18 Christmas Garland Ideas
When it comes time to decorate your home for the holiday season, using Christmas garlands is one festive way to bring the season into your home.
Using classic evergreen garlands will add a traditional touch, but there are many other festive ways to make garlands for Christmas trees, staircases, mantels and more. Here are 18 creative garland making ideas to inspire you.
My Christmas decorations don’t have to be fancy or expensive, in fact I love when I see some innovative twists on basic holiday decorations, they inspire me to come up with something new for my Christmas tree each year.
Holiday garlands can be more fun to make as an adult than it was as a child making garlands out of construction paper.
Making a homemade garland is pretty simple and can make for a fun Girls Night In. All you have to do is gather a bunch of garland making supplies, a few bottles of wine, and girlfriends for a fun night of holiday cheer and creativity. Some eggnog and Christmas cookies might help, too.
Christmas Garland Ideas You Can Make
Rolls of Ribbon
The easiest Christmas tree garland to make is simply using festive ribbon. Wrap it around the tree pushing it into the tree every so often to create soft swags.
Make a Christmas Tree Paper Garland Chain
This easy to make tree chain can be made with any paper and is a budget friendly way to decorate a home for Christmas.
Paper Holly Leaf Garland
Instead of a Christmas garland of greenery to drape a cabinet, make a garland out of French script paper and pages from an old book cut into the shape of holly leaves. Both the leaf pattern and a the French script paper are free for you to download.
Styrofoam & Bead Snowball Garland
Thread Styrofoam balls, beads on a string or ribbon. Drape around a tree or swag it over a fireplace mantel or window frame.
Friends & Family Tree Garland
This garland uses recycled Christmas cards to make a Christmas tree garland or to drape over a mantel or doorway.
Pipe Cleaner Garland
Glittered or sparkly chenille stems aka.. pipe cleaners from the craft store make a very pretty garland that you can use all one color or mix and match different colors to create a fun and colorful garland.
Christmas Staircase Garland in Minutes
No need to wrap long lengths of greenery garlands made of pine or cedar on a staircase when inexpensive garland ties make a quite a festive statement.
Doily Snowflake Garland
Using a paper doily to make a snowflake creates an extra pretty snowflake, but stringing the snowflakes together will have you singing, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow… while you decorate your tree or mantel.
Ribbon as Garlands
Instead of weaving garlands horizontally around a Christmas tree, try adding colorful ribbons vertically using a handy little gadget.
Mini Wrapped Gift Boxes
Look how cute this DIY garland made of little blocks of styrofoam and gift wrap is. Use a needle and string to create the garland. Use beads in between for a colorful present garland.
Necklaces & Game Cards
String vintage necklaces together to create a glamorous garland. You can find them in your grandmother’s jewelry box, thrift stores, flea markets, and on Ebay. No necklaces – how about a Christmas garland of playing or game cards
Scrapbook Paper
A colorful take on the tried and true construction paper loop garland that we used to make as kids into a very stylish one using scrapbook paper or ribbon.
Odds & Ends
Use items from your craft stash and kitchen. Pretzels, pasta, jingle bells… the ideas any of these can be tweaked using your own color palette and style.
Mix and match the elements to see what you can come up with to trim your tree with this year. You can even weave a string of Christmas lights with the garland.
Buttons & String
I am one of those people who cut the buttons off of every old or stained garment before I throw it away.
I have amassed quite a collection and think this button garland would look perfect in a room decorated in whites. Or use buttons in all colors for a multi-color garland.
Peppermint Candy
A sweet garland goes perfectly with the traditional red and green theme, plus it’s edible! Use glue dots to connect them into a garland.
Cupcake Liners
Make a garland out of cupcake liners. It kind of has a Shabby Chic look.
Cupcakes are so popular and you can buy liners in every color and pattern imaginable so you can color coordinate your tree.
Ribbon & Shiny Ornaments
Combine a collection of your favorite tree ornaments into a garland using pretty ribbons. Tie each one on with ribbon to hang as a decorative garland over mantels and doorways – no tree needed.
Outdoor Garland Tips
When using faux garlands bought at the craft store, in this post you will learn how to make them look fluffier and fuller.
Garland Hanging Tips and Tricks
- To store garland tangle-free, carefully wind them around cardboard wrapping paper tubes or cut off a side of a cardboard box and wrap the garland evenly around it.
- Garland has more impact when it is doubled up.
- There are so many ways to hang garland on a tree, but I find I always go with the traditional way of draping it.
I have had this picture of the traditional placement of garland in my idea file for a very long time. I still pull it out every Christmas as a handy guide.
- A few years ago I used dried hydrangeas instead of ribbon bows at each peak of the draped garland. You can use anything, the important thing is that whatever you use is spaced evenly around the tree.
Have you decorated your Christmas tree, staircase or mantel yet? Do you add garland or have any clever garland decorating ideas? I would love to hear all about it. Do share.
More DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas You May Like:
- 42 Christmas Decorating Ideas Done In Minutes
- 7 Christmas Tree Lighting Tips that Will Make the Job Easier
- How to Make a Christmas Tree Topper DIY
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