas or Ralph Lauren, but I will say that this is all the rage at the Pottery Barn. And I wanted to share this now early because it’s totally made with the bottle brushes from the Dollar Tree and they go really, really fast. Right now, the Dollar Tree has a ton of different colors. You can get gold and white and green and every color of the rainbow. So, make sure you head to the Dollar Tree and pick these up in lots of different sizes. And here’s how you quickly make it. You’re going to want to take all your different bottle brush trees and lay them out in a pattern either on a piece of cardboard. I’m just using a sign from the Dollar Tree that I flipped upside down. And you want to lay these out into a pattern that you like. A lot of the trees that I got have little stars on top. I’m going to go ahead and cut those off, but you don’t have to. The Dollar Tree also has a lot of lit trees, which is a bonus. And I’m going to just add some extra lights after. Once you have it laid out the way that you like it, go ahead and hot glue them down to keep them in place. And then what I’m doing on the bottom is covering it with sprigs, like white sprigs from the Dollar Tree so that you can’t see the base. You can use anything. You can use fake snow, you can use batting so it looks like fluffy snow or clouds, anything that you have. And then go with some fake snow, also from the Dollar Tree, and just coat that thing. Just coat it all up. Right before I coated it, I did add an extra strand of lights just to really make it glow so that it looks like the Pottery Barn. But the end result is so breathtaking. I made this golden white one and I’m so in love. I think it looks just like the one from the Pottery Barn, except mine was around $24 and theirs retails for $150. Let me know if you think I duped this one. Did I nail it or not? Every store already has all their Christmas decor out, which is bonkers. It’s a little early. I know. I’ve already decorated. Stop it. Stop it. The point is, everywhere I go, all I see is gingerbread everything. This is so hot this year. The Pottery Barn website also everything’s gingerbread. It’s crazy pants. It’s also a so nostalgic. It makes me feel like grandma’s house. I am not about to bake any gingerbread houses because that would be a nightmare and very timeconuming, but I also don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars. So, here’s a quick hack for you. go to the Dollar Tree and pick up some of the either little Christmas houses that they already have or in the toy section, they have these little pink plastic doll houses that are so perfect to turn into gingerbread houses. All you have to do is spray paint them with this nutmeg or brown colored spray paint and then use an oilbased Sharpie pen. So once everything’s spray painted, once they’re dry, bring them in, put on a Christmas movie, and start coloring. You literally just follow the lines with the marker. You don’t have to be artsy at all. This was so enjoyable. I was actually having a really good time. I love making things from scratch or like that homemade feel or crafting. And this is the part that I love about decorating for Christmas is when you can combine those two hobbies. when you can make something beautiful and enjoy the process and saving hundreds of dollars is also a major bonus. So, if you are like, I love the look of gingerbread, any houses that you already have, maybe you have like old vintage little, you know, little Christmas houses or go to the thrift store or go to the Dollar Tree and pick some up, quick coat of spray paint, a little drawing on with the marker, and you have a high-end on trend village for a dime. I almost forgot to mention everything you see on this mantel, every single thing is from the Dollar Tree, including this adorable sign with the tartan. They have so many ornaments, so many greenery with the red berries and the pine cones. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have your home look like you’ve spent a lot of money. How adorable are these little mini lanterns? I didn’t dupe this from the Pottery Barn, but I did see this on Tik Tok and I fell in love with it because it’s a great way to light your mantle without maybe lighting candles or having a decor that glows. It’s so easy to make. All you need are some Dollar Tree candlesticks, a jar, some fake snow, and some things to put inside. I added like this little Bali thing so it looks like an actual like knob on top. You don’t have to do that part. Spray painted it black. Once the lid was dry, I actually added this little push light. I just got it from the Dollar Tree and it’s a peel and stick and it is the perfect size to fit without you seeing the light and it makes the entire thing glow. And then I hot glued in little mini trees from