TUTORIAL: EASY Steps to Take Your Christmas Mantel Garland from Basic to Beautiful!

In last week’s Christmas Home Tour (HERE), I chatted a lot about repurposing and reinventing my decor from year to year. I try to work with a few basic essentials that I can personalize each year which, 1. cuts down on cost; 2. cuts down on storage space (let’s face it though, holiday decor will always take up a ton of space!); and 3. gives me the ability to approach each season as a blank canvas for creativity. And with my repeat decor that I haul out each year, one of my favorite projects is concepting and “building out” our Christmas mantel garland. Today, I’m sharing my step-by-step process from hanging the garland, to placing that final touch before calling it “done”.

*This post is written in partnership with Maurices; as always, all opinions, concept, and creative are my own. Posts on KelleyNan.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.

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Step 1. Put Yourself in the Holiday Spirit

Light a holiday candle, put on the Christmas tunes, fix a winter cocktail, turn on Hallmark movies, and put on something festive! Whatever it is that gets you feeling those holiday vibes, do that so you set the stage to enjoy your annual seasonal decorating, instead of treating it like a chore. Over the past few years, I’ve been all about plaid in my Christmas decor and the same goes for my holiday outfits — you may have caught a glimpse of last year’s framed Christmas card in my home tour 😉 Today in my tutorial, I’m wearing Maurices — head to toe — and while I’ve dressed it up a little with this black and red plaid drapey jacket, I’m keeping it totally comfy with leggings and duck boots on the bottom. And seriously, how fun are these boots?! Since swiping a few pretties for the season, I keep revisiting and Maurices continues to host sales, on top of their already affordable pieces. NOTE: Maurices is running their Black Friday Sale and as of this morning, everything is 40% off! Currently, these boots — are on sale for  $32.94! Here are a few duck boots I saw and loved.

And from shackets to jackets, here are a few of my favorite new plaid releases…

I ordered this layered necklace and had lots of questions about it when I was wearing it a couple weeks ago in Instagram stories… more questions than what I was actually talking about, haha. It did sell out pretty quickly, but they have a few other dainty layered necklaces and bracelets here…

So, once you feel like the holidays, taste the holidays, and smell the holidays, what’s next?

Step 2: Invest In a Piece of Christmas Mantel Garland

There are some beautiful garlands out there, dressed in all kinds of ornaments and glitz. But, if you enjoy mixing up your Christmas decor, changing colors and themes, and personalizing your garland each year to coordinate with your motif, switching garlands each year can get expensive quickly. It also limits your own creativity with what has become one of my favorite decorating projects. Instead of opting for a fully embellished garland, I use the same piece of green garland each year, adding to it to make it something unique and special.

You can add as much or as little as you like, but here are some of the qualities I like for my inexpensive greenery (from Costco).

1. It’s pre-lit. The warmth of the bulbs matches the same warmth of my Christmas tree lights and I have the same garlands strung together along the banister. While mine does have remote control settings, also, and can turn from white to colored lights, that’s an unnecessary extra.
2. The length covers my full mantel, plus some, so I don’t have to use more than one piece.
3. It’s full. While you can make even the skimpiest pieces of garland look great, I love that even in the years I want to be more minimalistic, I don’t have to do a lot to make it look substantial.
4. It has different types of branches, and even a few pinecones scattered in. I think this is one of the most important keys to making your basic garland look more expensive. It has a mix of the wiry branches, rubber needled branches, and even some fluffier branches.

Bottom line — find yourself a garland that is basic, but could stand on its own, also. That being said, with the steps below, I still believe you can make even the thinnest, most sparse strands of greenery look great with a little TLC!

Layered Gold Bracelet  (sale price: $10.14)

Step 3: Hang Your Christmas Mantel Garland

When our home was built, we had the builder install an outlet behind the tv (as well as a conduit for any cables that would need to be run, out of sight, to the inside of the bottom right cabinet. If you don’t have an easy power source, you can use wire twinkle lights that run off batteries ;). The TV is pulled out slightly so  you can see the ugly cords (*makes mental note to tidy those up, haha) and surge protector in the back.

Plaid Jacket (sale price: $29.94) | Sheer Black Collared Top (sale price: $17.94) | Leggings (sale price: $9.00) | Duck Boots (sale price: $32.94) | Layered Gold Necklace (SIMILAR) (sale price: $8.70) | Layered Gold Bracelets (sale price: $10.14) | Black Glitter Hoop Earrings (sale price: $8.94)

You can run the garland straight across the mantel, or do a swoop — last year, we did a “barely there” swoop; this year, I wanted to go just a little deeper to provide easier access to the soundbar and TV receiver path. If you’re using plug-in garland, make sure your placement is on the correct side, closest to power.

Step 4: Fluff Your Christmas Mantel Garland

Once your mantel garland is in place, go ahead and get it fluffed by pulling all the branches out. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but much like a Christmas tree, you just don’t want them matted down. Here’s a look of our greenery, in its most basic form, hung and ready to go.

