5 Ways To Turn A Holiday Garland Into A Thoughtful Conversation Piece
Garlands are a pretty common holiday decoration, and for good reason! They are easy to find, relatively no hassle and look great pretty much everywhere. You can have a garland of greenery (real or fake), felt balls, ribbons, even dried oranges! Personally, I really love having a garland run down the center of the dining room table, hung around a door frame or on the mantle above the fireplace.
As with most any decoration though, my favorite kinds are ones that spark conversations. They aren’t just nice to look at, they warrant a story or encourage people to ask questions. My mom has a garland centerpiece on her dining room table that has ornaments she’s collected from our family travels attached to it! Despite us all having been on those trips ourselves, being reminded of them when we sit at the table has helped us reminisce and tell stories, while also dreaming up new places we could travel together!
Below are some easy ways you can turn your own garlands into conversation pieces!
Holiday Card Garland
Hanging all the holiday cards you receive over the season is a great way to spark conversation! Whether you get 4 holiday cards in the mail or 40, we all know photographs can create conversations, so displaying the ones you receive will help others have discussions.
Monochromatic Garland
This is great for both people who love color and those who don’t. By sticking to one color on your garland, you’ll automatically create an eye catching display that’ll bring people in. If you’re a maximalist, try a loud color and using a bunch of different items (like red candy canes, mini santa hats, berrys and santa trucks mixed in with red ornaments). If you’re more of a minimalist choose a color that goes with your color scheme and stick to just a few items (like white snowflakes, white beads and white pinecones).
Themed Garland
The sky’s really the limit with this! You could have a garland entirely of holiday candy or reindeer ornaments. Or you could hang a bunch of different nutcrackers on a mantle garland. We even have a snowman garland at our house that hangs above a long set of windows! it always catches people’s eye and causes them to stop and look at all the different ones.
Collection Garland
A collection of something will always serve as a built in conversation starter. I know people who keep a slice of every christmas tree stump and write the year on them, so why not display those on a garland to reminisce about past holiday seasons? Whether it’s a collection of vintage jingle bells, ornaments from your childhood or even a bunch of different types of Santas, having a collection garland will definitely create opportunity for conversation.
Community Garland
This one is my favorite because it’s something you can create with other people. Have your friends over for a DIY ornament night and just craft the night away making different ornaments for each other's friend garland! That way when they come over to your house throughout the season they will feel automatically feel at home and have something to talk about. Or get your kids and family in on the action! Have them decorate the garland with their favorite things or punch some holes and hang their artwork on the garland!
It’s such a simple idea, but it can really change the holiday game. Whether you’re having a big party, hosting family for the holidays or planning on just a few people stopping by during the season, having something people can create conversation around will make the entire season more meaningful.