Bougie On A Budget: Home Goods Birch Christmas Arrangement for $0

I can’t lie. I know Thanksgiving isn’t here yet but I’m so tempted to put out my Christmas decorations. I’m trying to hard to wait as long as I can but I’ve got that itch!

So to make that itch worse, the other day I was in Home Goods. They have all their Fall decor on sale, Christmas decor out and ready to go.. I just should not have been in there. But I found so many Christmas arrangements with faux Birch branches. I was in love.

I don’t know about where y’all live, but we don’t have Birch trees in Mississippi. Which really stinks considering how much I love them!

So I looked at the price tag for a large urn/pot filled with faux Birch, greenery, some fake pine cones and a few fake berries — similar to this one:

$120. No. So I developed a game plan.

I was going to go home, trek through the woods and find some logs and branches, paint those babies, and then go clip some trimmings from some trees. I knew I already had a pot so that was taken care of. And honestly you can put this in anything. Any size vase you already have, planters, old popcorn tins, anything! Just adjust the branches to the size of the container.

$0 sounds a lot better than $120. So first up — painting branches.

I started outside but it was just too cold. These Southern bones couldn’t handle a windy 50° day but I was 👌🏼 this close to accepting a job offer in Milwaukee last year. Makes sense huh?

Back on topic — anyone can do this. Just paint (or spray paint) the branches white and scrape on some black paint with an old gift card. Will It look realistic? No. But let’s step back and remember I’m decorating with Birch wood in Mississippi to begin with. I was out for the IDEA of Birch and that gorgeous light/dark contrast. Nailed it.

The only advice I have for this is to peel off as much bark as possible and if you’ve got it, sand it down a little with some fine grit sandpaper so it has a smooth surface. I did this so I wouldn’t ruin my brush by snagging it. I didn’t clean the branches beforehand — I just brushed it off with my hand and went right along. Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be. Total time spent on painting – around 2 hours combined, including drying time.

Next up, trimmings.

We have this gorgeous evergreen on our property and I pull from it every year. Whether it’s to fill a centerpiece or decorate the mantle — the poor thing has been cut on a dozen times. Somehow, regardless of how early I clip trimmings from it for Christmas, they never get too brittle on me. By Christmas they’re a little dry, but they retain their shape and color. I’m not going to question it too much.

For the pop of color, I didn’t have berries or anything to choose from except tree decorations I️ already had — and that was good enough for me. A few poinsettia stems, a few berries — all done!

I couldn’t help but laugh afterwards because you can see how “extra” I am. The original picture is small and chic and mine is overflowing and making a scene. I couldn’t help myself. It’s going to be sitting across from my snow-covered tree and those “Birch” branches are going to POP.

Next, I want to make more branches to put in vases on the mantle. Or a few five or six footers to tie together with a big bow and prop up in a corner. I can’t stop. I have a problem.

I’d love to see your take on this idea!

That pumpkin bread is coming soon — I promise!

-B