After last Christmas I knew the garland had had it. Thanks to two very playful kitties who just love the Christmas decorations, it was starting to look a little thin and sad with empty branches where red berries once sat. Although I’d replaced it in the sales for this year, I couldn’t face just throwing it away, it still had potential after all. Plus, as most of it can’t be recycled, I wanted to repurpose it in some way.

So, I transformed my garlands into two Christmas wreaths, a Christmas centerpiece, and a window display; with almost all recycled material from previous Christmas decorations (I only spent an additional £6 for a few other decorations for these). Here’s how we did it and how you can too.

The tools you need to transform your Christmas decorations

  • Your garland (I had two that were just over 4ft each- it’s how I made so much!)
  • A hacksaw 
  • A file – to smooth sharp ends
  • Scissors
  • Long nose pliers– do not have to be heavy duty
  • The decorations of your choice

Garland into wreath

How to make a wreath out of a garland

Firstly, determine how big you want your wreaths to be by looping the end of the garland to the middle, and playing with the shape until you’re happy. When you’re happy with the size, cut from the middle of the garland.

File off any sharp edges and corners until smooth. Then, using the scissors, cut away an inch of greenery around the end you cut- to allow you to secure the two sides together securely.

Garland into wreath

Using the pliers, take the end of the exposed part of the hook (that goes into the garland) and begin wrapping around the end of your freshly cleared path and twist until secured. Finally, flip the hooked end, over the twist to secure fully (further covering any sharp bits). This will be the back of your wreath/display.

Reshape your wreath and centerpieces

You’ll want to keep the back flat and maneuver the branches in the front into a circular shape. If you like the window display idea, twist the garland into an s-shape but ensure it’s stable with a flat base. For this shape, you’ll also want spread the branches out a bit more (you’ll re-shape once on the shelf/window).

Decorating your wreath, centerpieces and displays

Now for the really fun bit, the decorations!

Garland into wreath

I’d recommend looking for decorations that have bendable bodies as it’ll make it easier to attach the decorations to your wreaths or displays, and makes it interchangeable with your themes each year. Many stores offer items like this as they’re commonly used for trees or gift wrapping.

Alternatively, you could also use staples, clear elastic for bows or glue. If you are using lights like our window display, wrap around the whole thing and then spread them/the branches out and then add additional decorations as it’ll be easier to hide the wire. For the centrepieces, use pillar candles, or as we did, an existing candle holder to give it that Christmassy feel.

We hope you love this idea to repurpose your decorations and hope the guide is useful. If you get stuck though, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We also love to see your Christmas creations so please do tag us in your pictures on social media or in comments below.

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