and so it begins... • Every Day Dress by Rebecca Collins

*last year’s pots, hello Winston over in the left corner*

*three ropes of 15′ garland waiting for my attention*

*After* *measuring the front door, I set the garland in* the driveway to wind the lights around it. You can see last year’s lights strung around used cardboard gift boxes; *that’s* *how I stored them for easy access this year. Tangles of lights are no fun.*

I tied a red ribbon in the center of the garland so that I could quickly find the middle when I was up on the ladder. After winding the lights, I put the entire thing in a wheelbarrow so that I could move it easily to the front door.

*Ready to go. While I don’t advise this, I always do this project when I’m home alone. It would be best if you had someone holding the ladder for you.*

*Violá. And so it begins. The holiday hustle has commenced.*

Last Saturday, I picked up three 15-foot garland ropes at the market while I was shopping for the day’s necessities. Two days ago, I hung two of the ropes, and now I have one to go.

We don’t have a lighting team; I’m a solo entrepreneur. Every year, I string hundreds of lights, creating my best-effort holiday wonderland. It takes hours, and it’s slow. I try to do a little every day, and with each run down to the basement or up to the attic, a bit more gets added to the glow.

Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way:

Measure your space. I used to buy whatever, and then I would end up with whatever and create with whatever and get a whatever kind of look. Now I measure, write down measurements, and go in with a plan. For our front door, I used two lengths of 15′ garland and joined them in the center by wiring them together after ensuring that the greenery on each side of the door would hang down properly. This may sound basic, but I didn’t realize there was a right side down to fresh garland years ago. Here’s how to think about it; you want it hanging down your doorway like you would see it growing in the garden, the branches would hang softly down, not grow upwards. Anyway, that little trick took a few seasons to get right.

Wrap the garland with your lights before you hang it, and measure the length of the lights. It is recommended to use 10 lights for every foot of garland, so a fifteen-foot length of greenery would require 150 lights. I used two lengths of 200 lights, so I had 400 lights for 30 feet of garland or an extra 100 lights. My husband would tell you I always overcompensate.

Decide if you want cool lights or warm lights and firmly commit. This is tricky. With the changes in lighting, you might unknowingly pick up cool lights at the hardware store, get them home, hang them up, and not really like the effect. Last year, I had a mix-up of warm and cool lights, and it just didn’t hit. This year, I’m trying to get a full-on warm look, and it’s taking effort. Again, I’m a solo entrepreneur, and I have lots of trial and error.

Decades ago, when we first moved into our new home, we had a professional hang the front door garland, and he strung it tight to the doorframe, which looked elegant and formal. I now hang it with swags at the top because I like to see some of the greenery from the inside of our home as I’m hustling about. It joys me to see boughs of greenery lit up softly along the top edge of our doorframe, and if they’re covered in snow, it’s that much extra. The swags are more casual and less perfect, yet I enjoy them from the outside and the inside, so bonus points.

*This is last year’s side door entrance. You can see the cool lights and the right side of the garland hanging upwards. Oh, well*. *This year, I can go for warm lights, split the 15′ length, and join it in the center so both sides hang* downwards. It’s always a learning process.

*This is last year’s side entrance from the inside. I also like being able to see the evergreen boughs and the lights from inside our home.*

Anyway, decorating your home is a fun do-it-yourself project. It’s ever-evolving, kind of like dressing yourself. You learn along the way, and every day, you have the opportunity to do a little more or do it a little differently. And so it begins…