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5 December by Melissa Norris

9 Ways to Have a Frugal Pioneer Christmas like Laura Ingalls

Crafts, Frugal Living, Homestead-Life

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Regardless, I only link to products we use on our homestead or believe in.

The pioneers Christmas looked quite different than our Christmas of today. There wasn't glitter and strands of lights and mounds of presents under the tree, but if we look closely, we'll see some of the same things.

9 ways to have a frugal pioneer Christmas like Laura Ingalls. I love these! The Little House series was one of my favorites and this captures what made that time so special. Plus, there's some cute ideas made with things you'd already have on hand!

A pioneer Christmas was much more frugal, but every bit as special. Isn't that the key to this old-fashioned life, finding out that spending less doesn't mean actually having less, but really having more of what's important?

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9 Ways to have a Frugal Pioneer Christmas

The pioneer's used what they had on hand to decorate. A tree was cut down and brought in, provided you lived where evergreens grew. Instead of the store bought garland and snow men of today, it was decorated with strands of popcorn and or cranberries.

I love this easy homemade vintage star ornament tutorial! Pictures so even those not so crafty folks like me can follow along and free pattern. Stars are on of my favorite things, I think you could even leave these up all year. Oh, they'd be cute as a gift tag or tied to a present, too. Grab this now to get the supply list and pattern to make yours

Sometimes, you'd have one or two very special store bought glass ornaments, but usually, you'd find some hand sewn ones made with bits of left over fabric, pieced together from material to remind you of your loved ones. One made from little sister's baby dress, another from grandma's apron, all there to signal memories of the person who first wore them.

You can make your own homemade vintage star ornaments with this free download pattern and tutorial!

Evergreen boughs were cut and twisted into wreaths for the door or wrapped around posts to welcome visitors. Or even tied together into a swag. (You can do this in less than 15 minutes, here's how)

Don't have evergreen trees? You can use simple sticks and jute twine to make this rustic star ornament like my southern friend, Stacy, from Stacy Makes Cents shared on her Facebook page this week. Easy, essentially free, and festive

9 ways to have a frugal pioneer Christmas like Laura Ingalls. I love these! The Little House series was one of my favorites and this captures what made that time so special. Plus, there's some cute ideas made with things you'd already have on hand!

We have a grape arbor and after pruning the vines, I nailed three nail on a piece of wood in a triangle shape and twisted the vines around it, making two triangles. After they dried, it took about 3 weeks, I used jute twine (can I just say jute twine is a pioneer homesteader's best friend. I use that stuff everywhere) to tie the two stars together, making a star of David.

I took a strand of clear white lights and wrapped them just around the outside edge of the star for our front door. It's on our front door right now, but I feel in love with it, so it's going to have a permanent residence in our living room afterwards. And from ya'll's response on Instagram, you loved it as much as I do. Ain't nothing more pioneer than taking something you'd throw away and turning into something usable and beautiful. 

One thing the pioneers really knew the importance of was one another. You needed other people to help you when things went wrong or to simply enjoy one another's company. It got lonely out on the prairie or up on the mountain tops.

Today we don't normally go long periods of time without seeing other humans, but I will dare to argue we do go longer periods of time than we should without truly connecting with them. We have our phones on, the television on, we're rushing from one thing to the next. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying any of these things are bad. This homestead girl uses her phone quite a bit.

But I am saying Christmas is a time to set those things aside and really connect with those we care about. We're so busy right now that I considered not doing a special Christmas concert in our home town. There's tickets to purchase and it's an evening out.

What do you remember the most from year's past? For me, it's the things we did together. Not the presents we got. 

We're going to go to the concert. Make a memory together. Do something together with those you love. It doesn't have to be big, often time the pioneers just shared a meal, conversation, and Pa's fiddle. (all my Little House fans will appreciate that).

The pioneers hung their actual stockings on the mantle. They often had an orange in the toe. Back then, an orange was considered a very special treat, especially in the frozen North. Today we have them on every grocery shelf all year long. Can you imagine a piece of fruit being so special?

Turn an old sweater into a stocking! Perfect way to recycle and repurpose something into a Christmas gift or decoration. Love this old-fashioned look and I'm hitting up the thrift stores!

In Laura's day, an orange, a penny, and a stick of candy was considered a bountiful Christmas.

Today we have pretty stocking, not the ones we wear on our actual feet, but that doesn't mean they can't be done pioneer style by re-purposing an old sweater into one. Here's how to take an old sweater and turn it into a stocking or 5 other awesome gifts. 

The pioneers concentrated on what was truly important, celebrating the birth of Jesus and love for their family. They planned for months to make a simple gift. Usually you only got one gift and you appreciated it.

That's my desire for myself, my family, and yours this season. To enjoy the gifts we've been given and learning what really matters.

More Recipes and Tips to Live Like the Pioneers

  • Old Fashioned Ginger Water
  • Vinegar Pie – Old Fashioned Recipe From Ma Ingalls
  • Fried Apples & Onions Recipe Just Like Mrs. Wilder Used to Make
  • 5 Frugal Tips from Ma Ingalls and the Pioneers

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Filed Under: Crafts, Frugal Living, Homestead-Life

Melissa Norris

Melissa K. Norris inspires people's faith and pioneer roots with her books, podcast, and blog. Melissa lives with her husband and two children in their own little house in the big woods in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. When she's not wrangling chickens and cattle, you can find her stuffing Mason jars with homegrown food and playing with flour and sugar in the kitchen.

Read more about Melissa

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Comments:

  1. RC

    December 7, 2015 at 12:56 am

    Hi, there! Merry almost Christmas.

    Your article brought back memories of my childhood Christmas. We actually used my dad’s work socks (the ones you would make “sock monkeys” out of) for our Christmas stockings. We also got an orange in the toe of our socks! I’m not sure where that tradition originally came from, but I’m of mostly Scandinavian heritage. (Some English/Scot).

    Thanks for your articles and especially thanks for the memories!

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      December 7, 2015 at 3:50 am

      Merry Christmas, RC!!

      I love hearing the story about the work socks. My husband wears them. What wonderful memories you have, thanks for sharing them with us.

      Reply
  2. Anita

    7 years ago

    this is great- thanks! i will be sharing on my FB group Christian Homeschooling Homesteaders- many of us love Laura and ‘Little House’ inspiration 🙂

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      7 years ago

      Thanks, Anita! I think Laura inspired a lot of us.

      Reply
  3. Esther

    6 years ago

    To the barn yard from the parry!

    Reply
  4. Mary

    5 years ago

    I can imagen because, every Christmas I got oranges and nuts for Christmas. Only this year ( and I am 74) did I learn how poor my grandparents who raised me were. They never sleeped in a real bed till they were 70 years old, nor did my parents and their siblins.

    Reply
  5. Carol L

    December 4, 2017 at 3:50 am

    I only got 4 things, not 9 :
    The pioneer’s used what they had on hand to decorate.
    One thing the pioneers really knew the importance of was one another.
    The pioneers hung their actual stockings on the mantle.
    The pioneers concentrated on what was truly important

    The article is fleshed out with ideas of how to accomplish each number.

    Did I miss something?

    4 GREAT ideas, though!!

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      5 years ago

      Hi Carol, I was counting the suggested ways to make your own items such as the homemade ornaments, making your own wreath and the grape vines for the star, the fabric ornaments, etc. The making a memory by doing something together was another and the re-purposing articles. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Noel

    November 28, 2018 at 5:42 am

    I was not able to access the free e-book can you please send me a link. Thank you so much fir your help.

    Reply

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