The holiday season is an absolute goldmine for people looking to craft and decorate around their home, but living in a small space without room for a tree can seem limiting if you like to decorate with Christmas ornaments. Fortunately, ball ornaments have plenty of other uses for decorations year-round without a tree to hang them on.
Ball ornaments are inexpensive and easy to find around the holiday season, and while they were once traditionally made of glass, they’re now made of plastic and other durable materials that can withstand some punishment and won’t present a danger to you or your children.
Here are 25 ways you can use your Christmas ball ornaments around your home to add a little holiday spirit throughout the year on a budget.
1. Place settings for parties.
Ornaments can be used instead of place cards if you write guests’ initials on them, and it gives them a little souvenir to take home.
2. Table centerpieces.
Fill a wooden box with greens and candles, then add a few ornaments to give your table a rustic Christmas look.
3. Candlestick decorations.
Replace the candles in some of your candlesticks with ornaments to give any surface a bit of modern holiday flair.
4. Inside a vase.
A large, wide vase can be filled with ornaments as an alternative to flowers. The shinier the ornaments, the more ornate it’ll look.
5. As a wreath.
Use a wreath form or even a bent wire hanger to string ornaments together in an appealing circle.
6. On a picture frame.
String some ornaments on ribbons inside a picture frame and hang it on a door for an alternative to traditional wreaths.
7. Hung in a window.
Hang transparent ornaments in a window frame to let some light through and give your home’s exterior some holiday sparkle.
8. Displayed in an unused window frame.
You can hang ornaments in a window frame that isn’t in a window the same way as idea 7, then display that frame on a mantle or a wall.
9. As a garland.
If you’d rather not get pine needles everywhere, string some ornaments together and line your mantle with them for some shine.
10. Stacked on a wooden dowel.
Unusually shaped ornaments can be turned into visually pleasing art pieces when fitted together. Stick this vertical arrangement in a vase as a little topiary.
11. Displayed in an antique printer’s cabinet.
If you can find an old cabinet with small compartments, mount it on your wall and put ornaments in some of them for a little holiday whimsy.
12. Hung from a chandelier.
Shiny or transparent ornaments hanging from a chandelier you already have in your home can add a few sparks of holiday cheer.
13. As an advent calendar.
As pictured, string some ornaments across a chalkboard, then remove (or add) them to count down the days towards Christmas.
14. Hung outside.
If you’re not ready for a full backyard makeover, you can still enhance the space with ornaments. Hang your ornaments outside to add some holiday cheer while turning your existing plans into festive decor.
15. Inside a vintage candy dispenser.
Fill the hopper of a gumball machine with ornaments to add a little festive touch if you have one at home.
Filling containers of various kinds with ornaments is an easy and surprising way to create new holiday decorations, such as:
16. Piled inside an old metal or wicker basket.
This is a simple, DIY way to create some festive centerpieces for your table, mantle, or entryway.
17. Inside small bud vases.
Who said vases were just for flowers?
18. Under a cloche.
You can put anything in a cloche, from plants to mini terrariums – so why not inject some extra spirit into these bell-shaped furnishings?
19. In an old dough bowl.
Reduce, reuse, recycle! When your dough bowl has been replaced by a newer model, give your treeless ornaments a home.
20. Filling up a child’s wagon.
Got more spare ornaments than you know what to do with? Filling up larger, nostalgic items like wagons and sleighs is a nice option.
21. Displayed in clear glass hurricane vases.
Ornaments and glass vases are a match made in craft heaven!
22. Stacked on a vintage balance.
Fan on antiguqes and whimsical decor? Stacking ornaments on unconventional items like a vintage scale is a great way to spread cheer without a tree.
23. In a simple display case.
Keep it simple with a standard display case.
24. In a bird cage.
Bird cages are visually appealing and often uniquely shaped, making them great options for artfully displaying your Christmas ornament collection.
25. Filling up old lanterns.
Lacking cloches or other clear receptacles? Lanterns also work as great makeshift display cases.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to decorate around your home with Christmas ornaments without using a tree. Go beyond our suggestions and come up with your own unique holiday accoutrements! And when the holiday season is over, consider renting a storage unit to store your decorations till next year.
