How to Create a Stunning Fireplace Mantle for Christmas

Looking for inspiration for your mantle this holiday season? I will show you how to create a stunning fireplace mantle for Christmas and give you my best tips and tricks for full and gorgeous mantle decor. This works for decorating a small and narrow fireplace mantle, too!

Looking for more handmade holiday touches? Try this nutcracker ornament DIY for your tree or garland.

 

I feel like there are no rules for decorating for Christmas anymore.

When I was little white lights weren’t even an option. We had the standard bulbs that you see in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

You know, the ones that are blue, orange, green and red.

And they are probably considered vintage colors, now lol!

And even though Christmas decor is no longer reserved for classic colors like red and green, I still like to keep my mantle simple with green and just a touch of gold with tiny twinkling lights.

I am going to show you how to get the same look!

Let’s dive into how you can create a stunning fireplace mantle this Christmas, too!

Here is a quick tip: If you see a garland you like go ahead and buy it. Garland sells out really fast! This is the garland that I used in this tutorial.

Supplies for a stunning fireplace mantle for Christmas:

• No-damage Garland hangers
• This Garland – Use any garland you want! This can even be done with real pine garland. My garland is a combination of three 5′ strands, but my mantle is on the small side so you might need more strands or to purchase a longer strand of garland.
• These Additional faux fir picks to add for fullness on the ends
• These Twinkle lights (if your garland is not pre-lit)
• Small gold garland (found at Hobby Lobby)
• Gold pearl holiday picks (mine are from Hobby Lobby)
• Brass bells in 3 sizes
• This Gold velvet ribbon
• Branches about 2-3′ long
• Candle stick holders in various sizes
• Taper candles. I have real candles, but these flameless green taper candles are really pretty, too!).

I have waited for years to buy the garland in this post because I am always late to the game and it is sold out by the time I get ready to decorate.

I bought mine early this year (like in September) and I am really, really happy I did!

This “feel-real” garland is unlike others that I have bought in the past. It is so elegant, drapes just right, feels real to the touch, and I know I will have it for many years to come.

It is not pre-lit, but I wanted simple, small twinkle lights anyway so I am happy I can add my own lights to it.

If you need ideas on how to hang your garland, check out these tried methods on how to hang garland to the mantle in your home without nails!

Let’s decorate!

How to Create a Stunning Fireplace Mantle for Christmas

1. Clean off your mantle and prepare your no-damage garland hangers with the sticky tabs
2. Attach your first garland hanger to the mantle and loop through your first strand of garland.
3. Swag that piece of garland down and bring the end back up.
4. Attach your second garland hanger where the swag starts to come back up again. Then attach the third hanger to the end of the mantle.
5. Place the first garland and the beginning of the second garland together into the middle loop and secure it. Keep working the same way across your mantle if yours is longer than mine.
6. When you get to the end of your mantle secure the strands of second and third garland together in that last loop, and allow them to hang down towards the floor.
7. If your garland is not pre-lit, it is time to work those twinkle lights into the garland.
8. Next, you will work your simple gold garland into the mantle garland.
   
9. Add your faux pine picks into the garland at the ends of the mantle and fluff/spread out. You can fluff them to add height and fullness here.
10. Next, add your gold berry picks sparingly throughout the garland.
11. To loop the bells together, hold the large bell up and stick the hanging loop of the medium-sized bell through the loop of the large bell. Continue to do the same for the smallest bell, and add those to the last garland hanger loop on the end. This is why I love these garland hangers so much. It is really easy to open them and add things to them.
12. Create your bow and add it to the top of the bells,
    
    
13. Add candle sticks and candles in various sizes to the open end of the mantle (with the least amount of garland) to add some height and interest to it.

 

 

I love the way the branches and the candles on the left side balance out the fullness of the right side.

If you have a deeper and wider mantle you could twist in an additional garland that is different to make it even fuller!

Unfortunately, I only have a small mantle that is 4″ deep.

Something to think about is where you want the trailing garland to be. I have mine on the right side of the fireplace because that is the side you see when you walk into the space. You might want to flip this around for your space.

Best way to hang stockings on your fireplace mantle

I have always used stocking hangers because they have a hook on them.

I used to have the ones that spell out NOEL, but now I just use a flat, basic hanger for each stocking so I am not tied to a theme every year and can use them again and again no matter what decor I want to use.

Something to keep in mind is they need to be heavy to hold the stockings once they are full. I have seen too many flimsy hangers out there and really wonder why someone would buy them!

I am always afraid that they stockings are going to fall and hit my kids if they aren’t hung well.

These stocking holders are really pretty and a good choice because they are made of marble and have some nice weight to them. They run about $7 per holder!

If you want to add stocking hangers you can do that now or later on by just tucking the holders under the garland on top of the mantle.

I hope you love this garland as much as I do and it has got you thinking about how you want your mantle to look this year.

I think this turned out so pretty! I love the simplicity and elegance of it all.

Of course, you can add colors that go with your home by adding additional picks for some extra “punch”.

Glittery poinsettia picks would be pretty! I might add these next year!

How to add more height to your fireplace mantle this Christmas

When you add additional height to your fireplace mantle you want to be sure to balance it out.

Here are some ideas on what could you could add to your fireplace mantle:

• Grapevine open and twisted throughout the garland
• Mercury glass trees
• Reindeer
• Bottle Brush trees
• Additional candles with candle sticks
• Nutcrackers

If you are looking for other ways to hang garland, check out my post on how to hang garland on the mantle.

If you don’t have a mantle, you could use this same idea on shelves, in a doorway, or over a headboard on a bed and use these solutions for hanging garlands anywhere!

Have fun with this idea and I would love to hear what you think!

As always, remember. You can do it yourself, but let’s do it together.