A garland is the fastest way to make a room feel like Christmas. One strand across a mantel, down the stairs, or around the tree, and the whole space changes. The good news is that most of the best ones cost almost nothing to make. Paper, pinecones from the yard, dried oranges, felt balls, yarn. You probably have half the supplies already.
These 18 ideas come from crafters who made them and shared full tutorials. Each one links to the creator’s own page. Some take 15 minutes, a few take an evening.
1. Dried Orange Slice Garland
Dried oranges glow in the tree lights and make the house smell faintly of citrus for weeks. Heather strings the slices with dried cranberries, wooden beads, cinnamon sticks, and a few pine boughs, so the strand has colour, texture, and scent all at once. Dry the slices at 200 degrees for about five hours, flipping halfway. Once dry, a yarn needle and some twine are all you need.
Tutorial by Heather of Homemade Heather.
2. Orange Slice and Cranberry Garland
This is the simplest dried fruit garland, built on a plain pattern: ten cranberries, one orange slice, repeat. Chatfield Court keeps it simple on purpose, and the result looks clean on a tree without much fuss. Use fresh cranberries, which thread more easily than dried ones. Push the needle through the middle of each berry, then through two segments of the dried orange slice. The cranberries dry out on their own over the first week. Store the garland wrapped in tissue paper when the season ends.
Tutorial by Chatfield Court.
3. Old-Fashioned Cranberry, Orange and Popcorn Garland
If you grew up with popcorn strung on the tree, this one will feel familiar. Diane Gail adds dried orange slices and fresh cranberries to the classic popcorn strand, and the three together look far better than popcorn on its own. The whole project costs about four to six dollars. Let plain popcorn cool completely, or it crumbles on the needle. Hemp cord is the best base because it does not stretch under the oranges. Work in six-foot lengths and hang two or three together for a full look. You will need an oven to dry the orange slices at 200 degrees for two to four hours.
Tutorial by Diane Gail of Sustainable Slow Living.
4. Cinnamon Stick, Button and Wood Bead Garland
This one started as a last-minute fix with whatever was in the house, and that is exactly why it works. Cinnamon sticks, old buttons, and wood beads strung on twine give you a ten-foot garland for less than five dollars, and the cinnamon scent does half the decorating for you. Cut the sticks in half with a serrated kitchen knife, then thread beads, buttons, and cinnamon in a repeating pattern. Push a stubborn needle through with a small screwdriver. One warning from the creator, learned the hard way: do not chew on a cinnamon stick. It burns.
Tutorial by Pretty DIY Home.
5. Dried Orange and Cinnamon Ornament Garland
Mommy’s Kitchen pairs dried orange slices with cinnamon applesauce ornaments, and the combination is the closest thing to an old-fashioned Christmas in garland form. The ornaments are baked from a cinnamon and applesauce dough, cut into shapes, and dried until hard. A dehydrator at 135 degrees for six hours keeps the oranges brighter than oven drying. String the slices, ornaments, cinnamon sticks, and ribbon on twine, knotting after each piece so nothing slides. The cinnamon ornaments need baking plus a day to dry fully.
Tutorial by Mommy’s Kitchen.
6. Gold-Tipped Bead and Pom Pom Garland
KariAnne Wood’s twist on the bead garland is simple: tape off half of each wood bead, spray paint the exposed half gold, and you get beads that look far more expensive than they are. Fluffy white yarn pom poms between the beads read like snowballs. Tape, spray, dry, and peel for a clean line. Make pom poms by wrapping fuzzy yarn around card about 25 times, tying it off, and trimming it into a ball. String five beads, then a pom pom, and repeat. Do the spray painting outside or somewhere with good airflow.
Tutorial by KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farms.
7. Farmhouse Wood Bead and Pom Pom Garland
Jen’s version needs just two supplies: wood beads and yarn. That is the whole list. The pom poms are made by hand with a piece of cardboard, no special tools, and the beads are strung on twine with a pom pom tied in every eighth bead. Cut cardboard to twice the pom pom width, plus an inch. Wrap the yarn around it, slide it off, cut both ends, then cut the bundle in half and tie it twice. Leave the tying string long. That is what attaches the pom pom to the bead strand later.
