The day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) marks the official start of holiday decorating in my household, but it’s also a tempting time to buy new decor on sale. But are Black Friday deals on Christmas decor actually that good? For big-ticket items like artificial trees, yes — the Black Friday deals we see on Christmas trees are hard to beat. But what about other decor like ornaments, inflatables, and lights?
Honestly, the best time to save on Christmas decorations is after Christmas. That’s when stores like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s mark stuff down by 70% – 90% during their after-Christmas clearance sales to get rid of holiday inventory. But there’s usually not much left to choose from after the holiday.
That’s why shopping for holiday decor during Black Friday sales can be a good happy medium. I dug into all the best Black Friday deals we’ve seen in the past and came up with a few tips to guide your shopping trip — plus the deals to shop now!
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Christmas Decor Sales Happening This Week:
Here’s your cheat sheet for the best sales we’re tracking right now.
- 70% off Christmas trees at Michaels
- 60% off a 7.5-foot Christmas tree at Home Depot
- 50% off Christmas at Hobby Lobby (in stores and online)
- 50% off Wondershop Christmas trees at Target (Nov. 24 only)
- $39 Pre-Lit 6.5-Foot Christmas trees at Walmart.com
- Fresh Christmas trees as low as $44 at Lowe’s (in-store only)
- $5 inflatables at Dollar Tree (4-foot)
Best Black Friday Deals on Christmas Decor:
Christmas Trees
Related: Jump to even more Black Friday Christmas tree deals we’re tracking this week.
Inflatables & Outdoor
Lights & Ornaments
Home Decor
1. Black Friday Christmas decor deals typically start the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Use the Black Friday week schedule to your advantage by comparing Christmas decor deals across all the big retailers. The sales at Michaels, Kohl’s, Target, and Hobby Lobby will be the first to arrive on the weekend before Thanksgiving, with Lowe’s and Home Depot waiting until Thanksgiving Day to launch their Black Friday deals online.
So your best bet is to practice a little patience (if you can!) and wait until Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday to actually pull the trigger on your decor purchases.
TIP: Download The Krazy Coupon Lady app and we’ll help you track all the Black Friday prices in real time!
Here’s a quick list of the sale dates this year:
- Lowe’s Black Friday: Early deals Oct. 26 – Nov. 22; main sale Nov. 23 – 29
- Home Depot Black Friday: Early deals Nov. 2 – 22; main sale starts Nov. 23
- Hobby Lobby Black Friday: Online Nov. 19 – 25; In-store Nov. 20 – 25
- Kohl’s Black Friday: Main sale Nov. 19 – 24
- Michaels Black Friday: Main sale Nov. 17 – 25
2. Aim to save at least 60% on pre-lit artificial trees.
It’s a little hard to compare Christmas tree deals on your own, given that most of them aren’t on sale year-round. But don’t be fooled by the “exclusive” prices you’ll see advertised. Focus on the percentage-off savings and the price-per-foot to spot the best Black Friday Christmas tree deals.
Basically, you should aim to save 60% – 66% on artificial trees during Black Friday sales, no matter the size.
As for the price per foot, aim to pay around $9.50 – $15 per foot of height for pre-lit trees over 7 feet tall.
TIP: Target Black Friday deals tend to have a lot of good deals on artificial trees under 7 feet tall. Expect to pay around $5 per foot with the best Target tree deals.
3. Lowe’s typically has the best deals on Christmas lights and ornaments (as low as $0.03 per light and $0.30 per ornament).
Christmas lights get the biggest discounts after Dec. 25, but if you need them sooner than that, you’ll still find a few deals to save 25% – 50%. The Dollar General Black Friday sale happens on Thanksgiving Day, and usually marks down all Christmas lights and Christmas ornaments by 50%.
But the better Christmas light deals are typically at Lowe’s. Even though you’re saving only 25% to 46%, the cost per light or per ornament is cheaper (around $0.03 per light or $0.30 per ornament).
4. Kohl’s, Lowe’s, and Home Depot have some of the lowest prices for inflatables.
Last year Kohl’s marked down all inflatables by 60% for Black Friday, but their regular prices are kinda high (around $99.99). At Lowe’s and Home Depot, you’ll see “exclusive” Black Friday prices on inflatables rather than markdowns.
To compare the cost of inflatables across stores, it helps to calculate the cost per foot of height. Expect to pay anywhere from $4.97 – $11.29 per foot of height at Lowe’s and Home Depot. And the Kohl’s deals usually fall somewhere in between.
5. Look for savings of at least 50% on stockings, tree skirts, poinsettias, and home decor.
While Target usually has a tempting 30% off sale on Hearth & Hand Magnolia Decor starting on Thanksgiving Day, we like to aim for savings of at least 50% – 60% on Christmas decor during Black Friday.
And getting discounts that high is totally possible at Hobby Lobby, where all the holiday decor gets marked down by 50% off during Black Friday week. And the in-store doorbuster deals on fresh poinsettias at Home Depot and Lowe’s will also save you 50% – 60%.
TIP: You can also shop Dollar General’s Thanksgiving Day sale for tree toppers and tree skirts for 50% off (as low as $2.50 – $3 each), but the quality might not be as high as you’d get at other stores.
6. Wait for after-Christmas sales to save 70% – 90% on next year’s decor.
Here’s the thing: it’s likely a given that you’re shopping for Christmas decor before Christmas. But for the most part, you’ll get the very best deals if you wait until after Christmas. Prices start dropping on Dec. 26, and the deals get even better (like up to 90% off) by January. That’s when stores desperately need to clear the shelves for Valentine’s Day merch.
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