Doesn’t Christmas in the recession seem more depressing than fun?

More often than not Christmas shopping and gifts budget is almost impossible to put under control.

So here’s a major treat for your heart: Christmas decorations, gifts and hacks that won’t cost you a penny. And what is more, they all actually look cool!

The tips listed there have three reasons to appeal to you: these things are (1) free, (2) eco-friendly and (3) totally re-usable. So let’s celebrate a green Christmas on a budget this year:

1. Christmas Tree

Glass Bottle Christmas Tree: Do you like drinking bier? Do you prefer glass bottles? Do you know that the fun never stops even when the bottle is empty? Here’s a great idea for you to recycle those green glass bottles into a glamorous tree:

Hard Drives Christmas Tree: This one should appeal to real computer geeks. “In total there are around 70 old SCSI hard drives, between 9gb and 18gb in size each”:

Plastic Bottles Christmas Tree: This hanging Christmas Tree is made of 300 recycled water bottles. The installation looks beautiful casting and reflecting beams of light and thus creating an eye-catching display:

Also be sure to check this post for numerous ideas of less impressive but still 100% eco-friendly Christmas Trees.

Recycled Christmas Decor

This cute snowman made of plastic cups would look great in your house and I am sure your kids will enjoy creating it:

Plastic Bottle Snow Flakes: The author of this artistic design offers to use it as a room divider or a curtain. I think these look like snow flakes and they will definitely contribute to your home Christmas spirit:

Christmas Wreaths

Stay-at-home moms should appreciate this Christmas wreath. It is made of white buttons and looks really nice:

This wreath consists of an old dead power source, an old mouse, an extra power cable, two CDs, and an extra fan cable (by the way, here’s another geeky wreath (and one more) for you if you like this one)…

Christmas Gifts

This “ship in a bottle” motif is a whimsical way to wish your beloved ones happy Christmas. I am sure the one who receives a message like this will never forget it. Wouldn’t you like to make this Christmas special?

This nice candle holder gift made from recycled CDs will take you no more than 10 minutes to create. Just take a couple of old CDs, microwave them for about 5 seconds and add cute candles:

Snow in a jar: all you need is to take a glass jar, attach pieces of a small plastic landscape (available at toy and novelty stores) and fill the jar with water and a sprinkle of glitter. Your kids will be impressed and inspired (oh btw, and here’s a similar concept you may be interested in):

Christmas Lights

Ping Pong LED lights: Has it ever occurred to you that you can turn Ping Pong balls into multi-color fairy lights? Follow these instructables and you will create one!

This “Candelabra” may be too much for your living room but it can be turned into an unforgivable Christmas decoration:

This glowing jar can be used all over the year but on Christmas it can make a killer holiday decoration (oh, and it can be a nice Christmas gift as well). Inside the Sun Jar is a highly efficient solar cell, a rechargeable battery and three low energy LED lamps.

To make these cool wine bottle lights you will need empty wine bottles, a string of Christmas lights, and a drill.

50 plastic cups and 100 multi-color mini-lights are needed to create one sparkle ball. But the result is well worth it: the color and lights effects are impressive:

Credit: Eric Bartholomew via Flickr

It’s that time of year again — that dark, cold, creepy, crawly time of year. Halloween is sneaking up on you. Boo!

The kids will be dressing up in their Halloween costumes. Cute little princesses to scary little monsters, they’ll all be knocking on your door. “Trick or treat!” Will you be ready? Do you have what it takes to have the coolest house this Halloween — the house all the kids will be talking about the next day?

While I can’t imagine why you’d want the best house this Halloween (after all it just means more money spent on candy and more time spent decorating), if you’ve got that competitive spirit here are a few tips for you. Don’t have just another house this Halloween. Have the coolest! Here’s how:

1. Forget those “fun size” candy bars.

Credit: Kelly Gifford via Flickr

Come on. You know it. I know it. All the little kiddies know it. There’s nothing “fun” about a miniature candy bar. Halloween, for kids, is like the ultimate treasure hunt. On one hand it’s a challenge to see how much they can get, and on the other hand it’s about which kid gets the best stuff! You know they sit around comparing their loot later. What will they have to say about your house?

The solution? Go full-size! Yep. Hand out full-size candy bars on Halloween and you’ll be the talk of the town! So few people do that anymore — you’ll be certain to bewitch the hearts of children all around your neighborhood. Yes it can get expensive. Then again, this is a holiday and it’s all for the kids! If you can’t cut it no one’s going to blame you. After all, the economy sucks. We all get it. Then again, bingeing a bit on Halloween can still be more affordable than doing the same on other holidays. If you have to choose one to go all-out on, this is the more affordable option.

Here’s one thing to keep in mind: unless you plan to give out those full-size candy bars next year too, you might want to skip them. You might be the coolest house this year if you give it a go, but you’ll be the biggest disappointment next year if you get the kids’ hopes up and then let them down. Then again, I guess they do ask for a “trick.”

2. Don’t skimp on the Halloween decorations.

Credit: Shane Gorski via Flickr

Kids don’t approach your average McMansion with a porch light on expecting it to be the coolest place on Halloween. Even if you happen to give out great candy, your house might still be pretty forgettable. How can you get around that?

It’s all about building suspense. You want kids to slightly fear you as they approach your home, but still be filled with anticipation. You want a lump to form in their throat. You want them clinging to mommy or daddy’s arm just a wee little bit. The more challenging it is for them to approach your home, the more they’ll feel like they’ve “earned” those goodies you’re giving out — and the less likely it is that they’ll forget you.

How can you spook out your place for Halloween? Certainly don’t neglect the basics — spider webs, grave stones, and some ghoulish (but not too corny) haunted house sounds echoing from around your entry way. But go beyond that if you dare. Consider a realistic (but old fashioned) coffin. How about having someone sit on your porch dressed like a fake scarecrow to turn their hair white with fear when they suddenly “come to life?”

You get bonus points if you have a naturally creepy old house that frightens the locals year-round. In that case, no decorations needed. Creaky front steps and a single dim light on the porch might be more than enough.

3. Play dress up!

Credit: Andrew Beierle via sxc.hu

Is there any bigger let down on Halloween night than when you’ve finally built the courage to approach that incredibly scary house your friends won’t go near, and then the door opens… slowly… slowly… and what do you see? A sweet little old lady in a flowery gown and fluffy slippers saying “Awwww, aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” What?

Don’t be a buzz kill. It’s Halloween people! Dress up. Have some fun. It’s the one night of the year where you can be anyone (or anything) you want to be. The last thing you should want to be is yourself. Let loose. Keep to the theme of your house decorations. If you went for something really scary, play it up and dress up as a ghost, witch, vampire, or other monster guaranteed to incite fear in the younger children and awe in the older ones.

Having the most popular house on Halloween doesn’t have to be difficult. All it takes is a little bit of planning (and okay, a little bit of money). But you can do it! After all, you do want to be the envy of that obnoxious neighbor across the street, don’t do?