Am I the only person in the world who hasn’t started decorating for Christmas? It feels like it. The only thing I’ve done is hang a plain evergreen wreath on my front door. That’s it. I suppose I should get busy.
Yesterday I was out and about looking at some holiday decor, specifically greenery. The lighted fir garland I use for my stairs is looking sad, it’s over 10 years old. Last year I layered it with real cedar garland and eucalyptus and I admit it looked amazing, until 10 days later when the gorgeous evergreens had dried to a crisp. They still looked pretty for the photos though. :)
It’s that age old debate, do you decorate with faux or the real thing? Or both? I’ve always used both, although as the years go by I’m leaning more toward collecting really nice faux pieces since they last longer and can be reused. I still prefer the look of the real thing and scent is what makes the season special, but I’m limiting my use of it more and more.
My sister went full faux with her Christmas tree, and she loves it, but I haven’t done that yet. I still get a real evergreen tree because my teens love the outing where they pick it out, but at some point I’ll invest in a really nice faux tree someday. I reason the Christmas smell can always be captured with a nice wreath and some fresh garland strung up here and there.
Favorite fauxs in my collection include a boxwood wreath (seen here) and some birch trees (seen here, purchased here). I rounded up more realistic faux versions for your consideration.
larch tree / flocked pine wreath
olive leaves wreath / crimson berries
eucalyptus garland / frosted pine stem
pine with white berry garland / magnolia wreath
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This is so helpful! I would love to see a follow-up on this post with non-holiday natural looking faux greenery options too!
you got it!!
Thank you for posting these, I have already tried to purchase some holiday greens and had to send them back because they looked terrible. I’m going to give some of these a try.
Glad you like these!
I have a lipstick red tree (from Treetopia) that I love. It has tiny red lights and my only ornaments are antique, vintage and vintage reproductions, about two dozen of them. It is simple and elegant. Everything else, which isn’t a lot, is also faux because of the cats. One in particular will chew on the tree; I find several piles of saliva and red needles every day when I come home. At least it won’t poison her. But for the first time this year I bought a live wreath from TJ’s. It is positioned high up the wall, temporarily displacing a picture, but safe from Amara.
And I’d love real eucalyptus but that is also toxic so I was particularly interested in the faux one. Next year, when there is a Target here, I’ll check it out.
I saw some red tinsel trees with big red bulbs at Kohls and I loved that look! So I imagine yours is just as if not more beautiful!
I wanted wreaths to hang on my range hood and between my two large kitchen windows, and spent a long time finding the right kind of wreath – live greenery would have been great, but they always die before Christmas arrives and I didn’t want to buy them every year. I’m also weary of faux greenery, and with these being positioned not too far from the eye, I was worried it would look fake. I ended up going with these really pretty, hand-made wool felt wreaths, from a seller on Etsy. They’re even prettier in person, and they’re very light-weight (hung with just one push-pin). And of course, I love knowing that I’m supporting a small business…..Wow, the seller, CuriousBloom, is at capacity for this holiday season! Glad I bought mine late October :)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/569073185/20-felt-christmas-wreath-green-felt?ref=shop_home
Great find Karen !!
I still have pumpkins on our front porch! I better get with it seeing that December 1st is tomorrow. I think I have been trying to savor the seasons a little more the older I get. I need to check out some of your favorite fauxs. They look beautiful in the photos. I have one faux garland that I bought at our local hardware store several years ago. It’s pretty real looking and then I mix in some greens from the Christmas tree lot. Love that fresh Christmas tree scent!