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5 tips for the perfect Christmas Garland

Every year I get comments asking how I hang my garland, how I get it to look so full, and where I found it! So, I thought I would share my top 5 tips for the perfect Christmas Garland today.

silver and grey christmas decor

1st tip – Start with one of those cheap super bendy faux garlands. You know the ones we have all had around forever before they started making really quality faux garlands. I find the more realistic looking garlands aren’t as flexible or wired the same way as the cheap ones, so I like to start out with that kind to get the shape I want. Don’t worry we are going to cover it up! Here’s a shot of the back of my garland so you can see what I mean. You can also see the battery pack from the battery operated lights I wound throughout it.

5 christmas garland tips

Tip 2 – Floral wire and nails. I use nails every year to hang my garland because I like my garland nice and full. This thing gets heavy and those command strips wouldn’t be up for the task. I have a rustic mantel so it’s not a big deal to add more nail holes to my beam, but I actually used these same tiny white nails at our old house. We had a white mantel with moulding and I very carefully tapped these nails right under the top piece of moulding and left them there all year round. You never even saw them the rest of the year. Once you have your nails secure, loop the floral wire around the garland, and then wrap it around the nails several times.

Christmas garland tips

Tip 3 – Add faux or fresh greens. For the past few years, I have added fresh greens that I’ve clipped from my backyard to make the garland look realistic. This year I decided to try using several faux garlands to get the same look so I didn’t have to deal with the dry pine needles all over my house. So yes, this entire garland is fake and mess free! If you do use real greens, mist with a spray bottle occasionally to prolong their life.

Christmas garland tips

Tip 4 – Cut your faux garland up if need be. This garland has 3 different garlands wrapped together. They are 6 ft, but my mantel is a little over 6 ft long. To stretch my garlands further so I could get that swag look, I cut them into several pieces so I could stick them here and there. Then I could get the shape and look I wanted vs. trying to wind them all together. You can always wire them back together again if you want to use them differently the next year. All the gold leaves you see were snipped off of a garland and added in individually.

Christmas garland tips

Tip 5 – Finish it off by wiring in ornaments, floral picks, sticks from the yard, anything you want to get the look you are after. I added some silver and grey ornaments to my garland this year. Oh and those stockings? I looped those right on over one of the bendy cheap branches of the first garland.

Silver Reindeer Christmas rustic fireplace mantel

I hope you all found my top 5 tips for the perfect Christmas garland helpful. Also, check out some of my mantels over the years below! I linked all of the garlands I used in my source list, so just click on the bold work to take you to the item!

SOURCES  (contains affiliate links) –

Candelbra – Target

Mirror – Wayfair

Reindeer – HomeGoods

Stockings – HomeGoods

Garland – Hayneedle

Garland – Hayneedle

Garland – Hayneedle

Christmas Mantel 2017

white christmas mantel

Christmas Mantel 2016 (My mom’s house)

quilt block Christmas Mantel

Christmas Mantel 2015

Christmas mantel red and white

 

Christmas Mantel 2014

A room filled with furniture and a fireplace

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11 Comments

  1. So very beautiful! I enjoyed looking at everything and I will try my hand at “sprucing up” my garland this season with your tips. I can’t wait to get started!!

  2. After I saw your story on Instagram I went out and bought some various realistic faux picks to add to my garland. I even added some faux magnolia stems. It turned out so well! Thank you for the idea and tips, it is my best garland yet (I also did it on my stairs as well).

  3. Kelly, your holiday mantel is magical! Thanks so much for all the useful tips and source list. Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family.

    1. Amazing to see how versatile all those garlands are, the natural golden tipped leaves really add a lot of warmth and homespun nature! thanks for the instruction!

  4. Thx for the tips Kelly. Very helpful! It looks beautiful! Are your stockings the actually stockings you fill, or are they just for show? They look like they having stuffing in them or something?? So pretty! Handmade??

    1. Hey Lisa – I hide the stocking stuffers until the night before Christmas and then I take these stockings down and fill them :) I stuffed plastic bags in them for now so they look full. They were from HomeGoods

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