DESIGN : Deck the Halls on the Cheap : Local arts and crafts experts offer classes full of tips for trimming trees and festooning holiday regalia without spending a king’s ransom.

Even the cheapest lights, garland and bulbs can ring up a bill of more than $100 just for decorating a Christmas tree. However, there are some economical tips to add to every holiday list.

String up some popcorn and cranberries as garland. Revive chipped and faded ornaments with glitter, paint and ribbons. Showcase the whole tree from one source of light like a spotlight, instead of snaking many strings of lights within it.

“Everyone’s hurt by the economy, so people are asking how to do things cheaply and they’re having so much fun doing it,” said crafts teacher Glenda Reed. “It’s so easy that the children can help.”

For two years, Reed has been teaching Christmas cost-cutting classes at Michael’s arts and crafts store in Tarzana, and in a year classes have more than doubled as people ask how to make low-cost items to hang on the tree.

Those who celebrate Hanukkah come to classes to make elaborate centerpieces with a Jewish theme of blue, white and silver, Reed said. Others come to make presents. She also teaches how to make teddy bear sleighs, cotton snowball people and pine cone wreaths.

“I’ll be making a lot myself this year. I can’t afford it,” said Reed, who is using glitter, sequins and sparkling spray paints to brighten up her plain, faded ornaments.

Candy canes are always great to put in the tree, but Reed suggests they remain wrapped until at least two weeks before Christmas because the candy goes soft. Eucalyptus leaves and preserved cedar used as ornaments on the tree will really make the house smell like the holidays, she said.

For ornaments this year, she is making sugarplum houses out of a cake that’s hardened and lacquered instead of gingerbread, because the cookie only lasts a year while sugarplum can be boxed up and saved, Reed said.

Other projects Reed suggests include making wrapping paper, which can be made out of cellophane, foil and ribbon, or constructing an 18-inch wreath with pine cones, glass figurines, wood, pearl beads and dried flowers for about $25.

Many craft stores are offering special classes for holiday gifts and decorating tips, said Susan Schultz, a member of the Society of Craft Painters and Designers who has directed the crafts teaching programs at Michael’s for the past five years.

“If you’re newly wed or newly unemployed, do what I do and go out on the day after Christmas and buy everything at half-off and then have a big party on New Year’s Eve day for everyone to enjoy it. Everything will be fresh and no one would have seen it until then anyway.”

Schultz, who lives in Canoga Park, said dough ornaments can be made out of flour, water and food coloring for less than a nickel each.

For more money, Michael’s assistant manager Darryl Ishii has seen elaborate door-sized wire and pine cone wreaths made for about $35. He has also seen more people buy ribbons as tree decor for 20 cents to 80 cents a yard. The more expensive ribbon has wire in it for better shaping.

Another popular item in craft shops are clear plastic bulbs that can be filled with tiny teddy bears, candy or confetti. Some people buy the bulbs to fill with mementos or pictures of family members and friends who have died.

“Make your Christmas go with your house colors, too,” Schultz said. “I’m having a Southwestern Christmas because my house is in pastels, peach and turquoise.” She drew coyotes, cactus and other Western themes and her husband cut them out of scrap wood with a jigsaw, and the whole family painted them, she said.

Purples, burgundy and hunter green are other popular colors this season, said Betty Fraley, manager of the Green Thumb Christmas Shop in Canoga Park, where ornaments and live trees are sold.

Finally, Schultz tells her class to properly dispose of their trees in a place that will turn them into firewood or mulch. “You hauled it in, you can haul it somewhere that will help the environment.”

Where to Go Location: Glenda Reed’s and Susan Schultz’s classes at Michael’s Arts and Crafts, 18131 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. Cost: $12 for a three-hour class or $18 to $20 for a two-part six-hour class. Call: (818) 881-7555.