Christmas Garlands: Doors, Stairs, Mantels and Trees

A garland is the cheapest piece of drama in Christmas decorating and the easiest to get slightly wrong. Almost every disappointing garland comes down to two numbers: how long it is, and how often it is fixed.

Measuring: add thirty per cent

Run a tape along the actual route — over the door architrave, along the banister following every curve, across the mantel and down both returns. Then add thirty per cent.

Fresh or faux

Fresh foliage

Options

Nordmann fir, blue spruce, eucalyptus, bay

Lasts

2–3 weeks indoors if misted, longer in a cold porch

Best for

Scent, which nothing artificial replicates

Downside

It sheds, and it gains weight when wet

Artificial

Look for

Dense tips, mixed foliage, wired branches

Lasts

A decade, and can be stored dressed

Best for

Structure, pre-lit runs, Boxing Day appearance

Downside

A cheap one looks plastic in daylight, whatever you do to it

The best combination, and what we fit most often: an artificial base for structure and light, with fresh eucalyptus, bay or spruce tucked in for scent and movement.

Lighting a garland

If it is not pre-lit, lay it flat and weave the lights through with the lights switched on, so dark patches are obvious as you go. Aim for a bulb visible roughly every five centimetres — about 100 per metre — and pull branches over the wire as you work so the cable disappears.

Fixing, room by room

Front door

1. 1Fix at the top corners first, so the weight hangs from the architrave and not the door leaf.
2. 2Use adhesive hooks rated well above the dressed weight, or magnetic hooks on a steel door.
3. 3Open and close the door with the garland fully dressed before you walk away.

A wet fresh garland in a north-facing porch can double in weight overnight, so rate the fixings for the wet weight, not the dry one.

Staircase

1. 1Sit the garland on top of the banister so it hugs the wood.
2. 2Fix with green floral wire every 30cm, twisting the ends behind a spindle out of sight.
3. 3Run the flex down the back of the spindles, taped every foot, to a socket at the bottom.

For a softer look, drape gentle scallops between every other spindle rather than following the rail exactly.

Mantelpiece

The mantel garland wants asymmetry. Weight it to one third of the length, let one end fall further than the other, and stop the shorter side well before the corner. A garland centred perfectly with equal tails reads as a shop display.

Trees and door frames

Around a doorway, treat it as a picture frame: fix the top run first, then let each side hang. On a tree trunk or porch post, spiral with a consistent pitch — 15cm between passes — and keep the spiral running the same direction on every post you dress.

Ribbon

Wired ribbon, velvet or tartan, 6–10cm wide. Tuck it in as a series of loose loops rather than winding it round — winding makes a candy cane. Wire each loop in place with the same floral wire, and cut the ends at an angle so they do not fray.

What a fitted scheme costs

As part of a wider install, a dressed and lit door, staircase and mantel typically adds a few hundred pounds, depending on run length, whether the foliage is fresh, and how heavily it is dressed. Our overall job minimum is £1,500, so garlands are usually part of a larger scheme rather than a visit on their own.

What you are buying is time and materials most people cannot easily source: commercial-grade lit garland, proper fixings, and somebody who will come back and re-dress it if a fresh run drops.