Romantic Holiday Decorating with a Christmas Mantel Garland
In this post: If you love romantic holiday decorating, you’ll be inspired to create a Christmas mantel garland using fresh greenery and flowers.⇒
Is romantic a word you’d use for the holiday season?
With the hustle and bustle, shopping and spending, parties and dinners and riotous color, I’m guessing not.
But why not?
Why not slow it down a bit?
Why not aim for a gentler time, with a little less bling and a lot more quiet beauty? Not everything needs to light up. Sometimes the most exquisite things are also the simplest.
Today I’m joining with a few other bloggers to bring you ‘Home for Christmas’, a blog hop celebrating the warmth of home during the holidays. Please be sure to visit the other posts linked below.
Christmas Mantel Garland
For this year’s mantel, I went for exactly this kind of soft gentility. Elegance brought by natural elements, carefully placed and lovely to look at. But ever-so-simple at the same time.
All it took was a trip to the garden center to find fresh greens. I’ve been wanting fresh cedar for weeks now and finally it was there in plentiful bundles. I grabbed a few and headed inside to select flowers.
And that’s when I saw them…
If you read my last post about my white Christmas tree, you know I’m talking about peonies!
I don’t know what it is about them, but I find them to be heartbreakingly beautiful. Their lush petals, their delicate ruffled edges, the way they open from tightly held buds to glorious blooms with remarkable presence.
I’m thrilled that they’re being imported now, from places in the Southern Hemisphere where it’s summer now. What a joyous discovery!
And this is precisely the kind of small pleasure I’m wanting to slow down and enjoy. Do you feel the same as I do, like you can’t continue at this warp speed pace?
I long for time to sit by the fire, cuddle against a fur pillow and read a good book.
Or a glossy magazine.
Or listen to my favorite tunes.
Or watch a movie.
Or just stare into space and dream about the future. Plan for a trip or other exciting adventure.
I didn’t expect to find peonies and thought I’d see what was available in the flower shop. I figured it would be something in white or red or perhaps even in a deep claret. Holiday colors are what I expected.
But I’m not one to resist peonies. Life is short. Why would I?
I did select mostly white and I suppose I could have paired them with another red flower. I wanted it to say holiday, after all.
But they had the pink and who could turn away pink peonies?
Not me.
So into the cart they went and home they came.
I delicately placed the cedar branches along my mantel, emanating from the gilded clock. I was careful to drape them over the edges and propped some up along the bottom of the mirror. Then I went to work tucking in my peonies.
The way they fall they remind me of playful children.
Tips & Tricks
To keep your flowers fresh longer, tuck the ends into flower water tubes filled with water and hide the tubes within the greenery and baubles. You can find the vials here: Flower Water Tubes.
And because it’s holiday time I added some ornaments, in gold and silver, sparkled and shiny.
Just a few, here and there. Not over the top, but maintaining that gentility.
The cable knit stockings are the final touch. Soft and pom-pommed with a lovely drape, they foster an air of tranquility like the rest of the scene.
Red velvet would have been jarring and broken the mood. But the cozy sweater knit is just perfect.
This is just a little restful corner in my chaotic world, but it offers me calm and serenity at a much needed time.
I wish you all the same peace for the holidays. Take some time to treat yourself with kindness while spreading cheer to others!
Resource Guide
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So pretty as always Lory…and I love cedar mixed with peonies!
Thanks, Janet! Haha, I’ve been waiting for a month for the cedar… lol. I was in the nursery before Thanksgiving looking for it and they thought I was crazy.
Oh my how beautiful is your mantel and the peonies really set it off! Thank you for sharing with us
Thank you Norma! I’m so glad you could appreciate it… 🙂
Such a beautiful mantle, Lory! Love the serene elegance. Happy Hanukkah!
Thanks, Ginger!! The holidays came so fast this year!
I am in love with peonies, and remember huge bushes of them in all shades surrounding our home as a kid. Love your serene vibe!!
Thanks so much, Tanya!
I can’t believe that you found peonies in December!!! I am so jealous! And this mantle is stunning!
Aw thanks so much Ashley! Yes, it was a delightful surprise. Do you have Whole Foods near you? If so, you should try them… 🙂
Love this so much Lory! The cedar and peonies is indeed, romantic – and stunning! The perfect mix! And I’m loving your cute stockings too! Headed to check those out now:)
Happy Holidays to you my friend!
Sheila
xo
Thanks so much, Sheila!! Ah, to have peonies all year. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Happy Holidays to you too!
Oh Lory, peonies are my favorite and this is so elegant and romantic and just the perfect mantel garland! I’m so glad you were able to find them this time of year. I so wish I could! So fun to join you today, thanks for getting us together! xoxo
Thank you so much, Summer! And it was my pleasure to help… 🙂 Yes, I’m so into pink peonies and I’m not surprised that you are too. I love your style and glad we got to ‘hop’ together !!
Lory your mantel is stunning – you have such an incredible gift for creating the most romantic scenes, I wish I had your talent! That fresh greenery is so beautiful! I feel transported every time I visit your blog!
Lory, I’m awestruck with the magic you have created with the cedar and peony mix-brilliant!! Such a soft romantic, elegant mantel that is just perfect for the holidays! So happy to be teaming up with you for this fun hop and thank you again for all your work!!
Happy Holidays to you,
xoxo
Kim & Lacey
So so gorgeous Lory – I’ll take Romantic any day! Especially now! Happy Holidays!
Lori, the mantel is so elegant. I love fresh flowers and the camellias are gorgeous this year so I can bring fresh into my home at no expense!
A beautiful mantle but so much style over substance! Where is your oasis to keep those lovely flowers alive? A wee indication of how you went about the design would have been helpful. Also, did you ever, in a serene moment, stop to think about the cost to the climate in flying all those flowers north so you could enjoy them?
Merry Christmas to all you gas guzzling, climate criminals!
I use flower tubes to keep loose flowers alive. I’ve added a link to the post in case that’s not obvious to everyone (much like adding water to the vase when you place flowers in a vase).
The post explains pretty clearly how I went about it, as I mention placing the greenery emanating from the center clock and spilling over the edges and then tucking in the flowers and baubles. The placement is random. There is no formula.
As for the imported flowers, more than 90% of flowers in the US are imported, not just peonies. And why pick on just the flowers? Do you know how many things are imported for the holidays? I’m guessing an enormous percentage of the things you see in every post on every blog have been imported. So while the sentiment of your comment is appreciated, you’re going to have a much bigger task on your hands that just picking on my peonies.