I Used Pool Noodles for Holiday Greenery in 2 Spots (and Here’s What I Learned)
In the summer, my family loves to spend as much time outdoors as we can — especially in the pool. All of our pool toys go into storage once the season is over, and I haven’t generally given them a second thought until spring. But a few years ago, when pool time was long over, I was getting my boxes of holiday decorations out of the garage and some pool noodles rolled off the top shelf from where the summer supplies are stored. I had a “eureka” moment: These could get a second life through my holiday decorating.
Almost the same texture as those green florists’ foam bricks, the pool noodles would be the perfect “anchor” for holiday greenery — especially because I like to wrap mine around doorways, railings, and mantels.
Other benefits to pool noodles? They won’t leave a scratch or a mark behind when the season is over and the holiday trimmings are put away, and the lightweight material makes them easy to hang. I find that using pool noodles as shapers for my holiday garland works especially well in two spots in my home: around the banister and around the mantel. Here’s my best advice for holiday crafting with pool noodles.
The Best Way to Cut Pool Noodles
A serrated kitchen knife or a craft knife will work great for cutting pool noodles!
Use your knife to cut through one side of the noodle lengthwise from end to end to stretch open and allow it to grip the object where you want to hang decorations, and trim it as short (or maybe a little longer, to give yourself room for error) as the surface you’re adding garland to. In the instance of a long banister, you might have to tape multiple noodles together and then make your cut.
The noodle’s natural cylindrical shape means that once cut open, the noodle will easily wrap itself around the edge of a table, mantel, doorframe, or anywhere else you want to hang your decor.
The Easiest Way to Add Decor to Pool Noodles
The best way to get greenery to stick to a pool noodle is to use floral wire or decorations with spikes that can pierce the foam.
Artificial greens work best with this project, as they are lightweight and there is no worry of dropping needles or the greens drying out from indoor heat before your celebrations are done. You can pin those in place by using a little bit of floral wire.
To tuck pinecones and other smaller decorations in, wrap a piece of floral wire around the object you want to attach and insert the ends into the pool noodle to secure it into place. Continue to weave in decorations, lights, and greens to secure them and fill in the spaces to cover the noodle beneath the decorations. If you need to make any adjustments to your design, decorations can easily be removed and rearranged.
The Best Color Pool Noodle to Use
The best pool noodle is the one you have access to! That said, I used black to try to make the foamy material as incognito as possible.
You can always paint your noodle black or brown (to match mantels or banisters) before using, but as long as you’re thorough with your greenery, then you shouldn’t be able to see much of the noodle in the end.
Further Reading
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Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