Tutorial by Jen of Tatertots and Jello.
8. Easy Wood Bead and Pom Pom Garland (Store-Bought Base)
If stringing dozens of beads sounds tedious, start with a ready-made wood bead garland instead. Donna and Rich bought theirs at Dollar Tree and clipped pom poms onto it, which cuts the job down to just making the pom poms. Mark pom pom spots with small clips first. They spaced theirs twelve beads apart, which worked out to nine pom poms. Alternate large and small pom poms along the strand, tie each one on with a double knot, and trim the strings to blend in.
Tutorial by Donna and Rich of An Organized Season.
9. Easy Felt Ball Garland
This is the easiest felt garland on the list because there is no felting involved. Buy the felt balls ready-made, thread them on a string, and you are done. Fox Farm Home used 35 balls at 2 cm each for a five-foot garland, spaced slightly apart. A tapestry needle pushed straight down through the ball works best. Press a stubborn ball down on a solid surface. Red, green, and cream reads Christmas.
Tutorial by Fox Farm Home.
10. Wool Felt Star Christmas Tree Garland
Ann’s garland takes more time than the others, and it shows. Sixteen stuffed wool felt stars, sewn by hand with a blanket stitch, alternate with felt balls on embroidery floss. Cut 32 stars from wool felt using a cardboard template, sew two together at a time, and stuff each one with a little poly-fil or cotton balls just before you close the last point. String them five inches apart, alternating with felt balls.
Tutorial by Ann of On Sutton Place.
11. Felted Ball and Heart Garland
Tammy’s garland is the quickest felt project here. Felted balls and hearts, about 3 cm across, threaded on baker’s twine. No glue, no sewing, no felting. Ten minutes and you have a garland. Line up the balls and hearts in your pattern first. If you like spacing between the pieces, tie a small knot on either side of each one as you go. Red and white suits Christmas, and the same garland works all year in other colours.
Tutorial by Tammy of Pink Peppermint Design.
12. Slit-and-Tuck Felt Garland
This one looks far harder than it is. Cut one-inch strips of felt, cut short slits down the centre of each strip, then tuck the top of the strip through each slit in turn. The felt folds into a ruffled, braided-looking strand. Sew the finished lengths together to make a garland as long as you need. Red and green is the obvious Christmas pairing, but a single colour works too. Shorter strips make bracelets, so kids can join in once the cutting is done.
Tutorial by My Frugal Christmas.
13. Painted Pinecone Garland
Pinecones are free if you have a tree nearby, and painting them is the kind of messy project kids actually enjoy. Family Focus Blog paints each cone about halfway up, sprinkles glitter over the wet paint if they want it, and lets the cones dry for ten minutes before gluing them to twine. Glue the twine to the flat base of each cone, about two inches apart. For a stronger hold, glue a small felt circle over the twine once it cools. You will need a hot glue gun for this one, and children should stick to the painting.
Tutorial by Family Focus Blog.
14. Rustic Pinecone Garland
Nature Way keeps this one as plain as possible: pinecones, jute twine, scissors, and a hot glue gun. Each cone gets its own short length of twine, tied or glued to the base, then attached to the main strand. Because each cone hangs on its own piece of twine, you can slide them along the strand until the spacing looks right. The creator left the loose twine ends untrimmed for a rustic finish, but trimming them gives a tidier result. The garland cost her almost nothing, since the cones came from a park.
Tutorial by Nature Way.
15. Pinecone Garland with Warm White LED Lights
This is the garland to make if you want something that looks good after dark. Pinecones wired to jute twine, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks tucked between them, and a strand of battery-operated micro LEDs woven through the whole thing. The detail that matters is the wiring. Hot glue alone will not hold a pinecone’s weight for a whole season, especially on a wall. Wrap floral wire around the base of each cone, twist it into a stem, and use that to attach the cone to the twine. Then add a ring of hot glue to stop it shifting. Weave the lights loosely and hide the battery pack at one end. Foraged pinecones should be baked at 200 degrees for 30 minutes first.