the Dollar Tree and added this really cute little truck. I just poured in some snow to kind of cover the bottom. Put in the truck. It kind of looks like a little snow globe or a little winter scene, but it gives off light. All in all, I love it. I finished it off by just gluing on this little bow and some greenery. And oh, looks so expensive. Under $5. You got to make these. Anytime I’m looking at the Pottery Barn website or Ralph Lauren Christmas, it’s all about the dishes. And honestly, growing up, my grandma had these like vintage pattern Christmas dishes, which just made Christmas dinner that much more special. I know what you’re thinking. I’m always telling you to declutter. So, if this isn’t for you, I get it. But I was shocked at the different patterns and the quality at the Dollar Tree. So inexpensive. I especially love these gorgeous green ones with the trees. It definitely feels super high-end. And going with just a plate and then a mini plate, maybe adding a napkin will instantly elevate your table. You can make it look like something out of a magazine, except you only spent $12 to completely outfit your entire table or however many play settings you have. I know you have to store them, but for me, I feel like it’s worth it. It just makes Christmas a little bit extra special when you have your table feel cozy and nostalgic. I also picked up the beautiful glasses from the Dollar Tree and added it into the kitchen. And I found a set of vintage plates. They’re kind of tacky and hideous from a Value Village. So cheap. It was $6 for the entire set, but I love it. It feels like my grandma’s house. So, don’t be afraid to use dishes as part of your decor. I was at the Dollar Tree with my friend Jess and she was helping me kind of get inspired and come up with ideas and we always go the beginning of November because the good stuff goes fast. And I told her that the trend this year is all this like plaid that my grandma used to have and how I really wanted to add it to my home, but I did not want to spend money. So, I picked up some tea towels and I was going to sew or attempt to sew throw pillows and she said, “What are you talking about, man? Use a placemat.” I had no idea how easy this was. The Dollar Tree placemats, all you have to do is make a small slit in the back and you can stuff them and it instantly becomes a pillow. This was insanely easy to do and for a $1.75 you can make a beautiful pillow that was retailing for almost $100 on Pottery Barn. So dup them. They had ton of different patterns and colors too. Not that I need more throw pillows. Okay, I know I have a problem, but look at them. Really look at them. This blew me away. You can take an old pillow and stuff it or an old stuffed animal that you’re going to declutter. This can honestly be like a $2 project and you can feel super trendy, too. Let me know if I nailed this Pottery Barn dupe. This kitchen, it’s everything. It’s nostalgic. It makes me feel like I’m back in my grandma’s home in the ‘9s, which is what this trend is all about. It’s bringing back those rich reds and the green and the adorable snowmen, just all of that like nostalgic, sometimes maybe borderline tacky to make it feel like home. And the thing that I love the most about this trend is using really practical pieces to also have it be decor. I have like little snowman platters that I can use if company’s coming over and teapotss and just Dollar Tree mugs. It’s adorable, but it’s also useful and it comes together and it feels just like a warm hug. That’s what I want your home to feel like this Christmas, too. So, dig through your bins and your old Christmas decor totes. You probably have some things in there that maybe you were gifted or you’ve been meaning to declutter. Those are the type of things we can dust off, my friends, and give new life to because this eclectic, whimsical, brightly colored Christmas is totally back in style. This is a quick DIY that I’ve always wanted to do because I’ve seen the fake food and the fake hot chocolate online. So, when I saw these adorable gingerbread mugs that were filled with whipped cream on the Pottery Barn website, I was like, I want to make those, except make them fake. So, I took some mugs that I already had. And you can do this with like jars. Use something you already have. Like, don’t spend money on this. I gave it a quick coat of spray paint with this brown nutmeg spray paint. The same that I used for the gingerbread. Once it was dry, I stuffed the mugs and the cups with styrofoam. I use like paper on the bottom and then a styrofoam ball. You can use anything you have to stuff it. And then on top, here is the secret. You’re going to add fast and final lightweight spackling. You can just put it in a Ziploc bag and then pipe it on so it looks