I was approached by St. Jude’s Hospital, and was invited to participate in a collab with The Dollar General for a Holiday Decorating Challenge. I was thrilled to be involved in such a unique activity that benefits such a great cause!

Giving Back this Holiday

As many of you know, St. Jude’s Hospital is forefront in treating childhood cancer, and you can help by heading to a Dollar General store this season and support the Thanks and Giving Campaign each time you shop and make a donation at the checkout! Below, you will see the challenge that was presented and find out how we met this task! It was a lot of creative fun!

The challenge we were given: Create a holiday table-scape, entry way, mantle, or DIY holiday craft on a $25.00(usd) budget and all purchases must be made at a Dollar General store.

BRING. IT. ON!

I love a test like this, and I love doing home décor DIY on a shoestring! So, this invitation was met with a lot of excitement to see what we could come up with.

Let’s get it started

I solicited the help of my mom to create some fantastic ideas that anyone can make for their home this holiday. We put together two different ensembles. One table centerpiece and one buffet tabletop arrangement. I share with you a few photos of the supplies and steps taken to assemble these decorations. I spent around $20.00 on each arrangement using the same items in each – plus or minus a piece or two that I purchased and added to embellish each specific arrangement.

This shows the versatility of my purchases that you are able to use them in years to come. By adding a few different details, you can create a completely new look!! My only other additions were things I found in nature such as sticks, branches, or greenery from our pine tree and no additional cost was added by these additions. I also used four small votive glasses to hold the mini candles in that I already had in my own cupboard.

Our first holiday-scape: A table centerpiece

Let’s see how this all came together! First the photos below were a series of my purchases. There are several Dollar General Stores near where my parents live in Rural Wisconsin. I also have one Dollar General Store near me. We collaborated purchases from three different Dollar General Stores. Most of the stores have identical inventory, but we did find a few fun new inventory in each as well. So, if you have more than one Dollar General near you, check them all out for variety, and don’t forget to donate to St. Jude’s Hospital at each checkout. Here are the supplies purchased and worked with to make our decorations:

When I made my purchases, I did so with a variety of possibilities in mind. However, after my arrangements were created, some of my purchases were NOT used and I did NOT include these in my final budget.

Once I had all my items purchased, I began to put pieces together to build a nice table-scape. I started with creating some height for my piece, by taking my purchased poster board and made tall cones. I used gold spray paint to prime the trees and some green tissue paper to create some texture. These original conical trees I kept green for my first centerpiece.

I created height and length to my table using the cone trees and sticks as well as adding some flameless candlelight to create some warm ambiance. This beautiful arrangement really brings a holiday tabletop to life! It is so inviting!

Here is the breakdown on cost for this table centerpiece:

The cone shaped trees:
$1.50 for poster board
$3.00 for metallic paint
$1.00 for tissue paper
$1.00 for star ornaments

Centerpiece props included
$2.00 two sets of 2 tealights @ $1 each
$2.00 two candle rings @ $1 each
$1.00 modgepodge for paper mache
$3.00 green/white garland
$5.00 faerie lights
$1.00 pine cones

Things I had already:
Sticks
Clear votive cups (4)

Total: $20.50

Our Second Arrangement: A holiday tabletop-scape

I used my homemade “trees” and I later used my gold spray paint to cover the green tissue paper and to add more metallic gold to my second arrangement. I added some jewel embellishments to turn my green trees into beautiful jeweled gold trees. I was so happy with this result. In this second arrangement we cut some pine boughs from our outdoor pine tree and built the arrangement with this beautiful greenery that cost us nothing!

I also took an old empty salsa jar to make a vase! Way to re-purpose! I also added some red elastic string to add some shiny detail. I again used my spray paint to paint a fun branch I used to bring a focal point to my arrangement. I love how this turned out!

Below you can view the finished ensemble

Here is the price breakdown on arrangement #2:

The tablescape on the buffet:
$1.50 Poster board for cones
$3.00 Metallic Gold Paint
$1.00 Star Ornaments
$1.00 Tissue Paper to create texture
$2.00 Pearl details for tree @ $1 per pack
$2.00 Crystal Jewel details for tree @ $1 per pack

$1.00 for elastic red string – I used one spool
$5.00 one strand of faerie lights
$2.00 two sets of two tealights for $1.00 each
$3.00 box of red ornaments
$1.00 box of pinecones

Things I had to build arrangement
Pine branches for greenery
Sticks – spray painted gold
votive cups (4)

Total: $22.50

As you can see demonstrated by the above, you can create a lovely holiday decoration on a budget and make a striking statement without a major investment. There was even room in our budget for more if I wanted to expand or add any additional items to embellish these beautiful decorations.

I want to thank St. Jude’s hospital and Dollar General for the opportunity to be included in this activity. I had so much fun participating and doing this for such a good cause. This holiday please support important causes. Give back and give thanks at this time of the year and always.