The road to crafting hell is paved with ambitious DIY plans.

I had a really glamorous holiday project in the works for you. It involved copper and wire and tools and magic and all things good. Alas, the post office has yet to deliver my supplies, after TWO WEEKS of waiting, grumble grumble.

So what do you do when your original idea is foiled by unforeseen Acts of the Universe and you only have 3 days ’till Christmas?

Improvise.

All you need to make this DIY Modern Holiday Garland are greenery and about 20 minutes of time. Which means this is the perfect holiday decor idea for the Busy Wo/Man.

Which is pretty much all of us, assuming you don’t have a horde of obedient children helpful elves to run errands for you.

This garland is so easy that I didn’t shoot process photos. But since I used the word “guide” in my title, I’ll break it down for you anyways.

DIY Modern Holiday Garland

Skill Level: The Easiest.

Time: 20 minutes once you have all the supplies.

What You Need:

• a bunch of greens. Check your local groceries and tree lots for pine branches, magnolia, eucalyptus, and boxwood. Or if you live in a foresty area, take a walk with some shears!
• a branch or dowel for hanging
• twine, cord, or ribbon
• scissors

Step One – Tie a piece of cord to both ends of the branch/dowel so you can hang the completed garland.

Step Two – If necessary, thin the greens so you can separate them into bunches. Arrange the bunches in the order you want to hang them — this is totally subjective, just play around until you like it!

Step Three – Tie each bunch to the dowel using the twine. You can also tie extra greens along the top of the dowel for a dose of fancyness (see the close-up pic above).

Step Four – Hang. Admire. Add string lights and a couple candles. Holiday decorating complete.

See now, wasn’t that easy?

I got a little engrossed shooting the pretty pretty greenery, and ended up shoving our couch to the side and lying on the floor with my butt against the wall and my head propped on a pile of books to get the shots I wanted. Which left Jax puzzled.

It’s ok, Jax, I just like the pretties.

Oh god, I just talked to my cat through my blog. Is it too early for a stiff vegan eggnog? That’s appropriate around the holidays, right?

What’s left on your holiday to-do list?

I’m still sewing up stockings for our mantle. Because I’m apparently a crazy person who can’t heed my own words about crafting hell.

But good food with good people makes the frenzy worthwhile. Or so I keep telling myself…

Merry Everything, everyone! Enjoy your celebrations, whatever forms they take, and give yourself time to breathe it all in.

See you on the other side of my annual food coma!