Decorate Like the Mall

by Lisa L Hall

4 Materials

3 Hours

Easy

Have you ever walked through the mall during the holidays and seen all of the ornaments hanging from the railings, ceilings of the stores, and all around? They add such a holiday feeling and now you can have that at home.

After looking at the mall decorations I realized that this can't be that hard to do. My bigger concern was the cost. I love to decorate but I don't want to spend a fortune to do it.

I began gathering my pieces after the holidays were over....Things are at deep discounts. I was able to get 100 ornaments for $10.00. No I haven't hung 100 ornaments in my house....well not yet.

I noted that all of the mall ornaments were hung on beautiful velvet ribbon...Walmart, Amazon and Hobby Lobby carry velvet ribbon - all year round. So while shopping for velvet ribbon I also found glitter ribbon....I love everything that sparkles. So I bought a roll of each; velvet and glitter.

Now became the task of deciding what is the best way to get these put together. So tapping into my inner MacGyver I grabbed my glue gun, scissors, the ribbon some bulbs and paperclips.

I'm so happy with the results and it is fast, easy and very inexpensive. The results will leave you feeling very festive. And since the ornaments come in so many colors you can decorate in this fashion for a lot of holidays; Hanukkah, Easter (yes, they make great hanging Easter eggs, Mardi Gras..I'm sure there are others that I haven't thought of.

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Please excuse my table top....Here is the only items I used for this project. Kids can do this too as long as you are there to supervise with the hot glue gun. (I do think one finger has no fingerprints left after getting my decorations done this year)

After determining where you are going to hang your decorations, start cutting your ribbon in the desired length. Mine were 2 feet and 3 feet strips. I picked up the 2" wide ribbon. You can use any thickness. I wanted a certain look....you'll see what I mean in the last photo.

For the end where you will hang the ornament, you will fold half of the ribbon into a point..It is about an inch worth of the ribbon that I folded over to make the point. I put some glue to hold that section.

I then added my paperclip. You will want to bend one part of the clip out so you can slide on your ornament.

I added more glue and then folded the other side into a point. I made sure to cover the paperclip with the ribbon.

Let it cool completely before handling. About 3 minutes.

This is what the point will look like. Remember this is the back side of the ribbon.

This is the finished project.... Once you slide the bulb onto the paperclip, you just need to bend it up toward the back side of the ribbon. You have a nice point and a great decoration.

So here is the finished project. To hang these, I used simple duct tape. You can use hot glue but be warned it can tear off your paint when you remove it.

Don't worry...if you can't find the right ribbon....fishing line works great too and then your bulbs look like they are just floating in air. I have those too. It's great for bathroom mirrors or to hang from lights.

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Frequently asked questions

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3 of 4 questions

Kpa4971194 on Dec 20, 2019

Will try this with large bells

0
EsAvi on Jan 15, 2020

I love it!

0
Christinea Singh on Nov 02, 2020

This is wonderful. Did you use wired ribbon?

2

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2 of 71 comments

Doc's Mom on Sep 10, 2025

I am so glad this has come up again this year. It is absolutely GORGEOUS! So festive, simple, and won't break the wallet making. Some of us have all these things already but I'll admit, I want to buy MORE of those balls/Christmas ornaments. This was not just a wonderful idea for decorating but it certainly provided us with some laughter. I've an "English Sister" who, over the 60 years we have been pen pals, will say something in an email that I have to put the grey cells together to figure out what it is. I'm sure she does the same. It is wonderful when we talk over the phone; her accent is so lovely - like her heart. Thank you so much for sharing this idea with us. I'm thinking of making this in a shorter version to put at the very top of inside doors and perhaps make some to give as gifts to fellow crafters. Lisa, you are an inspiration to all - even 'seniors' like me. God Bless and keep crafting!

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Lisa L Hall on Sep 10, 2025

This was a lot of fun for sure. And yes...I have my own dictionary. hahaaha. I've done just the ribbon without any 'ornaments" just to add more sparkle.

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