Step 5: Place Your Stocking Hooks

Why do I place my stocking hooks after I hang the garland, when the hooks are technically underneath the garland? I like to have the greenery in place so I can determine placement of the stockings — both in location and in how close I want them to each other. Instead of using traditional stocking hooks, I use these gold clamp-style hooks so they don’t compete with the strand of garland. You can also use command hooks — again, on the mantel surface — which work way easier on wooden mantels. Even with our stone, I’ve successfully used this method and the greenery does help to hold them in place — I just wouldn’t fill them while they aren’t totally secure 😉

Step 6: Hang Any Additional Garland Strands

This is actually my first year hanging additional strands of garland but with so many options — from pom poms to bells to beads — I couldn’t resist adding some additional drapey strands.

Here’s an example of wood bead garland that I wove into the the main greenery, running along the sideboard in the breakfast nook…

Step 7: Add Additional Greenery

This is the part where I think it really starts getting fun. I pointed out in Step 2 that I love my greenery for the fact it has diverse branches, already attached. But, I like adding more greenery. Depending on the vibe of the rest of your decor, you can add eucalyptus, pine… really anything! And not just that — you can mix in some live greens, too! In the past, I’ve incorporated live cedar but it tends to get dry and a little messy. It does hold its green pretty well, though. Also — this goes without saying but anything above or around your fireplace is a potential fire hazard. Keep that in mind as you decorate your mantel and only do what feels comfortable. If you have a lot of fires in your fireplace, you may want to skip the crispy greens and nix any deep draping. Here in Georgia, my favorite greens to use are live magnolia branches and leaves. This beefy, leafy tree lasts (especially if you preserve the branches, though I did not) and really makes a statement. I also added in a few springs of faux cedar that I cut off of some cheap stems from the craft store.

Step 8: Embellish the Christmas Mantel Garland

Once your stockings are in place, your extra strands are hanging, and your greenery is set, it’s time to start incorporating some personal touches. There are tons of options from glittery picks and ornaments to fruit and flowers. To accompany my tree theme, I stuck to sprigs of blueberries — which I cut from larger branches and have used for a few years now…

Layered Bracelet (sale price: $10.14)

I clustered some together in larger “moments” and then sprinkled a few smaller clusters throughout. Again, don’t forget the sides of your garland and the bottom of the swag. I also try to stab any picks or sprigs in in the direction of the branches, in the way they are laying and angled.

Step 9: Add the “Cherry” on Top!

Add the final touches — the last embellishment — to your almost-finished-Christmas-mantel-garland! For me, that was incorporating a few gold pears that I gilded with some Rub N Buff. (It’s so easy and I’ll be sharing just how quick and simple it is in Instagram stories!)

I didn’t go crazy — as a matter of fact, there are only three placed throughout the entire garland.

Step back and enjoy your creation! If something doesn’t look quite right, you can always make a quick switch or addition; at this point, I determined one side needed a few more berries, made the adjustment, and declared the mantel garland “done!”

Soon, I’ll have a little elf helper in training 😉 Eliza has been so curious about the Christmas decor but has done really well with it all. I think she got most of it out of her system when we set up the first two trees in the dining room (HERE), when we used it as an opportunity to teach her. I couldn’t resist a little “mommy and me” matching moment with our red plaid and buffalo check 😉

Plaid Jacket (sale price: $29.94) | Sheer Black Collared Top (sale price: $17.94) | Leggings (sale price: $9.00) | Duck Boots (sale price: $32.94) | Layered Gold Necklace (SIMILAR) (sale price: $8.70) | Layered Gold Bracelets (sale price: $10.14) | Black Glitter Hoop Earrings (sale price: $8.94)

Proof that you don’t have to spend hundreds on a statement garland — just a little time and creativity 😉 Plus, you get the benefit of having a unique creation, all your own…

… giving you the flexibility to coordinate your tree with your garland, year after year.

As a side note, and as weird as it may seem for face masks to be considered “gifts” (#2020), I got a few of these plaid masks for the holiday season and they are so comfortable. They’re lightweight, breathable, and have adjustable ear straps — they even have a nose piece to help secure them. Here are a few other pairs with plaid prints included, perfect for the holidays.

Are you motivated to try something new over your fireplace this year? Best of luck getting your house holiday-ready, and don’t forget to take the time to enjoy enjoy the comfort of — what has become even more sacred this year — your home.

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Fit-for-Holiday Masks (all on sale for 40% off)

Plaid Shackets & Jackets (all on sale for 40% off)

Duck Boots (all on sale for 40% off)

Dainty Layered Jewelry (all on sale for 40% off)

Other Christmas Posts You May Be Interested In

• 2020 Christmas Home Tour
• How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Ribbon
• How to Flock a Christmas Tree