Clever Holiday Decor Ideas Crafted From Dollar Store Finds

Calgary-based Christine Pinel crafted this spooky forest-dwelling creature that looks exhumed from the earth using Dollarama items including preserved moss, a wreath form, a mask, acrylic paint, faux greenery and a sack of (yummy) plastic eyeballs. Ooh, creepy! We like the unusual oven-vent placement.

Every bedecked holiday house needs a friendly nutcracker. This giant gent stands over six feet tall, and could be made over a weekend — though Shannon Leger admits it took her longer. (Hey, don’t judge the snack breaks.) But seriously: Shannon had little kids underfoot. Waiting for the paint to dry took awhile but was worth it. Styrofoam balls, magnetic locker organizers for the shiny boots and other ingredients were used to bring Mr. Nutcracker to life. For more, visit The Butcher’s Daughter.

Isn’t this blingy barcart delightful? The pink accessories are a spin on the typical orange-and-black Halloween hues. Made from tweaked Dollarama items, Vanessa of Pretty Styled Life showcases Halloween’s lighter side. (It’s a nice alternative for little kids who may not vibe with all the blood and gore.) Vanessa painted the ghost signs pink (they were originally plain wood), and put stickers on them. She then layered in coordinating dollar store goods.

Crafty creative Donica Clark of Coaldale, Alta., assembled this cozy wreath in about an hour using Dollarama goods. She wrapped a wire wreath form in a knitted scarf and then wrapped it around another wreath form before hot-gluing faux foliage to it. This easy-to-make piece is customizable using a different-coloured scarf and embellishments such as plastic plants, snowflakes, ribbon and pine cones.

Regina, Sask.-based Tavia Sinclair gave a glow-up to a skeleton by unleashing an arsenal of wildly bright paint. We just love the welcoming (yet terrifying) vibe of this Halloween wreath against her turquoise front door.

Christmas fruitcake is polarizing. You either love it or loathe it. Either way, guests will appreciate receiving a dense log of sweet goodness if it’s wrapped like this. Toronto’s Karen Archer Walsh actually swaddled pumpkin loaves in Dollarama tea towels then tied them in festive bows. Save us a slice, Karen.

This simple seasonal idea is by Krystle Olynick from Humboldt, Sask. Krystle hot-glued various hunks of wood in gift wrap and then embellished the lot with festive accents. Top yours using your own choice of holiday cheer: a sprig of greenery, white-dusted pinecones or crimson berries. Place in clumps on a hearth or anywhere you desire for maximum oomph.

Got a lot of Halloween doodads hanging around? Scoop them onto a tray or spooky plate like  Shaylene Macdonald did, then pull out the paint to coordinate everything. Here, a Dollarama amputated hand meant to hold a tea light cradles a scary skull instead. Because of its height, the branchy table weight, meanwhile, lends gothic drama to the scene.

Ottawa’s Debbie Hawn of The Crafty Shopper used over four boxes of Jenga Blocks from Dollarama to build this happy 26-inch-tall red-nosed dude. (Check out her YouTube channel to see her make other animals, like a Highland Cow.) Debbie used Weld Bond glue, wood dowels and heels for the antlers, as well as material for the festive scarf and black acrylic paint for the hooves.

Check out this dollar-store dupe from Melissa Ketch that makes a lovely vignette on a shelf. Amazingly, the Dollarama houses were originally wooden. Melissa applied paint mixed with baking soda to give it a scruffy texture and then popped lights inside. And the cute little trees also got a makeover when she replaced the bases.

Toronto’s Jessica Waks filled a glass vase with gelt — or gold-wrapped chocolate Hannukah coins — then placed pretty white flowers on top. (That’s one way to keep the kids away from the sweets.) She strung up a cheery banner in coordinating colours and then proceeded to delve into latke-making!

If you’re not great with hot glue, why not try your hand at spooky decorating? In this living room decorated by Isabelle Polk, a skeleton in a witch’s hat tickles the ivories. Creepy! The piano top also gets the Halloween treatment. And we also love Isabelle’s commitment to the theme down to the sinister framed trio on the wall.

This Halloween wreath harnesses the power of texture and creativity. It’s by Vickii Stamp, the DIYer behind Tangled Up in Wreaths. Big loops of black ribbon, giant googly eyes and witches’ feet as stand-ins for spider legs add up to scary fun door decor.

Paging all neutral-holics! This elegantly cream and black fireplace is giving us all the feels. Andy Shinnie-Berwick, the teacher and artist behind Instagram’s @DandyMamaBee, pulled this vignette together inexpensively. She made the bats out of card stock paper then propped them into the branches, while the found piece of driftwood centres the scene; she also painted the man in the moon.

For this glitzy yet ominous mirror mashup, Regina, Sask.-based Shae LaBee rejigged random bits from the dollar store, including chopping up a full-length skeleton, hot-gluing fake black roses, spray-painting the mirror, spiders and skull gold and tucking in fairy lights. Great idea for a foyer!