When Christmas Decor Actually Goes on Sale (Save This)

I bought a wreath in early November one year, hung it on my front door, felt very accomplished about it — and then walked past the exact same wreath three weeks later for half of what I paid. I stood there in the aisle doing math I did not want to be doing! That was the year I started actually paying attention to when stores mark things down instead of just buying when the mood hit me.

It took me a few seasons of watching to figure out the pattern, mostly because every store does it completely differently. So I finally wrote it all out, and this is the thing I keep pulled up on my phone from about September on. Save it somewhere, because the whole trick is knowing which week you’re in!

1. September through October: Hobby Lobby starts cutting

This is the one that surprises people. Hobby Lobby puts Christmas out ridiculously early (I’ve seen trees up in July), and they also start discounting it early. Their Christmas sections go on a rotating percent-off schedule, and by September you can usually catch a chunk of it at 30% or 40% off while the store is still fully stocked.

That combination — good selection and a real discount — doesn’t happen again all year! By December you’ll get a bigger percentage off, but you’ll be picking through what’s left. So if there’s something specific you want (a particular ribbon, a color story you’re building around, ornaments you need a matching set of), September and October at Hobby Lobby is where I do it. Hobby Lobby tip that has saved me more than once: if your store doesn’t have it, order it online. The sale usually applies there too!

2. November: the dead zone (mostly)

November is when everyone else finally puts Christmas out, and it’s when almost nothing is genuinely on sale. Prices are at their highest because demand is at its highest. This is my wreath mistake month.

The exception is Black Friday, and honestly the Black Friday Christmas deals are hit or miss. Lights and pre-lit trees do get real discounts. Small decor mostly doesn’t — it just gets a sign that says “sale” on top of a price that hasn’t moved. I have absolutely been fooled by the sign!

3. Early December: Hobby Lobby keeps stepping down

While everyone else is holding, Hobby Lobby just keeps going. By the first couple weeks of December their Christmas is deep into markdown territory, and this is the sweet spot for filler — greenery picks, bottle brush trees, floral stems, the little things you always end up needing more of once you start actually decorating.

I do most of my “oh, that mantel needs one more thing” shopping right here!

4. December 26th: big box drops off a cliff

Target and Walmart hold their prices right up until Christmas is over, and then it’s like a switch flips. The 26th is usually 50% off, and then it steps to 70%, then 75%, then 90% over the following week or two as they clear the floor space for Valentine’s Day.

If you can only shop one day of the entire year, make it the 26th or 27th! That’s when the good stuff is still there and it’s already half off. By the time it hits 90% you’re looking at three dented boxes and a sad reindeer.

5. The week after Christmas: Michaels finally gives in

Michaels is the one that makes you wait. They tend to hold their Christmas pricing much longer than Hobby Lobby does, and then they go hard after the holiday. It’s the opposite strategy, and if you’re used to the Hobby Lobby rhythm it will drive you a little crazy!

So my rule is: Hobby Lobby for the fall, Michaels for the aftermath.

6. January: buy the tree

This is the big one. An artificial tree is the most expensive thing most of us buy for Christmas, and it’s the thing that goes down the most after Christmas. A 7.5 ft pre-lit tree or a 7 ft Dunhill fir in January costs a fraction of what it does in November, and a tree is not a trend purchase — it’s going to look exactly the same in eleven months.

Same for lights. Buy your replacement strands now, while they’re cheap, instead of in a panic next December when half a strand is out!

7. What to buy full price anyway

I don’t want this to turn into “never buy anything until it’s discounted,” because some things genuinely won’t be there later.

Buy it now if: it’s from a small shop or a limited collection, it’s a specific color you’re matching to something (ribbon especially — the good ribbon sells out first and never comes back in the same shade), it’s your tree topper or your stockings, or you need it this year and waiting means going without.

Wait every time for: plain glass ball ornaments, gift wrap and bows, tinsel garland, generic red-and-green novelty anything, and storage. None of that is scarce. It will be sitting there at 80% off, I promise!

8. Have somewhere to put it before you go

Here is where people (me, I mean me) get into trouble. You come home from a 75%-off haul with four bags of ornaments and no plan, and then in July you find a crushed box in the garage!

So before clearance week, I get the containers ready. Big clear latching bins are what I use for everything bulky — clear so I’m not opening five boxes looking for one garland. For ornaments I want the compartments, either an ornament box with removable trays or a divided keeper that holds 72, because loose ornaments in a tote is how you end up with glass dust, y’all.

The rest of my clearance-week kit: a rolling tree bag (the wheels are the whole point — a boxed tree is heavy), a wreath storage bag for anything too detailed to squeeze into a hard case, and light storage reels so next year’s strands come out untangled. Storage itself also goes on clearance in January, which is very convenient timing.

One last thing, and it’s the rule I break the most: only buy it on clearance if you’d have bought it at full price. An 80%-off garland you don’t love is not a deal, it’s a box in your garage.

If you score something amazing this year, post it on instagram and tag me @sugardesignco — I want to see the deals, and I want to know which store you got them from!

-Ciera

Made something with this? Tag me @sugardesignco — I love seeing them.