Natural DIY Christmas Garland to Spruce up Your Home

November 18, 2021

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With six kids, you know Christmas is a big deal at our house! From finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list to traditions like eating seven kinds of fish on Christmas Eve, December is always busy. Decorations are always at the top of the list, and since time is a premium during the holidays, here’s an easy DIY Christmas garland to make your home more inviting and festive this season!

Traditional Christmas Decorations

Christmas greenery goes back way before Christmas even started. Wreaths and laurels were popular in Egyptian times. Ancient countries worldwide used garlands on statues of gods to commemorate their dead and celebrate their victors and heroes.

In early Britain, the English enjoyed decorating with “kissing boughs” to welcome holiday guests. Over the years, these garlands and Christmas wreaths were decorated with fruit, berries, ribbons, and ornaments. Kissing boughs were the early version of the infamous mistletoe decorations.

No one really knows who first started decorating with Christmas garlands, but it’s a fun tradition to continue!

How to Make Homemade Christmas Garland

There are lots of different options available to make your own DIY Christmas garlands. Ancient Egyptians and Tudor England may not have had the dollar store, but today you can use anything from crochet DIY projects to candy canes to make Christmas garland. You’ll find tutorials that use pom-poms, snowflakes, and Christmas lights. While I’m not too big on Christmas crafts (or crafts in general), some festive DIY really helps make a house look homey.

I prefer home decor that looks natural, so I’m sticking with fruits, evergreen garlands, and similar items. It really depends on what you like and what’s on hand. Here are a few ideas for items to use in your DIY Christmas garland.

Decorating Ideas for the DIY Christmas Garland

Dried orange or lemon slices
Cinnamon sticks
Pinecones
Cranberries
Pine or fir branches
Christmas lights
Bay leaves
Eucalyptus leaves
Ribbon
Burlap
Dried flowers
Poinsettias
Holly
Christmas ornaments

DIY Christmas Garland Ideas

If you want to expand your Christmas decor ideas this holiday season, here are some other garland ideas. Nothing says Merry Christmas like DIY Christmas decorations!

Hang Christmas ornaments onto a pine garland or burlap garland.
Cut Christmas trees, bells, Santa hats, or other shapes out of felt. String them together to make a felt garland.
For a kids’ activity, help your little ones cut out paper snowflakes and hang them up with some string or twine for a snowflake garland. You can also use Christmas colors and make the snowflakes out of red and green construction paper instead of white.
Paint some pine cones white, silver, and/or gold. Once they’re dry, tie them onto some twine for a pinecone garland.
If you get a lot of Christmas cards each year, put them to good use! Punch a hole in the top of the cards and hang them from an evergreen garland with some red ribbon.
Make a leaf garland with green crepe paper like this one.

Where to Put Your Homemade Garland

Once you’ve made a DIY Christmas garland, what do you do with it? This depends on the layout of your home, but here are a few ideas for where to hang the garland.

Above the fireplace mantel
On the banister or staircase
Above a doorway
Table centerpiece
As an accent piece on an open wall in the living room
Above a window
On the headboard above your bed
On a large mirror (like an entryway or bedroom)
Around the Christmas tree
Drape it over a shelf
On the front door

Putting it All Together

Garland materials? Check. Place to hang it? Check. The next step is assembly. Some items work best if they’re tied on with twine or jute string, while others need to be threaded on with fishing line. Hot glue and ribbon are also options.

Cranberries, cinnamon sticks, leaves, and dried citrus slices do well with the fishing line and needle method. Pine cones can be tied on with string or fishing line, or whip out the hot glue gun. It’s easy to come up with unique combinations! If you’re looking for some inspiration, here is an easy DIY Christmas garland to make. This is a fun family project and a good way to get the kids involved.

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Natural DIY Christmas Garland

This cozy Christmas garland features natural elements like oranges, cranberries, and pine boughs. Add some Christmas lights or other elements to really make it your own!

Total Time 9 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 oranges
10 cinnamon sticks
pine branches real or artificial
1 bag cranberries

Instructions

Slice the oranges into about 1/4-inch thick pieces. Dehydrate in a dehydrator or in the oven on the lowest setting for several hours or until dry. I dehydrated mine at 170 in the oven for 9 hours.
Thread the needle with the fishing line, knot the end, and pull it through the orange slices, cranberries, and cinnamon sticks. Create your own pattern here! I made a holiday garland with just cranberries as well. You could also make an orange garland without the cranberries.
Tie a secure knot at the end of your garland. The fruit and spices can be hung as is, or you can combine them with the pine branches for a fuller look.
If using real pine branches, arrange the branches so they’re overlapping each other some.
Use pieces of wire (about 3 inches long) to attach the branches to each other. You can make this as thick and as long as you want, depending on your preferences.