Dollar Tree Christmas Garland Makeover

This DIY Dollar Store Christmas Tree ornament or tree garland is inspired by necessity and wanting something different for this year’s Christmas tree decor. Does your Christmas tree always seem to be lacking the appropriate number of ornaments, or look a little bare to you? Usually I end up doing a last minute diy Christmas ornament of some sort while decorating the tree, but this year I came up with a different idea.

Christmas Tree Garland Supplies

You could make this DIY Christmas tree garland without using a dollar tree garland, but the garlands are inexpensive and make it much easier to create. Think of the garland as the main branch of your Christmas tree garland ornament and then start building from there.

Creating the Various Garland Elements Cheaply

Each dollar store garland was 6 feet long and quite spindly to begin with. To create the full look I needed for the Christmas tree garland I added a few more very inexpensive accessories. As always I began by going through old Christmas and Spring greenery and found and last years eucalyptus branches. I chose brown sparkling branches from several years ago, and harvested some real branches from our yard. As this Christmas tree garland is a backdrop to your tree please stick to inexpensive ideas. Any greenery would do, dollar tree poinsettas with borax, any Christmas pics you already have, dollar tree branches instead of real branches, and thrift store assorted wreath embellishments would all work well. Or make some pom poms, dollar tree also has some adorable felt ball garlands.

Note: I don’t recommend using regular coniferous tree branches as they would disappear inside tree actual Christmas tree once you hang your garland.

Tweaking the Dollar Store Garland

The dollar tree garland I chose had lots of natural pinecones, I painted them which brightens the Christmas tree garland, and makes the texture of the pine cones stand out. I just dry brushed them with latex paint and let dry. This is optional, but I do really like how mine turned out.

The dollar tree garlands can be quite gnarled up from shipping and being in the store. Fluff them, make sure the elements all point in the same direction (I did left to right). You can see in the above picture how sparse the original garland was, but it provides the spine of the garland and gives us a good starting point to build upon. I also loved the brown green and white colour scheme that goes with my neutral Christmas decor this year.

Making the Glittered Branches

As its freezing the leaves are already gone and the bugs aren’t a worry. After a quick trip outside to snip some branches.I began by soaking the branches for an hour in the tub, drained the water and let them dry overnight.

Once dry I took each branch and weaved any smaller branches into the main branch and attached it with dollar tree florist wire. Next I took added mint coloured glitter to each branch. The difference is quite subtle but I wanted it so jumped in. You can add glitter to any of the greenery elements, I now wish I had done the eucalyptus branches as well. (sigh) Or you can skip the whole process, it will still be beautiful.

Make sure your work surface is covered very well, glitter really does get everywhere.

You will want to separate the adhesive from the glitter so you can reuse the glitter that doesn’t attach to the branch. To do this use two different pieces of wax paper, place the branch on the first piece of wax paper then spray with adhesive. Move the branch to the second piece of wax paper and sprinkle the glitter over it. Set aside and let dry. Continue with the next branch, I did a total of 15 small branches in various sizes for my 7.5 foot Christmas tree.

Once you have all the element organized we can arrange the garland. Besides the greenery and pics you will need wire cutters and the thin wire.

Arranging the Christmas Garland

Step 1 – Decide where your going to place the garland on the Christmas tree. For the bottom of the tree twist two garlands together so its about ten feet long. You can do the upper garlands shorter if you like.

Step 2 – Twist the dollar store garlands together to form the length you want.

Step 3 – Add branches where your garland is most bare. Wrap the garland around the branches to hold in place. Add wires at the very end of the branches so they don’t poke out later on, when placing the garland around the tree.

Step 4 – Remember to have fun. This does not need to be perfect as its going to be stuffed inside the tree. Casually fill in the empty parts of the garland, trying to keep it kind of full everywhere. You don’t want big gaps, and you don’t want big clumps of greenery in certain sections. Otherwise its freehand fly at it techniques.

If you want more in depth ideas I did a long video of me putting mine together you should find it helpful. I had loads of fun doing this garland and was quite chatty because of it.

Dollar Store Christmas Tree Ornament Video

Hanging Christmas Garland on the Tree

I want to mention a couple of things about hanging the garland on the Christmas tree. Begin by placing the center of each garland in the front of your Christmas tree and work towards the back.

Secondly you can snuggle the garland between the layers of your Christmas tree branches. This is especially helpful on a sparse tree. Our tree is very thick, but I still wanted to snuggle it between the branches because it prevents it from hanging on the outside of the tree looking like its about to slip off.

Finally I had not considered it until I started hanging the other ornaments on the Christmas tree, but the Christmas tree garland was so handy because I could use it to hang other ornaments from, and I used it several times to balance a long or large ornament that wanted to hang off kilter because of the other branches. Such a perk.

Other DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

I have other DIY Christmas tree ornaments I created for this particular tree. I will add them as soon as I finish writing them.