Decking halls: Big impact for years to come

Creating your own winter wonderland doesn’t have to cost a bundle. If your holiday budget is smaller this year, it’s possible to buy a few festive items that make a big impact —- indoors or out.

“People are thinking so much more about how they spend their money,” said Jennifer Sypeck, director of product trend and development for Smith & Hawken, which has stores in Buckhead and Marietta. “People are trying to be much smarter about how they buy things. Less is more.”

According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, consumers this year plan to spend an average of $51.43 on decorations. That represents only a small part of the $832.36 that individuals are expected to spend this year on holiday shopping. That overall figure includes everything from gifts to decorations to greeting cards, an increase of only 1.9 percent from last year.

Cheryl Gaston, owner of M.C. Twinklin’s in Lilburn, is seeing customers spend their decorating dollars on eye-catching lit pieces for the mantel, staircases and tabletops as well as items from past eras, such as ’50s-inspired ornaments or decor with a Victorian theme.

“Usually in a slower economy, people start to hold everything closer to home,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons nostalgia probably is playing more into their thinking.”

Here are a few trendy products for decking the halls, or your lawn.

Trees and greenery

Better fakes: Technology has affected trees, too. Instead of silk needle trees, “PE” trees made with lifelike polyethylene needles really look like a fir branch, Gaston said. Her store sells Chicago-based NeumanTree’s pre-lighted Forest Sierra pine trees; 7 1/2- and 9-foot versions range from $600 to $1,050.

The long and short: Another trend, Gaston said, is mixing a long and a short row in the tree, which gives the ornaments more room. “They look much prettier when they’re hanging than when they’re leaning,” she said.

Year after year: Faux wreaths, garlands and trees are in as customers want to invest in items they can reuse year after year, Sypeck said. A set of Smith & Hawken’s pre-lit miniature Christmas trees, which can fit into a window box, sells for $59. Some of its new collection has a rustic look, such as pre-lit natural vine spiral trees, ranging from $49 to $88.

For the indoors: Preserved boxwood topiaries from Duluth-based Napa Home and Garden come in individual pieces and sets of two or three, with wholesale prices ranging from $22 to $170. The company’s items are sold at local stores including M.C. Twinklin’s, Davonshire Home and Garden in Atlanta’s Brookhaven area and Love Street Home in Smyrna.

Accessories

Icons of the season: To help channel your inner Clark Griswold, you’ll find most colorful holiday phrases or icons, sometimes in lights. Athens-based Burton & Burton’s pieces include a red “Ho Ho Ho,” which has a suggested retail price of $158. Available at amazon.com or local retailers (call 1-800-241-2094 to find stores in your area).

Curb appeal: Themed mailbox covers, with matching welcome mats, flags and yard signs by St. Louis-based Magnet Works Ltd. are available at stores including Pike’s Nursery, Wild Birds Unlimited and McTwinklin’s (visit www.magnetworks.com for a store locator).

Thinking big: Oversize ornaments such as those from Smith & Hawken, which range from $19 to $24 and come in green, red and silver, give an additional punch of color to a porch or yard. For a folk-art feel, try galvanized metal pieces, which also come in different colors and shapes.