Tutorial: How to Make a Christmas Ornament Garland

I’m sure you’ve seen this idea loads of places, and if I knew how to figure out who came up with it first, I’d gladly link to them. But this was my first year trying a Christmas Ornament Garland, so I thought I’d document the process for you. It is ridiculously easy. So easy, that you must try it.

Christmas Ornament Garland Supplies

• Shatterproof Christmas ornaments. (I got mine at WalMart. They are around $9 for about 41 ornaments.)
• Ribbon or floral wire. (I used 3/8-inch grosgrain ribbon … pros and cons of this choice below.)
• Scotch tape.
• 3M Command Strip Hooks.

Christmas Ornament Garland Instructions

1 – Drape your ribbon across the area you want the garland to hang so you can estimate the amount of ribbon you need. I never cut my ribbon until after the project is complete, just in case I’ve guessed wrong. (I didn’t get a photo of this because holding the ribbon up to judge the drape takes two hands. I swear bloggers need an optional third hand.)

2 – Tape one end of your ribbon into a point so you can slide it through the hanger on your ornament. I really wanted to use a 1-inch satin ribbon so I’d have a pretty bow at either end of the garland, but I couldn’t tape the point small enough to go through the hanger. The alternative is to use floral wire. The bumps in the wire won’t show in your finished garland. If you use floral wire, wrap a washer around either end to hang it from your 3M Command Strip Hooks. You could tie a big bow over the hook to disguise it later.

3 – Add your ornaments to your ribbon or wire, leaving 2 feet of ribbon at either end for tying a bow.  A container of 41 ornaments will give you about 28 inches of garland. The only trick here is to not to push them together too tightly. If you do, the garland will have a permanent curve, instead of gently bending where you want it to. Try to keep the ornaments maybe 1/4 to 1/2-inch apart. Position the ornaments in different directions as you go, although you can move them all around once the garland is hanging.

4 – Affix your 3M Command Strip Hooks following the package directions. Then, tie your ribbon or loop your wire washer over the hook. Tie a pretty bow, or hide the hook with greenery like I did. Tuck any excess ribbon in the ornaments, and you’re done!

On the other side of my mirror, I just tied a loop in my ribbon and hooked that over the corner of the mirror.

I went for a monochromatic look, made more interesting with different textures. But of course, you could choose any color combination. Pack the garlands away and use them year after year!

P.S. See how I made the Christmas Greenery Swag here and see how I styled my dining room in six simple steps here.