like whipped cream. This will dry within 24 hours rock hard. It will last forever, but it looks like a delicious treat. I sprinkled it with cinnamon and poked in a cinnamon stick so it really looked like it was from the Pottery Barn. Let me know if you think I nailed this. And I did the same thing with these jars that I spray painted the inside brown. Added in a fake candy cane, some piping, some sprinkles, and they look delicious. But it’s part of your decor. You totally should try making some of these. So fun. When I was on the Pottery Barn website, I saw these snowball lights. $150. Are you smoking crack Pottery Barn? That’s ridiculous. It’s literally pompoms and cheap LED lights. And at first, I wasn’t going to make it, but then I thought, why the heck not? So, I got some lights and I strung them across the window. I just picked them up from Amazon and then started hot gluing on Dollar Tree pom poms. I did not have a lot of hope for this project. I was like, “This is probably going to look like a child made it.” But after about 20 minutes, shock and awe, friends. Shock and awe. I love this so much. I think this is a beautiful way of adding some whimsy to your home, whether you’re putting it on a wall or in a window. If you don’t love the pom poms, you can add the Dollar Tree snowflakes. And seriously, like $150 to buy this, but you can make it for like $15 and it’s stunning. I feel like maybe it doesn’t do justice on video, but I just gives me all the feels. You’ve got to make this for yourself, too. Last but not least, I wanted to make a quick hack for those of you who don’t want to add any more clutter to your house, but you still want to make your home feel like cozy and maybe even on trend. Wrapping paper. You can get so many beautiful patterns. Go ahead and find that Ralph Lauren plaid, bring it back from the ‘9s, and wrap existing artwork that you have. I had a lot of blue artwork in this space. So, just wrapping it in Christmas paper makes it feel super Christmassy. You can do this also for maybe storage boxes that you have. And we went ahead and wrapped all of our cookbooks. We just made new covers for them so it looks again like part of the decor, but they’re still usable cookbooks. Maybe you have a stack of books that you can wrap and put on your coffee table or wrap some artwork just to have some free decor that adds zero clutter to your home. I am curious how you feel about the new trend this year, the Ralph Lauren. It’s all over my Tik Tok with like the plaid and the rich greens and then Christmas back in grandma’s house. Totally back in style. And personally, I’m loving it. I think we are in a time right now that feels chaotic. The world feels chaotic. So, going back to simpler days, going back to our childhood that’s filled with just love and warm coziness, that’s what we’re all craving, which is why this trend really works. And the best part is you probably have all the things to create this look already in your home or with one trip to the Dollar Tree. Let me know in the comments below if you are a yay, this trend rocks or me, I prefer the simpler monotone trend of the past. And I’ll see you guys next time. Thank you guys so much for those of you who have stayed to the end. I’m going to share something slightly embarrassing. I mean, it’s not crazy embarrassing, slightly embarrassing. And then I’m hoping you share your embarrassing stories, too, in the comments below. I’ve never been a good cook. It’s just I don’t like it. I have ADHD. Sitting still for long periods of time to make food sucks. And also, the dishes that come from making big meals, holy Hannah, no thanks. But there was a year where I volunteered during a potluck because that’s what we do in our family for like Thanksgiving and also Christmas. Everyone brings a dish. I volunteered to bring the turkey. Yep. That wasn’t bright. I Googled and watched a lot of videos on how to make a turkey. I wasn’t going to stuff it, but I like put butter under the skin. I basted that thing. I made sure it was totally cooked, then put it in like, you know, one of those carry pans to bring it to the hall. And when we were slicing it, I forgot about a little bag inside that was filled with organs. Giblets. Giblets. Apparently, you got to take that out. No one told me that. No one told me there was like a bag of of things inside that are supposed to be removed. I just cooked it. Bag it all. Not a huge deal, but my family made fun of me for years for that. And I was no longer allowed to bring the turkey. So, let me know if you also have left that bag of giblets. Also, are you supposed to wash it? I didn’t, but are you supposed to like with soap and water? Are you giving your turkey a bath before you cook it? Things we need to know. Let me know in the comments below.