15 DIY Christmas Garlands That Are Perfect for Decking the Halls

Glass Beads

Whether you go for continuity or attempt a unique pattern, stringing vintage glass beads onto wire makes for an intriguing garland display.

Gift Baskets

Who said stockings were your only mantel decoration option? Switch it up this year and suspend treat-filled baskets from a wooden rod (held in place with festive ribbon!), instead.

Wooden Orbs

When combined with a fresh or faux botanical, wooden beads bring a touch of seasonal farmhouse flair to a neutral living room. Work with a myriad of sizes for visual impact.

Metallic Cedar

Embellished with birds and silver picks, this atlas-cedar garland makes the entrance to the dining room subtly sparkly. To make it, use a drill and 3/16-inch bit to sink pilot holes in ends of branches for screw eyes (measuring 15/8 inches) and hooks (measuring 2 3/5 inches). Screw in hardware and connect the branches as shown. (The top screw eye is used for hanging the garland from molding.) Trim the branches and place them along the birch frame.

Once you reach the desired fullness, wrap floral wire down branch to connect to the birch. (Work in pieces.) Fill in sparse spots in similar fashion as needed. Make the picks: Bunch together 5 or so bay sprigs and ball picks, and use wire to connect floral pick. Repeat as desired. For birds: Snip wire off a floral pick and hot-glue it to the back of a bird. Plant the pick into the garland (wiring to edges, if needed). Screw hooks into the top edge of molding to hang the garland.

Plaster Magnolia Leaf

Delicate plaster magnolia leaves are the showstoppers in this display. After the holidays, remove and store the leaves carefully in tissue paper so you can use them year after year to elevate your fresh greenery.

Craft one of your own by dipping silk leaves in plaster of Paris, then twist them into clusters with floral wire and secure them to a pre-made bay garland dotted with ivory velvet bows. 

Silvered Magnolia and Holly

A traditional green-and-brown magnolia garland goes from graceful to glam with the addition of shiny silver magnolia leaves and holly branches. Start by wiring a pre-made magnolia garland to your banister. Then, spray-paint holly branches and single magnolia leaves silver. Insert magnolia leaves into the garland (wire them if necessary). Wire together holly branches, then wind around the garland.

Cranberry

The best material for stringing cranberry or popcorn garlands is likely sitting inside your medicine cabinet. Waxed floss is strong and slick, so cranberries and popcorn will slide on easily. Knot one end of a piece of floss, thread a needle onto the other, and pierce through the items to slip them on.

Candy Land

Any candy you can pierce, you can make into a garland: Try Swedish Fish, Lifesavers, and gummies of all sorts. Let your little ones arrange the candies and hang their creations where they like. Try wrapping a candy garland around an evergreen-draped banister for a land-of-sweets look, or swag it on a mirror. Avoid the fireplace or other heat sources or the treats might melt. Dental floss and waxed twine are both great for stringing.

Foil Poinsettia

Decorating a mantel in these happy reds and pinks anchors a room—and serves as an ample stand-in if your space (or holiday travel plans) doesn't allow for a large trimmed tree. Evoke this cheerful, sparkling look with something as simple as foil candy cups on pink miniature lights and poinsettias made from metal sheets. Note: Cutting metal will dull your scissors, so use an old pair.

Citrus Fruits

Sparkling copper-mesh tubing, sold online in 100-foot rolls, simplifies garland-building: Cinch it at intervals with thin ribbon and small bunches of bay leaves. To start, open copper-mesh tubing and add fruit one piece at a time. Move pieces of fruit down the tubing, twisting the mesh between the fruit to separate them. For a natural look, add fruits in random order. Continue adding fruits until the garland reaches a desired length. With floral wire, attach small bunches of bay leaves and kumquats between citrus, then add ribbon. Tie the finished garland to the banister with cord or twine.

Crystals

To mimic icy branches, use a saw to cut clear acrylic tubing into 3-inch pieces, then string them on a gray cord with crystalline chalcedony beads.

Pine, Magnolia, and Mesh

Playful garlands of pine boughs, magnolia leaves, and mesh-wrapped silver balls hung loosely around a doorway work like party streamers, setting a festive tone for holiday merrymaking. To start, create strands 3 feet longer than the height of the door frame. Connect pine branches with floral wire. Use glue dots to attach overlapping magnolia leaves. String beads onto silver wire, then slide them on mesh, twisting the mesh around each bead. Knot 8- to 10-inch lengths of silver ribbon at random intervals. Attach the strands to a door frame using monofilament and nails, then weave them together.

Metal

Triangles of thin brass tubing—commonly used for home details such as curtain rods—hang like modern icicles among the branches of a tree. To make this garland, use a permanent marker to mark 2-inch intervals on round tubing. Place tubing into the pipe cutter, aligning its blade with the first marking on the tubing. Tighten the pipe cutter until its blade just touches the tubing. Rotate the tube to score it, tighten the cutter slightly, and rotate again. Repeat until the tubing is cut. Continue cutting more tubing. Thread mason's twine through three tubes, then thread back through the first tube to form a triangle. Repeat this until the garland reaches the desired length.

Ribbons

These garlands, made from ribbon, can be displayed year after year. To make one, measure the length of your mantel, and multiply it by 1 1/4; cut the ribbon to that length. Using a ruler and a pencil, mark the ribbon at regular intervals. (We marked the ribbon every 6 inches for the larger garland.) To create swags, mark a second ribbon at regular intervals, with spaces at least 1 inch greater than that of the first ribbon; leave several extra inches on ends. Make creases on the second ribbon wherever marked. Apply hot glue to the top of the first crease and attach it to the first ribbon where it was marked, holding the crease at a 45-degree angle across the width of the first ribbon. Hold it in place just until the glue sets. Repeat. (For additional swags, repeat step four with more ribbon, and use hot glue to attach swags at creases.) Trim the ribbon ends at an angle.

Card Display

Save scraps of holiday gift wrap and put them to work in a festive greeting card display. Using a glue stick, coat one side of a clothespin and press firmly onto the gift wrap. Cut around the clothespin with a craft knife to trim excess paper; repeat on the other side. To hang a series of clothespins, clip them to a length of ribbon and hang them along a banister or above a mantel or entryway. Pin cards along the ribbon as they arrive.