Woodworking For Dummies
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Garland is an inexpensive Christmas decoration that's easy to make. Your homemade garland can be simple or fancy, depending on what you use. It's a fun craft project for the whole family to work on, and a great way to start off the holiday season.

Homemade Christmas Garland

Play some Christmas music, clear off a work table, and gather your material:

Small decorative items such as faux leaves, flowers, berries, popcorn, ornaments, beads, nuts, shells, tube-shaped pasta

Needle

Florist paddle wire, thread, and/or monofilament (or fishing line)

Floral tape

Scissors

Small nail or thumbtack

  1. Punch holes in the materials you’re going to use for the garland with a nail or thumbtack.

    Punch the holes at the top of the items for layered garland, or punch holes at the opposite ends of the items to string them end to end.

    For items that are soft (such as popcorn) or items that already have holes in them (such as macaroni and beads), no hole punching is necessary.

    To thread hard objects, such as seashells or nuts, use a power drill with a small bit to drill holes for threading.

  2. String your items together.

    If you want to string your items together end to end, thread a needle with monofilament or thread and then string the items, weaving in and out of the punched holes.

    For beads, popcorn, berries, or any items that you don’t want to string end to end, simply string the items together and knot the ends close to last item. Cut the thread or monofilament approximately 12 inches from the tied knot.

    To make garland out of evergreen, herbs, or flowers, make a small grouping of flowers and wrap paddle wire tightly around the stems. Add staggered groupings of flowers, wrapping them with wire as you go. Finish by wrapping the last stems with wire and then taping them together with floral tape.

Drape garland on banisters, around chandeliers, on mantels, or on ceilings. You can also try finding other interesting places, such as windows or mirrors, to drape a swag of garland or two.

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