Tutorial by The Christmas Light Emporium.
16. Classic Christmas Paper Chain
The paper chain is the oldest garland on this list and still one of the best. Cut paper into strips about one inch wide and six inches long, loop the first into a ring, and keep threading new strips through the last ring. Red, green, and white is the classic mix. A stapler is faster than glue, but glue is safer for younger kids. Number each link from December 1 to 25 and the chain doubles as a countdown calendar. Tear one off each day.
Tutorial by Easy Foldable Creations.
17. Printable Retro Paper Chain Set
Red Cheeks Girl offers twelve printable paper chain designs, and they solve the one problem with plain paper chains: plain paper can look flat. Candy stripes, gingham, tartan, buffalo check, polka dots, plus cut-out snowflakes, mittens, gingerbread men, and atomic starbursts to thread on string. Print on white cardstock, not printer paper. Cardstock holds its shape for a whole season, while printer paper goes limp within a day or two. You will need a home printer and cardstock for this one.
Tutorial by Red Cheeks Girl.
18. Ruffled Burlap Garland
Burlap gives you a full, soft garland with almost no skill involved. Thread a large needle with hemp twine, baste down the middle of a roll of burlap in long stitches, then scrunch the fabric down the twine until it ruffles. Tie it off, fluff the ruffles, and repeat for as many rolls as you need. Giggles Galore used eight rolls for a seven-foot tree, spiralling the garland down from the top. Join sections with safety pins rather than one giant strand, which makes it much easier to position on the tree.
Tutorial by Giggles Galore.
Before you start: a few things worth knowing
Measure the spot first. A garland a foot short looks worse than no garland at all, so add at least a foot at each end for the swag and the hanging loops. Check the tutorial’s finished length against your measurement before you buy supplies.
Dry anything natural completely before you string it. Orange slices that still feel soft in the middle will mould, and foraged pinecones should be baked first. If a garland is going outside, skip the paper and popcorn versions.
Keep a hot glue gun away from kids, and keep paper garlands away from candles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest DIY Christmas garland for a beginner?
The classic paper chain. It needs only paper strips and a stapler or glue stick, takes about twenty minutes, and kids can do most of it themselves. The felt ball garland is a close second.
How long do dried orange garlands last?
Several holiday seasons, as long as the slices are completely dry before you string them. Store the garland in a cool, dry place wrapped in tissue paper. Any slice that still feels soft in the middle will mould, so dry them fully first.
Can I make a Christmas garland without a hot glue gun?
Yes. Most of the garlands here need no glue at all. Paper chains, felt ball garlands, wood bead garlands, and dried fruit garlands are all strung or tied. The hot glue gun only comes in for the pinecone garlands, and even there you can often tie or wire pieces on instead.
How do I hang a garland on a mantel without damaging it?
Small adhesive hooks or command hooks work on most mantels and come off cleanly. For a heavier garland, like the pinecone and LED one, use screw-in cup hooks at each end and one in the middle. Let the garland dip slightly in the centre rather than pulling it tight.
What is the cheapest DIY Christmas garland?
The paper chain, which costs nothing if you already have paper and a stapler. After that, the pinecone garlands are close to free if you collect the cones yourself, and the cinnamon stick garland comes in under five dollars even if you buy everything.
Can I reuse a homemade garland next year?
Most of them, yes. Dried fruit, pinecone, felt, wood bead, and burlap garlands all store well in a dry box with tissue paper between the layers. Paper chains survive if they are cardstock and stored flat. Popcorn and fresh cranberry garlands are one-season decorations.
Wrapping up
Start with the garland that matches what you already have. A bag of pinecones, a roll of twine, some scrap paper. The best handmade garland is the one that gets made.
For more ideas in the same spirit, our roundup of 20 DIY Christmas wreaths to make this year pairs well with any garland on this list, and the 20 handmade Christmas ornaments to make this year will fill the tree once the garland is up.
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