Old-Fashioned Natural Garland Ideas
The tradition of decorating for Christmas with garlands has been around for a long, long time. This way of filling out space in what may be an ordinary area of the home has been a way to bring nature indoors to celebrate the season. One of the best ways to brighten a space is to add some green to it, like potted plants or flowers, and in winter the best type of greenery to use is that of gorgeous evergreens.
The use of greenery as decorations in the home can be traced all the way back to primitive celebrations of the winter solstice, when the world celebrates its shortest day and the light begins to return the world again. Evergreens symbolize perseverance to continue on, even when we are at our darkest moments!
christmas garlands in the early usa:
When early settlers arrived to what is now the United States, there was abundant stock of evergreens to choose from such as spruces, firs, and pines. They brought with them their holiday traditions and created garlands to sell for extra funds.
As time passed on, Christmas became a rather elaborately decorated celebration in the mid-nineteenth century. It was declared a legal national holiday only in 1856! How mind blowing is that. Before that date, many journals and diaries of the time period simply find December 25th to be a normal day of mundane chores, which is still true for those that do not celebrate.
The first trends of Christmas time decor came with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who were drawn celebrating around a tabletop tree decorated with ornaments and candles, with toys and gifts underneath. Soon, it was common for swags of greenery to be placed onto mantles, windows, and over doorways. My favorite traditional Christmas decor is in the 1994 version of Little Women, outlining the doorways between rooms!
ideas for natural garlands
Salt Dough. Salt dough is a wonderful way to decorate all over the house! It is so easy to make and lasts for years. These little stars pictured above are our cinnamon salt dough recipe, which can also be made into chocolate salt dough. Click here for the recipe.
Dried Orange Slices. If you want to bring some natural bright and cheery color to your garland making, try using dried orange slices. It is such a peaceful craft to make, and they fill the house with a delicious citrus scent for hours. You can dried any citrus fruit this way, too! While we love the traditional orange slice, a dried grapefruit or lime is really lovely as well.
More Ideas:
Pinecones
Cinnamon Sticks
Greenery
Bay Leaves
Cranberries
Popcorn
Acorns
Magnolia Leaves
Dried Flowers
putting garlands together:
Making up a garland is rather simple, though there are a few tricks to simplify the process. While you can plainly string up your garland as we have done in these photos, you can also create some really gorgeous greenery pieces with floral arranging techniques.
One of the easiest ways to make a wreath or garland is by tying up bunches of greenery and then tying the bunches together. When all of the bunches are tied together, string a piece of floral wire around the length of your garland to hold it all together and give it some shape. Then pull and adjust piece of the greens to give it some fluff!
When in doubt, just give it your best shot. The best way to learn floral techniques? Purchase a natural wreath or garland and deconstruct it. You’ll see exactly how it was put together and feel like such a champ!
What kind of garland will you be making this year?
xoxo Kayla
