DIY Cranberry Popcorn Garland – Mountain Cravings

I’m crazy-impressed by the gorgeous holiday decorations popping up all over the internet. So many of you are so artistic! The wreaths, the wrapping, the advent calendars – if you need someone to drink hot cocoa by the fireplace, I’ll be there in five.

Me, though… I’m not crafty. I don’t make the time for hours of holiday decorations. As a young couple without kids, who moves from apartment to apartment pretty much every year, we haven’t accumulated much holiday stuff yet.

Really what I’m telling you is that it’s one week before Christmas and there were zero decorations up this morning. Hanging my head in Pinterest shame.

Here’s a DIY festive cranberry popcorn garland for the rest of us! With one hour and $5, you can make a sweet garland for your tree or balcony. Bonus built-in excuse to curl under a blanket and watch Christmas movies while you ‘work’.

I’m bursting with excitement to tell you that Kirk and I are moving back to Colorado before Christmas – for good! I’ve loved these views of snow-covered bluffs from our Wyoming apartment, but not so much the sub-zero temps and crazy winds.

And to be brutally honest, I’ve been seriously missing Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. Hashtag basic-but-truthful.

So this is it – we’ll be back in Golden before next weekend and my soul is singing!

Here’s what we’re using to make our garlands:

Cranberries, $2 for 2 lbs. fresh.
Popcorn, 50¢ for half a cup of kernels. Pop it on the stove!
Fishing line, $2. Pick an inexpensive but high-weight line to make it extra strong.
Sewing needle, 50¢ for heavier weight to pierce through kernels.

Line them out, string them up, and that’s it – really easy! Older kids can make their own garlands and little ones can help by designing patterns.

A couple tips…

Sew through the hard kernels when you can, this holds the popcorn more securely.
Pop ahead of time! Slightly-stale popcorn will keep its shape better.

In extra-good news, unsalted popcorn and cranberries are okay for dogs and cats! While they definitely shouldn’t eat lots, one or two that falls off shouldn’t hurt pets. Hang your garlands high so they aren’t too tempting for furry friends.

That’s really it – thread (line?) your needle and get going! Warmth and love and stress-free last-minute decorations for everyone.