Thanksgiving To Christmas Mantel!

Hello, friends! I was hesitant in planning this year’s holiday mantel because I really loved last years and I wasn’t sure how to top it! I know decorating shouldn’t be about “topping” yourself, but it’s always fun for me to find something new to come up with, and challenge myself creatively. This was last year’s mantel…

I think I struggled at first because I essentially just wanted to do the same thing, but we’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I wanted something that really transitioned well from Thanksgiving to Christmas! Sooo, what I’m about to show you is the first phase of my holiday mantel, and as Christmas draws closer, I’ll add the stockings and some ornaments and maybe some lights!

This year’s mantel…

Friends, I’m so in love. I’ve always wanted to try something really organic and free-flowing like this. I had lots of Autumn stems in storage, and I combined them all with seven garlands of greenery and some grapevine, and it turned into this grandiose work of art that I’m just so darn proud of!

How to…

I used chicken wire and nailed it to my mantel. It makes more sense to use command hooks; I just didn’t have any on hand and I was too impatient to make a trip out. Lol Basically, you stuff stems and garlands into it, and use zip ties where necessary. I’m going to show you a series of photos below that I took after each garland was attached, so you can see, step by step, how it came together…

This took a full afternoon and I made a complete mess all over the floor, but I learned some things along the way. First of all, grapevine (the brown swirly branch garland) is super hard to work with. I bought three, but only ended up using one because I just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of it. But, when talking about this on Instagram stories, I received several messages saying that the trick is to soak them in water first. Next time, for sure! Again, no patience;) Secondly, the more full, the better, and always start with your least favorite garland first. That one will mostly be covered, and is really just used as a base/filler. This garland is the main one I used that’s my favorite. Most picks I used are old, but I linked what I could below (including items I used in last year’s mantel):

A detailed video is on Instagram! Stay tuned for our holiday staircase reveal and our office Christmas tree!

Cheers,

Haneen