How to Decorate the Stairs for Christmas for Less Than $100!

As soon as we moved into this house after our PCS to Hawaii, I was already envisioning how I would decorate the stairs for Christmas.

Our staircase greets you right when you walk in the front door (not quite like the Texas house, but still at the entryway). So, I wanted to make them pretty for the holidays!

I’ve seen so many gorgeous Christmas staircase decorating ideas online. And I would LOVE for my house to look like that, but when you start pricing out all of the materials that go into those thick, elaborate garlands, the cost can be outrageous!

We never have much extra money at this time of year. So, I had to decorate the stairs for Christmas on a budget. And I was able to do it for less than $100!

Here’s how I did it:

Hang the Garland – $64

As a boring millennial, I didn’t jump on the TikTok bandwagon until 2022. Even then, I would go weeks without opening the app, and I wouldn’t dream of ordering anything from it!

However, I was scrolling through videos in my hotel room (when I was working in Chicago) and saw probably a dozen videos for Christmas garlands.

Since they were ‘on sale’ for $14 each, I ordered $120 worth. They are 70 inches long (almost 6 feet), which would be enough to double up if they ended up being too thin.

The garland took over a month to arrive. Right when I was convinced that I had been scammed, they finally showed up in the mail. And they were great!

I only used 4 of the garlands on my stair rail. I definitely could have doubled up and made them thicker, but I’m okay with how 1 strand looks.

The garland was attached to the handrail using white zip ties. I bought a bag of 8-inch zip ties, and they worked great. The zip ties were $4.

Hang the Stockings – $0

After all of the garland was hung, the next step was to add our stockings.

Finding places to hang stockings without a fireplace can be difficult, but I think they look so good hanging on our stairs in this house!

I made sure the stockings were evenly spaced before using zip ties to secure them to the handrail.

We’ve used the same stockings for probably the last 10 years, so this step didn’t cost anything.

Add Bells – $20

I am a teensy bit obsessed with brass bells. I added them to my rustic Christmas wreath and even wrote a whole post of 15 ways to use them in your Christmas decor.

My husband found some big metal bells at Ross when he took the girls shopping and bought them for me! They were $20.

We hung them on the newel post at the bottom of the stairs with a screw. They’re too heavy for a Command Strip, and there wasn’t any way to zip tie them on. I hated to put a hole in the wood, but we can fill it pretty easily and cover it up.

Add Lights – $6

At this point, the stairs were looking great, but I still thought they needed something else.

So, I headed to Walmart and picked up some mini Christmas lights. You can buy a box of 100-count clear Christmas lights (21-feet) for $2.98. So, I got 2 boxes.

I wrapped them around the garland, but not the handrail. That way, you don’t see that green wire on the backside of the rail. It only took a few minutes, and it made a huge difference.

Add Bows – $6

While we were at Walmart, I bought 6 Christmas wreath bows for $0.98 each. I wasn’t sure if they would look right on the stairs, but for $1, I figured it was worth a shot.

And I’m so glad I got them! They filled in some of the empty space and added more color to the stairs.

I was able to decorate the stairs for Christmas for a grand total of $96!

The stairs turned out beautiful, and the best part is that I can use these items for years to come. And even better, I can add more stuff to them over the years until I achieve that over-the-top grand staircase look that is all over the internet.

I hope this helps you decorate your stairs for Christmas, especially if you’re on a budget like me!