Homemade decorations look best when you make a lot of one thing in a limited set of colors. One dried orange slice looks like a craft project; a bowl of twenty looks like something from a catalog. Volume is the trick, and most of these materials are cheap enough to make in bulk.
Each idea below costs under $10 in materials, most under $5.
Paper
1. Paper bag stars. Nine paper lunch bags, a glue stick and string. Fold each bag in half lengthwise, glue the folded edges together in a stack, cut a point or a curve into the open end, then fan it out and tie it open. It opens into a star about 24 inches across. Use 6 bags for a smaller one, 12 for a big one. About 20 minutes, under $2, and it folds back flat.
2. Fringed paper garland. Cut newspaper or kraft paper into long strips, snip a fringe along one edge, twist each strip into a spiral and string them on twine. All kraft looks modern; old book pages look vintage. Under $3.
3. Folded paper stars. Moravian-style stars folded from strips of kraft paper or old sheet music. There are good video tutorials, and once you get the rhythm each one takes about eight minutes. A bowl of a dozen looks lovely.
From outside
4. Pinecone garland. Rinse 25 to 30 pinecones and bake them at 200°F for an hour to dry them out and get rid of any bugs. Then string them on twine with a large needle, or wrap floral wire around each one. Alternate with dried orange slices if you like. That makes about ten feet.
5. Dried orange slices. Slice oranges a quarter inch thick, lay them on a rack and dry in the oven at 200°F for about three hours, turning once. They come out translucent and amber. Thread twine through a small slit to hang them. Three or four oranges make around 15 slices.
6. Cinnamon bundles. Three cinnamon sticks tied with twine and a sprig of dried eucalyptus. Lean them on a shelf, tuck them into a wreath or hang them on the tree. Buy cinnamon sticks in bulk bags (on Amazon); the little spice jars cost ten times as much.
7. A branch in a vase. A bare branch from any tree that’s lost its leaves, in a heavy vase, with a few light ornaments or paper stars hanging from it. In a small apartment it does the job of a tree. Spray paint it white or gold if you want.
Fabric
8. Stockings from an old sweater. Trace a stocking shape, cut two pieces, sew or fabric-glue the edges and fold down a cuff. Cable knits look best. About 30 minutes each, no sewing machine needed.
9. A no-sew fleece garland. Cut a cheap fleece throw into strips about 1 by 8 inches and tie them tightly along a length of rope, pushing them together as you go. A $5 throw makes about four feet. The knots hide every mistake.
10. A ribbon tree. Wrap ribbon scraps, yarn and fabric around a foam cone (on Amazon) from the bottom up, overlapping as you go, and pin or glue each layer. A 12-inch cone is a good size for a shelf. Kids can help with this one.
Light
11. Cinnamon-wrapped candle. Stand cinnamon sticks around a plain pillar candle and tie them with twine. Keep the sticks below the top of the candle, don’t use this with tapers, and don’t leave it burning unattended. About $3.
12. Mason jar lanterns. Fill a mason jar (on Amazon) a third full with Epsom salt, which looks just like snow, set a battery tea light (on Amazon) in it and tie twine and a sprig of greenery around the rim. Three of them for about $8.
13. Paper bag luminaries. Fold the tops of white paper bags down into a cuff, cut stars or trees into the sides, and put a battery tea light inside. Only battery lights, obviously.
The table and windows
14. Rosemary wreath place cards. Twist a sprig of fresh rosemary into a small circle, tie it with twine and slip a name card through it. About fifty cents each, and guests take them home. Buy rosemary in the big clamshell packs.
15. A wreath in every windowpane. Small grapevine (on Amazon), rosemary or eucalyptus wreaths hung on ribbon in the center of each pane. Small wreaths are the cheapest kind, and a row of them looks very deliberate from outside.
Putting it away
Paper stars and luminaries fold flat. Dried oranges go between sheets of parchment in a shoebox. Garlands coil into a tote. Rosemary and branches go back outside or into the compost.