A Christmas garland hack that will save you a bundle

So this is going to be quick. All three are asleep, and I've got some Christmas wrapping to do. But I just thought I'd pass along a Christmas garland hack to anyone out there who might be in the midst of putting up garland, or for those who already have...and who were like me, not so long ago, thinking "This looks awful".  

Because, unless you're willing to spend a fortune on amazing garland, most garland that you just buy at somewhere like Walmart (where mine was from) looks...well, cheap. And I can say this because I've been putting up cheap looking garland for years now. Sure I'll dress it up with twinkly lights and pretty sparkly Christmas balls...but in the end, in the daylight, it still looks like thin, plastic garland.

SOOO....here is the magical solution. It's super cheap (or FREE to those who have trees around their house), and it takes literally minutes.

You can transform your plain, plastic, thin garland into beautiful, full, real greenery filled garland--and it will look super expensive. But obviously you've paid, well, NOTHING.

So let me go back to how I USED to hang garland. Because I love a good before picture.

So here you have it (pictured above). This is me trying to convince people that this is thick, luscious, beautiful garland--because I've taken two strands of garland and twisted them together.

Then I added some Christmas balls, trying desperately to make that cheap stuff look nice. But, the reality is that it still looks cheap and full of plastic.

So, this year, I decided that I didn't want to hate my garland anymore. So I set out to change it.

And it's as simple as this one little trick:

ADD YOUR OWN REAL GREENERY TO IT.



Nothing magical. Nothing fancy. Just greenery.

Greenery that I happened to cut from my very own tree in my backyard. So free to me. But if you don't have your very own giving tree sitting in your backyard for the sole purpose of stealing greenery from it at Christmas time, you can easily head on over to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy some pre-cut greenery for super cheap and use that instead.

And all you do then is start cutting it into small(ish) pieces, and sticking it into the fake garland that is already up.

Just follow the flow of the plastic garland, and watch in amazement as your cheap, thin, fake stuff transforms into full, luscious, beautiful garland that actually looks real--and looks like you spent a fortune buying real greenery from one of those fancy nurseries. 

 But it didn't cost me a thing.

And if you want to dress it up even further, add some cute stockings, and personalize them by adding glittery letters for each member of your family (bought for only $2 each at Walmart!).  

And then at night, this is where Terry and I sit, with quiet kiddos sleeping above us and sparkly lights shining beautifully all around us. And I LOVE it. 

 So, if you have some garland staring at you right now that is looking a little lifeless...well, give this little garland trick a try.

I promise you, you'll love it.

Happy Christmas decorating everyone.

Erica xo