In this article: Wondering how to hang greenery on a mantel for the holiday season? Today, I’m sharing the 2 different ways I hang greenery on my own mantel. Whether you have a traditional fireplace mantel or simply a shelf, these options to hang greenery on a mantel are both easy and beautiful.
Planning to hang greenery on a mantel for the holiday season? If so, great idea! Greenery makes any space feel festive and cozy. But, you’ll want to make sure you hang it so that it’s secure, but also looks beautiful. And, let’s face it, it won’t look beautiful if it’s continually falling on the floor. Today, I’m sharing the 2 different ways I usually hang greenery on my own mantel for Christmas.
Option 1: Greenery on the Mantel Shelf
The first option to hang greenery on a mantel is to place it on the mantel shelf itself. This way assumes that your mantel has enough depth to hold your greenery securely, or that you attach it securely so that it doesn’t slip forward.
Hanging greenery on the mantel shelf is a gorgeous option. That’s because it allows you to decorate the greenery with lots of other adornments. Some of my favourites things to add to greenery on a mantel shelf are ribbon, Christmas ornaments, birch logs, candles, pine cones, and berries. If you’d like to see my full tutorial on how to decorate a Christmas mantel, you can find the link here:
What You Need to Hang Greenery on a Mantel Shelf
- Real or faux greenery garlands.
- Basic greenery for a foundation.
- More premium greenery garland for the top layer.
- For each type, buy enough to fill the the length of your mantel with at least 4 extra feet (2 ft to hang on each end).
- Adornments such as ribbon, Christmas ornaments, birch logs, candles, pine cones, and berries.
- For narrow mantels: clear packing tape.
Narrow Mantels: The Secret Ingredient
After decorating many Christmas mantels over the years in my own home and others’, I’ve noticed that a lot of mantels are just too narrow to hold greenery without some extra intervention. I guess that home builders back in the day just didn’t prioritize a big, beautiful Christmas garland. What the heck were they thinking, lol?
In my own home, I knew I wanted the mantel shelf extra deep for decorating. So we added in a few extra inches. It’s just a little something to keep in mind if you are building a new home.
If you are planning to hang greenery on a mantel shelf that is narrow in depth, you may want to consider my second option below. But it is certainly possible to hang greenery on a mantel without much depth. However, you will need an extra special, fancy schmancy ingredient. OK, it’s really not all that fancy. But it is definitely magical. It’s clear packing tape, lol.
To hang greenery on a mantel that is narrow, I always use clear packing tape to attach the base layer of greenery on each end, and also in the centre. Once the base layer is nice and secure, I then add the lights, the more premium greenery, the ribbon. and any other adornments.
Now, I know you may be wondering: won’t that damage the mantel? Well, I guess it could if you are too aggressive taking the tape off. But if you remove it slowly and gently, you shouldn’t see any evidence it was ever there.
Option 2: Greenery Below the Mantel
OK, so now that we’ve discussed placing greenery on the mantel shelf itself, let’s look at another great option. The second option to hang greenery on a mantel for the holiday season, is to hang it below the shelf in a swag.
Hanging greenery in a swag is a great option if you have a narrow mantel shelf that won’t hold greenery securely. It’s also a good way to leave space on your mantel shelf for other decorations. For example, for this particular Christmas mantel in my All White Christmas Theme Home Tour, I wanted to feature a simple, nordic Christmas village on the mantel itself. By hanging the greenery in a swag, it kept the look simpler.
What You Need to Hang Greenery Below a Mantel
- Real or faux greenery garlands.Basic greenery for a foundation.
- More premium greenery garland for the top layer.
- For each type, buy enough to fill the the length of your mantel with at least 4 extra feet (2 ft to hang on each end).
- Adornments such as ribbon, Christmas ornaments, birch logs, candles, pine cones, and berries.
- Clear command hooks, or clear packing tape.
To hang greenery on a mantel in this way, I used clear command strip hooks on each end of the mantel shelf. Command strip hooks can be easily removed after the Christmas season without damaging the paint on your mantel. As well, you could use clear packing tape to tape the garland on each end.
I then used long pieces of ribbon to tie bows at the ends. This helped to cover the hooks, but also added some extra loveliness to the swag.
Go Forth & Decorate!
Now you know how easy it actually is to add greenery to your fireplace mantel for the holidays. These 2 options are simple to pull off, and will create a lovely pop of greenery to your space. If you are looking for some ways to hang your other Christmas decor, my friend Jen has a great article about must have gadgets on Rambling Renovators.
How to Add Ribbon to a Christmas Tree
Looking for more Christmas decorating tips and tutorials? I also have a popular step by step tutorial for adding ribbon to a Christmas tree beautifully:
What Goes on a Christmas Tree First?
Have you ever wondered the best order to decorate your Christmas tree? Does the ribbon or the ornaments go on first? I put together a tutorial on my tried and true process for decorating a tree. You might find it helpful.
I hope this Christmas decorating tips are helpful. Most of all, have fun with your holiday decorating, friends!
Finally, if you’re looking for some great new Christmas decor, I’ve curated some of my favourites in my Christmas Decor Shop, and you can also shop my Amazon Storefront for my favourite Amazon picks:
Until next time,
K.