I’ve been decorating Christmas doors since Aqua Net and stirrup pants were a thing.
That’s forever in Christmas door decorating years.
There was the year of the candy canes and the year of the poinsettias and the year of the presents wrapped with plastic tablecloths.
I’ve never missed a year.
Ever.
But this year looked like it was going to be a first. We’ve moved and everything is everywhere and my refrigerator just relocated from the dining room and some rooms don’t have any furniture and some rooms have boxes. And the front door? It wasn’t even on my radar.
Until.
Until I found the one thing I never even knew I needed for my Christmas front door.
This.
It’s a cedar garland.
I’ve never, ever, ever decorated with fresh garland before. I’ve taken faux garland and added magnolia leaves or real greenery or twigs or dried hydrangea.
But real garland?
I thought that was just for magazines and people that lived on billionaire street.
And then I was in Lowe’s buying paint and I went out through the garden section to smell the Christmas trees and saw some garland lying there all bundled up for sale.
I looked at it and it looked back at me.
It looked so expensive and out of my budget so I waved goodbye and started to walk out the door.
…and then I heard a word that stopped me in my tracks.
SALE.
It’s close to Christmas, I heard someone say.
All the greenery is on sale.
What? Sale? How did they know that those four letters make up my middle name?
How much is the cedar garland? I asked.
Are you ready for what they said?
Are you ready for the words that I heard that made me grab a cart and run and start tossing cedar garland into my basket like it was Christmas?
SEVEN DOLLARS.
SERIOUSLY.
CAN YOU EVEN?
I bought four garlands. I know, right? All this gorgeousness for under $30.
I draped it over the railings in the front.
It’s also draped over the front door and when you walk through, it smells like Christmas.
Each strand is 20 feet of cedar gorgeousness.
I bought some for the back door, too.
Look at the way it drapes–twisting all magazine-like this way and that way.
Twenty feet is the perfect length to drape over the side of the door.
We just attached it on the top on each side and then let the ends kind of puddle on the brick.
It’s been cold here, so with a little spritzing the garland has stayed fresh.
I’m so happy.
My door is so happy.
My house smells like pine and cedar and general amazingness.
Merry Christmas from my front door to yours. 🙂
PS The Christmas gifts keep coming because the trees were on sale, too.
They come with the cutest little stand and they were only $10. 🙂
Oh I love it. Not fresh garland here, but yours is totally amazing.
I thought you were gonna say you draped them over your shoulders like boas and walked to the checkout line (to get all you could on sale!!!) Lol
I had no idea we shared the same middle name! I too have longed for glorious greens to grace my front door, sadly it is not to be. The amount of sunlight the front of my house receives would mean I would have to spritz all day long.♥️ Your door is merry and bright sweet friend.🎄🎄
What?!? Seriously? And to think I need to go to Lowes today! Wow, that's fabulous and it looks great. I want my house to smell like Christmas too. I hope they still have some! Merry Christmas, KariAnne!
On my way to Lowe’s!!!!
So beautiful...as always!!You have inspired me to get to the store n go n sniff n smell awhile n see if I can find such a sign that says:SALE..what a treasure👌🎁💕
Gorgeous! I’m on my way now to Loews. I’ve bought a 20’ fresh garland for my front door. It’s shady there, so I’ll just spritz it daily to keep it fresh. The smell will welcome my guests into my home.
This looks fabulous! I love fresh garland and think it looks beautiful!
Pro tip : Every year on Black Friday Lowe's has fresh garland on sale. Usually around $7.00. I get it then. :)
Lovely as always, Karianne. You certainly have a way of decorating that looks easy to do and flawlessly arranged all at the same time. PERFECTION! Thanks yet again for sharing and I am glad you didn't break your front door decorating streak! 👍🐝
Oh, that's just gorgeous and I can almost smell the cedar. So Christmassy -- draped and puddled in the perfect way that only Karianne can! Heading to Lowes for mine today! Quick story, my mom couldn't resist a sale either but some of her purchases left the rest of us scratching our heads. She once came home with a tiny little palm tree right after we moved to Texas. My dad said to her, "You don't even like palm trees." Her response, "Yes, but it was on sale!"
A bonus at Lowe's is that you can also pick up free cuttings (branches) from their Christmas tree lot along with the tree ends (stumps). Merry Merry 🌲 You're front door looks beautiful!
