Julie Finn
There’s no reason to ever buy a package of ornament hangers at the store, not when you can make an ornament hanger from scratch in less than a minute. These ornament hangers are easy to make, they look nicer than the store-bought ones, and if you do the kinds of crafts that tend to leave any stashes of craft or floral wire lying around the house, then you already have everything that you need to make them.
So, got an ornament in hand, and a tree to hang it on? Here’s what to do!
1. Cut off a length of wire. Use craft, jewelry, or floral wire–anything that will hold its shape when you bend it. Use a pair of wire nippers to cut off a length of around 6″, about as long as your hand.
This project is especially helpful if you have any extra-heavy or very precious ornaments, as you can use a sturdier wire and ensure that they will NEVER fall off of the tree!
2. Twist it. Use a pair of needlenose pliers to give the wire a couple of good spirals at either end. I like to make a couple of narrow spirals at the end at which I’m going to fasten the ornament hanger, so that I can then close them around the ornament to keep it secure. I like to bend a couple of larger spirals at the end of the wire that attaches to the tree; these can either be used to make sure that the hanger can’t come unbent and fall off the tree, or can also be pressed tightly around the tree’s branch so that it stays stuck in its spot.
Those cats will NOT bat your ornaments off of the tree this year!
If you’d like, this is also the point at which you can embellish your ornament hanger. Check out my tutorial for beaded ornament hangers to see how to make your hangers super fancy!
3. Attach and hang. I like to keep my ornament hangers attached to their ornaments year after year–another benefit compared to using those cheap-o store-bought ones. That means that even though these ornament hangers take a little (JUST a little!) more time to create, they save time over the years of tree-trimming that you have ahead of you.
