25 Days of Christmas - Day 4: Ornament Garland

Day Four - Ornament Garland

In our family, the tree is a big deal, but where you get the tree isn't necessarily as important to us.  This year I had high hopes though!  We planned to visit a local tree farm, cut down our own tree while drinking hot chocolate, singing carols, and skipping hand-in-hand...at least that is how it was supposed to go in my head.  It even started out really well.  My hubby had cookies and coffee ready when we went to pick up the girls from school.  They were so excited to go pick out a tree and bring it home.  We were all laughing and smiling, but then...you know, reality. My two-year-old was screaming because she wanted to take her shoes off, my oldest didn't understand why she couldn't watch YouTube on one of our phones since the drive was taking for.ev.er., freezing rain began to fall, and we were losing daylight quickly.

So, we decided to keep with our idyllic family tradition... choose the best tree that the nearest Kroger or Lowe's had to offer, throw it in the back of the truck, and head home.  Now Kroger and Lowe's may not be glamorous, but we have always had great experiences...except for that one year when we bought the wrong kind of tree, and I couldn't get the ornaments to stay on the branches. My husband said we'd have to figure it out, because we were not getting a second tree. My natural response? Tears. My sister-in-law nearly took me back to the tree farm Kroger to get a new one, because she gets me, and well...she knows I like for things to go the way I see them in my mind. I'm not proud.  I'm working on it, okay?

Anyway, I digress... Wasn't this post supposed to be about garland anyway?

So! Yes, trees are a big deal, but sometimes they aren't an option.  Remember yesterday when I made you drag out all those Ornaments of Old, but then you didn't have anywhere to put them?  Perhaps you had already filled your trees, you didn't have space/time for a tree this year, or maybe your sister in law is too busy to take you to get another one at Kroger.

Well!  MB has done something for a few years now, and let's face it, she is a #trendsetter.  Rather than putting up another tree in her back living room, she strings lit (Not that kind of lit!) garland across the windows, and displays all of her traditional and sentimental Christmas ornaments here.

She is able to create the same kind of cozy feeling that a tree provides, but without the square footage.  It still makes for the perfect place to eat cookies and watch Christmas movies. Just ask our baby bird.

If all of your sentimental ornaments are already on the tree, then this would be an awesome place to hang vintage ornaments, theme ornaments, or make it into an advent calendar (more on that later this month!).  You could even use the mini clothespins from my wrapping post to hang Christmas cards you receive.  No matter what you choose to do with your garland, adding greenery and twinkle lights anywhere in your home is an inexpensive, effortless way to make a room more feel more cozy and festive.

Send us pictures of how you use garland in your home, or comment with pictures!  We'd love to see!