The first year we lived in Texas, I bought cedar garlands, too (on sale). They smelled divine -- the ultimate smell of Christmas. I was going to drape them along the stair railing and add white lights. That was also the year I discovered that I'm highly allergic to cedar. We had to discard both the garlands and the centerpiece I'd ordered for the table. This year I bought a cedar-scented candle, so we'll see how that goes. I'm sure your front door smells as good as it looks! Merry Christmas!
Beautiful! Absolutely perfection. I noticed I was taking a deep breath as if I could actually smell the cedar aroma as I looked at the photographs. What color paint are the siding and trim? They are a wonderful background to the cedar.
Beautiful! Looks like I'm going to Lowe's this afternoon! I cut some holly from my bushes last week and made a wreath for the door. It's all alone on the front porch. ;( Now it can have a friend!
LOVE YOUR FRESH GARLAND. LIVING IN MICHIGAN GET YO USE IT EVERY YEAR.HERE IS A TIP I ALWAYS DO. MEASURE DOOR AND CUT GARLAND IN HALF TO MEET AT MIDDLE OF TOP OF DOOR .WIRE TOGETHER WITH GREEN FLORIST WIRE. THAT WAY WHEN YOU HANG YOUR GARLAND BOTH SIDES ARE HANGING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
Lowe's and Home Depot are on my list of errands today - guess who is stopping in the garden department now? REAL garland has ALWAYS been too expensive - thanks so much for sharing with us. Let's see how picked over it is now, haha. Looks fabulous, Rock-Star Lady!!!!
Love it!!! I does look just like the cover of a magazine! Merry Christmas, friend.
I want to know where you got those beautiful lanterns.......
headed to lowe's today! Please be in CO! Included your Christmas kitchen as my favorite subtle Christmas kitchen! merry garland Christmas! laura
You make me want to go see if our Lowe's has any amazing "sales" right now and thank you for sharing your happy front door!
Just so gorgeous, KariAnne! Enjoy! Blessings to you and yours at this most wonderful time of the year!
Great idea. I have cedars growing out my back door.
Love the garland...fresh and Christmasy...and a bargain!!
Oh, I SO would have purchased the live garland, too! You're right, it always looks pricey--but I love an expensive look for a bargain basement price. Makes my heart go pitter-pat.
"billionaire street"....that is so funny. Your posts are always making me laugh. You are so talented!! -carol
Looks lovely fresh always does. I use silk garlands in the house and just stuff them with all kinds of decorations and then to have the smell of cedar I'll spray them with a room spray that I get at a soap shop it's called nostalgic Victorian Christmas smells heavenly
I love the simplicity of the garland, it adds to he existing beauty of the front porch. It makes your home look like a billionaire home, and the fact that it was on sale, for some reason speaks to my little penny pinching heart. Enjoy your Christmas in your new home:)
Gorgeous garland...and the trees...and the urns! All of it! Thinking about you and your family. Hoping the kiddos are transitioning well. Love and prayers to all.
To me that's funny you never using real. The funny thing is that this is the first time that I'm not using real garland in the house. Last year was a garland disaster. Lets just say 75 feet of tangled wet sappy garland all over my staircase and entrance. Stuck everywhere, rugs, socks. It even stuffed up my vacuum. This was the first time it ended up in a big knot. The end result was beautiful, but what a mess. So this year I bought real looking fake garland. Looks pretty, but when you do a big change all my décor doesn't match, and now it's slim pickings to find what I'm looking for. So next year, I have to start in July. Anyway, your entrance looks beautiful.
Beautiful and very Christmas-syy! Those little trees cost at least $20 each, here in Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦 You got a good deal. Merry Christmas
Dear Karianne!!! You are amazing!!! I’m Finishing my Reno (today was moving day) and I’m nowh close to even start decorating!!! But you made it seem easy! My door could use some decorating 😍🎄 I will check Lowe’s here in Canada for garlands! You door looks all magazine worthy! Mwah 💋
It looks wonderful! My favorite is a sale on fresh wreaths. It will rock your world. Even the birds can tell the difference and nestle in against the window making you feel like you have a front row seat in an Aviary. Love those sweet little trees, too. Nothing like the real!
Your new/old house is saying Happy Christmas to all!!! xoxo
Your house must smell amazing. And it is even better than in the magazines because there is a real wonderful family inside! Merry Christmas my friend!
Do you have Trader Joe’s stores where you are? The have fresh cedar garland every year tooand it’s about the same price point. You need to get it early though because they sell out. Merry Christmas!
You are so funny describing getting your Cedar garland, I love the way you write!
What a great deal. It's gorgeous.