Our Holiday Tool Kit and Super Hacks I Love

As someone who is very picky about Christmas, even I don’t like buying new things every year (our kids love the nostalgia of what we already have), but every couple of years, I get excited to try something new through styling. But for most people even thinking about trying something new can feel like an overwhelming task, a completely non-fun hobby (and for all of you, there’s no pressure to try anything new). So today I’ll show you some styling hacks I’ve come up with that are very low cost, but keep things feeling fresh (and opening up our toolkit for those who want to execute these).

laying ribbon on wreaths

This year, we encountered a happy accident – huge wreath The bright white outlet box highlighted in the middle of the hole above the fireplace in The Carly. This was quite a surprise (yes, AI can figure it out for photos, but not for video/social). So we decided to take all the bows we had (most purchased on Amazon) and layer by layer. I have to say it looks a lot better than that a big bow (Which, in retrospect, was very short). I liked this look very much.

A few years ago, I layered two ribbons on my wreaths – a large red burlap (wired) and a thin ticking stripe (grosgrain). And now I’m inspired to keep the same wreath every year, but change the ribbon when I feel like freshness (so easy, fun, and not expensive).

Tearing fabric to use as a bow/ribbon

My best trick is to take half of the fabric and fold or cut it into strips to look like wide, pretty ribbon. I can’t believe how much more affordable it is, and you get to choose from millions of clothes. If you want them to be long like ours in the window, you’ll need to buy 2 yards, which might be $30, but that should give you enough ribbon for 5-7 wreaths (wide ribbons that come in pretty colors are very expensive).

Torn cloth (and wrapping clothes) in the form of bows on trees

I also like to take thin cotton (think seersucker, like the green on the tree above) and tie it onto branches. This was three years ago, and of course, bows have been all the rage around the world for the last year or two now, but this was before you could buy a bow for your tree.

Also…wrapping clothes

I also love buying fabric yardage to turn into wrapping cloth because I’m on a one-man mission to get rid of the “big wrapping paper” (laughter – it’s not a big deal, I just don’t like how expensive it is and having to clean it up on Christmas morning). Wraps are reusable, super cute, and you can fold them on Christmas morning for next year. I bought a lot of stuff on Etsy,

Your Best Friend: Command Strips

command strips We used to hang this garland, it comes in white trim. these are good too

Y’all, if I had a flux capacitor, I would go back to the day when 3M went public and buy all the stock. Oh God, these things So many are effective, expensive, and yet many are for one-time use (it’s the trifecta of a billion dollar product). If you’re not familiar with them, know that there’s a side that sticks to the wall (called “wall side”) and you have to pull it down to get the paint off. I use them for every garland, every garland on every window or mirror, every string to keep them in place. And a great lazy trick is to keep them up all year round (if you have clean garlands or white garlands on white walls), which makes hanging the annual garland much easier. Oh, and yes, there are some that can lift up to 5 pounds (or you can add several).

Clear Variety Pack (Great for hanging on windows)

I have a whole bin of them for different scenarios – like big clear ones For wreaths on windows 🙂

Easy on/off switch for lights

It sounds silly, but it’s helpful to purchase extension cords that fade into the color of your walls (ie, white if you have light walls, black if you have dark walls). you can barely see electrical wire Hanging from the fireplace over there on the right 🙂

Fishing line – or what stylists call “monofilament”

Oh God. Hanging the garland was very difficult in Carly’s because, unlike my house, I didn’t want to make random holes. Most of you probably don’t even want extra holes in your walls. so we experimented fish net Grab the garland and make a triangle over and above the beam to keep it in place. Now here this was Harvard-level work; It took me, Marlee and Gretchen 2-3 hours to figure it out.

Hot Tip: You will never see a nail hole at the top of your window molding. So what we often do is drive a nail in there vertically, then tie a fishing line to that nail to hang. You never want to nail into your molding (drywall is easy to patch, trimwork is not). But this is a hack we do all the time if something is too heavy for the command strip.

Folding paper decorations (trees, ornaments) – very easy to put together and store

Paper Folding Tree Set , decorative paper tabletop tree , Printed Paper Accordion Christmas Tree (set of 3)

Now, onto your holiday list that can make your life easier. Folding Paper Tree is Hero #1. These open up to high impact, different sizes and instant decoration. And then fold down to fit into a small box.

I think the modern-day paper tree was inspired by these party gifts Elliott has been playing with (the high-end ones aren’t made of crepe paper and can last year after year), I have several paper ones from years ago that are still in great condition.

Mixing real greenery with fake

One hack I used to do before going full-on “faux” indoor was to mix real greenery with fake. Somehow, the presence of real greenery makes the fake look real – it’s all about the context of style, isn’t it? I used fake garland, added real ones to the fake wreaths and the different varieties of greenery made it look so real. Now the fake stuff is so good that you don’t even need to mix it with as much real stuff.

My Favorite Colorful LED String Lights for Outdoors

colorful string lights

Last year, we had colored lights For the first time and loved them. The only thing I would have done differently was buy the strand that had the lights spaced 24″ apart instead of 12″. It was pretty bright (but also pretty funny???!!!). Just make sure to get shatterproof and LED. I personally like the classic “glass” look (not faceted).

Do not sleep in curtain light

curtain lights

I found out curtain lights During the lockdown and they were left abandoned throughout the winter. It’s a series of lights topped with a curtain of glittering, rose gold lights that makes it look as if it’s raining.

It shines even during the day. It is very comfortable and warm. i bought expensive ones From Anthropologie/Terrain, but from Amazon these are to fill in.

Quick and Dirty Vacation Tips If You Really Want to Know How My Brain Works

Okay, I’m late to going to the movies with my family, so I’m going to bust out some quick and dirty holiday philosophy:

1. Don’t buy a fake tree unless it already has lights on it. Chant “Pre-lit only”. In fact 50% of the reason you buy a fake is so you don’t have to deal with the frustration of turning off the lights.
2. Definitely buy “warm” light trees (or string lights in general), no good. Still, they can be very cold, but it must be called hot, otherwise it might look like 7-11.
3. I like to do fake greenery inside and real greenery outside (For the most part – to be honest, even I show off sometimes). This is strictly to avoid the mess of needles falling inside the rosary throughout the day. It’s great and beautiful outside, and then you can just go into the woods!
4. But… if you don’t start decorating the mole like “Normie” after Thanksgiving (We should really figure out a name for those who aren’t psychotic holiday enthusiasts like me), So the real thing inside is greatBut the other 50% of why I use fake is so I can get started quickly and not worry about messing up, As an Oregonian, I feel enormous guilt that we don’t go out and cut down a tree, but we start too early to realize this,
5. Select plug-in garlands where possibleChanging batteries is annoying (it’s okay, I do it every year), but I love it These are pluginsSo once I locate the extension cord, it’s good for a solid 6 weeks.
6. buy folding tree collars – Some still don’t fit my tree, but if you’re buying tree collars this year, don’t get a big ring to store, they fold up now (both anthro And Target There are wicker versions).
7. Faux candles are great, but the more wax, the better. I love Anthro’s, Pottery Barn some are great, and target taper I’m obsessed with keeping selling them, they’re so good.

See you! xx

Opening Image Credit: Photo by Caitlin Green From: Our fresh and easy 2025 holiday decorating ideas that will get your wheels turning