This viral DIY door garland hack sold Amazon out of tension rods - here's how to get the look for Christmas

The six-week Christmas countdown has officially commenced, which means it's time to start decorating our homes for the festive season. And what better place to start than this easy DIY door garland? After going viral on social media, Amazon was sold out of tension rods but the good news is that it's back in stock, and on sale for Black Friday. 

While the best artificial Christmas trees are the perfect centrepiece for our living rooms, Christmas decor should extend throughout your home for more festive cheer. Decking every doorway and surface in garlands, whether real or fake, will make each corner feel like your very own grotto, and DIY Christmas decor ideas are an affordable way to recreate the magic. 

Whether you live in a period property with high ceilings that make it tricky to attach a garland, or you live in a rental where you can't put nails in your wall, this DIY uses only a shower rod to carry the garland. It's affordable and quick to put up and take down when Christmas is over - what more could you ask for?

Christmas DIY door garland hack

Christmas is an expensive time of year, so finding budget Christmas decorating ideas that don't cost the earth, but look like they do, is key. Christmas garlands offer that effortless 'quiet luxury' look that will make your home look premium, and all you need is a £10.47 Amazon shower rod.

 Jen Rothbury, otherwise known as interior blogger @crack_the_shutters, featured the viral DIY garland hack on her page with a link to the Amazon tension rod and sold it out after gaining more than 11,000 clicks. Luckily, it's now back in stock and one style is on sale for Black Friday - a win-win. 

Using this hack to decorate doorways and arches is great for adding more allure to your home decor, but also a handy alternative if you don't have a fireplace to make the most of Christmas mantelpiece ideas. 

@alishacperry on TikTok shared this ingenious hack, which was inspired by @thekwendyhome, where she used a shower rod in her doorway to wrap the garland around. It's a simple way to decorate your hallway for Christmas, especially if you live in a flat or don't want to do the traditional garland on a staircase. 

@alishacperry

♬ Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Michael Bublé

1 Piece Shower Curtain Rod | £16.88 at Amazon
This shower curtain rod, or tension rod, is all you need for this hack. If your architraves are white, opt for a white rod so that it blends in underneath the garland.

View Deal

In the video, Alisha starts by fixing the shower rod at a lower height so she can wind the garland around it easily. Being able to do this reduces the strain on your arms and makes it much faster to wind it securely. 

Depending on if you've chosen a faux foliage garland that comes decked out with lights, you might want to add some extra accessories to your garland to spruce it up even further. We love this pre-lit ultimate pinecone garland from The White Company, but here are a few options if you want to decorate the garland exactly to your taste. 

'When decorating, generally, we vary the materials we use because it gives off a sense of grandeur - but for high-traffic areas and decorating internal doors in the hallway, opt for bows and non-breakable baubles,' advises Danielle Le Vaillant, head of photography and film at Cox & Cox.

'Pre-lit garlands are the best investment for Christmas door decor because these are battery-powered, and sockets can be a real challenge when decorating doors with lights.' 

The beauty of this garland DIY is that you can make it exactly as affordable as you like, and you can decorate it as simply or lavishly as you like. Happy DIYing!