Christmas Coffee Table Decorating Idea (Budget Friendly)
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Christmas for me is all about the twinkling tree and secondly the music while I make handmade decorations, simmer potpourri on the stove, watch Christmas movies and bake tins full of cookies.
All the above are simple and easy to do, just like what I am sharing today which is how to decorate a coffee table for Christmas in a very easy way that is also a very inexpensive Christmas decorating idea that will add a holiday feel to any room.
I usually wait until right before Thanksgiving to decorate my house for Christmas, but this year, I am singing the tune that Mame Dennis sings in the play/movie, Auntie Mame…
Haul out the holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stockings
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute, we need a little Christmas now!
Have a little listen – right below…
This year I want to make the Christmas season be the best I can without having to spend a lot of money or time to accomplish it.
Instead of hauling out bins of stuff, I am going to add small touches around the house that remind me of the old-fashioned homey Christmases I had as a child.
No stress, just pure happy, contentment and JOY!
How to Decorate a Coffee Table or Sideboard for Christmas On a Budget
One of the easiest ways to decorate a room for Christmas is to add festive gift wrap to the top of any table or sideboard.
I find festive and colorful gift wrap for a few dollars a roll at HomeGoods, TJMaxx and Marshalls. Target also has a good selection.
Here is the farmhouse style coffee table with a mirrored top that I made a few years ago using 2 x 4’s.
With a few cuts from a roll of holiday gift wrap, I can change the look of the table to be Christmas ready in minutes.
supplies needed:
- Christmas wrapping paper
- Scissors or sharp craft knife
- Painter’s Tape or Glue Dots (optional) – both of these all low-tack and will not damage the top of a table.
Time needed: 15 minutes.
Easiest Christmas Decorating Idea Ever
- Roll Out Gift Wrap
Place gift wrap on table surface and roll out. If there is a pattern, center on table if needed.
Use scissors to cut out the size needed, (plus at least an inch extra all around) to cover the top of your table or sideboard. The extra inch all around will be cut or folded to the underside of the paper to create straight edges.
- Trim or Fold Excess Paper
With cut paper centered on the table, run your finger all around the table’s edge to make a crease in the paper.
Remove the paper. Use the crease as your cutting or folding line. If you have really sharp scissors, you can cut the paper to fit the top.
- Fold Excess Paper Instead of Cutting
Another way to fit the gift wrap to the top of a table is to fold the excess where you made the crease with your fingers in Step 2. above. Fold crease under so the paper fits the top and has finished edges.
- Secure with Tape
If needed, make small rolls using painter’s tape to place under the corners of the paper to keep it secure.
Optional: Use easy to remove Glue Dots to hold corners of paper to table top.
- Add Decorations to the Table
Find Gift Wrap That Coordinates With Your Decor
Not into black and white check?
There is a huge variety of colors and styles of gift wrap to choose from. You may even have some leftover from last year to repurpose into decor.
Pick a wrapping paper that will coordinate with your room’s color scheme or Christmas decorating theme.
Plaid works very well.
This sideboard that has a beveled-edge white top. The simple addition of red plaid wrapping paper makes it say…. Merry Christmas.
When the holidays are over, you can simply remove the paper and tape.
Festive Christmas Gift Wrap
You May Also Like These Christmas Decorating Ideas:
Thanks for another inspirational post, and I’m especially glad you included the song. I was feeling a bit down but after reading the post and listening to the song repeatedly, I felt upbeat. I’m enjoying the Christmas preparation early this year, because I find it uplifting. A friend wrote to me (before Halloween) that it’s too early to think about Christmas but I said not for me, not this year!
Hi Linda :-) I have replayed the song every morning over the past few days. It makes me happy and upbeat too. I never saw the Broadway play with Angela Lansbury, but love the movie starring Rosalind Russell. She was brilliant. :-) Gotta live each day the best we can. Enjoy decorating your home for Christmas.
I love this idea! I also love covering our large wall pictures with gift wrap. The first year I did it my kiddos were so happy not to have to look at the family photos of them when they were wee ones. It was too funny!
cute way to have a festive tray!
Hi Linda – Great idea. The wrapping paper would be a great way to create a festive tray for decorating or entertaining. With a sheet of clear Contact style paper over it, it could be more than temporary.
I have an oval glass top table that I am going to try this on! Not sure if it will work but you always give me the courage to try something and I will only be out some wrapping paper if it fails. Love your blog!
Thanks Margot – It can be done on an oval, just a little tricker to cut.
Dear Diane,
I always love your ideas! This gift wrap idea reminded me of first home decorating where very little of my stuff was cohesive. Using gift wrap gave me the “put-together look” that I had yet to achieve with my furnishings. If you have glass-topped tables, it’s nice to put the gift wrap under the glass so you don’t ruin it with drink marks, etc. , especially if you have kids or pets. I have even covered glass doors in cabinets to match the tabletops (which also hid my non-Christmas stuff that I had no place else to store!) I also have added flat ribbons to make the doors look like wrapped packages. Thanks for reminding me of those early years! Keep up the good work!
Hi Karen – Thanks :-) I like your idea to use the gift wrap to cover glass doors to hide what is behind them. So easy to do, functional and doesn’t damage the area. It is a no paint brush or power tools needed makeover.
What a clever, pretty and functional idea! Leave it to Diane to come up with such a great, easy way to add Christmas color!
Hi Carolyn – Thank you. I enjoy coming up with simple and creative ways to decorate my house. With so many beautiful wrapping papers in stores, it seems like a waste to only use them for wrapping gifts and then throwing away.
Thank you Diane! I love these ideas! So simple so beautiful and so budget friendly! ♥️
Now that is a great idea! So simple for a big impact. I have used scrapbook paper for placemats also.
Going to add this idea to my Christmas decorations idea list. Thanks!
Hi Janet – Thanks. That is what I am going for – simple, yet festive and merry. Scrapbook paper into placemats – great idea.