How to Hang Garland: Step-by-Step Guide

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Yes, it’s that time of year again—time to transform your home into a magical wonderland full of holiday cheer. There’s no doubt that decorating is one of the best parts of the season—in fact, 42% of Americans agree that decorating for the winter holidays is one of their favorite things to do each year!

So how will you decorate this year? One must-have is festive Christmas garland made of fresh, fragrant evergreens. We suggest hanging it on the stairway banister and on your fireplace mantel–here’s how:

The Stairway Banister

Adding fresh garland to your stairway banister creates an elegant and festive look, bringing the classic spirit of Christmas to your home. You will need at least five medium-sized white or clear zip ties, garland, scissors and bows.

• Measure your banister and choose between a 12’ or 20’ garland–you will want more garland than the length of your banister.

• At one end, wrap one zip tie around both the garland and the banister at the bottom of the stairway.

• Tighten the zip tie so that it is securely in place.

• Cut off any excess plastic from the zip tie using scissors.

• Arrange the Christmas greens so the zip tie is no longer visible.

• Repeat that process at the top of the banister with the other end of the garland, leaving the center of the garland hanging.

• Find the center point of the garland and tie that to the middle of the banister with another zip tie.

• Find the center point in between each draping and tie that area of garland to the banister using two more zip ties.

Select a beautiful bow—ProFlowers offers garland kits, which include red, red and green plaid or candy cane-striped bows. You can also purchase the garland on its own and choose to use your own bow in another color, like burlap, gold or silver—really any color or combination of colors would be stunning.

Our bows have wire on the back to easily tie them to the garland. If you choose your own bows, you can glue or string in a decorative twisty tie to the back. Approximately four inches away from the zip tie, wrap the wire (or twisty tie) around the garland securely in place. Another option is to simply tie the bow directly around the garland.

You can also take a string of mini Christmas lights—white or multi-colored—and weave them around the garland for an enchanting presentation.

The Mantel

Decorating the mantel for Christmas is essential to creating a warm, festive, homey environment for the season. Here’s how:

• Attach several clear or white removable hooks evenly spaced on top of the mantel.

• Securely tie fishing wire around the garland to align with the hooks.

• Tie the other end of the fishing wire around the hooks tightly, so the garland is hanging in front of the mantel in a draping effect.

• Attach a bow at each hook so the hooks are not visible.

• The fresh garland is lovely on its own, but you can also add other embellishments, like miniature ornaments, Christmas lights or bows.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s definitely time to start putting up the Christmas decorations—just like 73% of Americans who start decking the halls before or immediately after Thanksgiving. Fresh garland is a way to really liven up the Christmas mood in the home, and also bring in that classic Christmas smell we all love so much.