When it comes to the holidays, I LOVE to decorate. I decorate every spot in my home – including the bathroom, kitchen and even our hallway/entrance way.
Just the other day we had a service man come over to repair something and he said he was impressed by how much decorations we had. He said his wife goes all out when it come to decorating too, but she had nothing on me.
I think our decorations are tasteful, fun and eclectic. I try not to be “tacky.” We do have a red velvet dog that reads “Merry Christmas” (it belonged to my husband’s parents) and the kitschy plastic light up Santa, but I consider those fun decorations, not tacky. Especially because they have a lot of memories attached to them.
We are one of the very few people who decorate our balcony in our condo complex. I’ve had people actually thank us for taking the time to decorate our balcony – even people who live in other parts of our complex who happen to drive by our building. Those compliments always make me feel good.
Recently I was given the opportunity to try some new decorations – a wreath and garland from Tree Classics. Tree Classics makes the world’s finest artificial trees, wreaths and garland. They truly look real.
We’d love to have a real tree, but we worry about it being in direct light (it would have to be placed in front of our sliding glass doors) and with five cats and a dog, we shutter to think about them drinking the water for the tree. It’s bad enough they chew on our fake tree’s needles, let alone a real tree.
I do miss the look (and smell) of a real tree. Maybe some day we can have one again (I used to have a real tree growing up). Plus I love the idea of visiting a tree farm to cut down our own tree. I want to experience that one day.
We do have a wreath for our front door, but it’s made out of bent tree branches (I’m not sure if they are even real) and has caroling cats on the front. It’s cute, but that is about it.
Tree Classics sent me the most gorgeous wreath for our front door. I received to review their Venetian Elegance Christmas Wreath.
The Venetian Elegance Christmas Wreath and Garland are one of Tree Classics’ time-honored favorites. Decorated with pine cones, bronze ornaments, gold streaks, and red flowers, the wreath and garland create a festive ambiance that everyone will recall happily for years to come.
The Venetian Elegance Wreath is a beautiful all-weather wreath for both indoor and outdoor use. Sporting a mix of PVC and real pine needles, this wreath is made from flame-proof material that makes it safe to use during this most festive of holidays. The Venetian Elegance Christmas Garland is perfect for doorways or atop the mantel, and its sparkling clear lights will add a unique glow to your family’s holiday activities.
The one we have is HUGE. It’s 34″ and it fills up the entire door. It’s a wee bit bigger than I anticipated, but none the less it’s a gorgeous wreath. Simply stunning. All of our neighbors have complimented us on it and one even questioned if it was real or not.
Here it is on our front door.
This wreath lights up. It comes with white lights. All you need to do is add batteries to the battery pack. I intentionally left the area where the on/off switch and batteries are in the photo so you can see that it’s convenient to turn on/off. You don’t need to wrestle with it, unlike our Christmas tree. I can never find the on/off switch for the lights buried in the tree.
The on/off switch is to the bottom left where that white spot is on the wreath. Once the batteries are installed the battery box blends in with the wreath. You don’t see it unless you are looking for it.
I tried to get a good close up of the wreath so you can see the detail, but the photo didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped it would. It truly does look very real and the beautiful embellishments really add to this gorgeous wreath.
Sadly, I have found that putting the lights on is pointless. The lights in the hallway are always on (24/7) so the beautiful white lights on this wreath don’t really get noticed.
Next year when we decorate I am going to hang this wreath on the wall in our living room. It’s a blank wall for the most part (we do have one huge photo hanging on it). That way we can not only enjoy the wreath all the time, but also because we can turn the lights on and enjoy them as well.
Here is a photo of the wreath with the lights on (a much better, professional photo).
There are just enough lights to give it a bit of sparkle without going over board. A gorgeous wreath like this doesn’t need colorful or flashing lights. Simple, subtle white lights are all it needs. In fact, it’s so beautiful that it doesn’t need lights at all.
In addition to the lovely wreath I also received a 12′ strand of matching Venetian Elegance Christmas Garland, which also lights up. The garland needs to be plugged in.
Both the garland and this particular wreath – due to the fact they light up – are fine for indoor/outdoor use as long as they are not exposed to the elements too much outside.
Originally the garland was going to be wrapped around our balcony railing, but the raining does get exposed to the snow and rain, so I didn’t want to chance it.
We also considered wrapping it on the outside of our balcony doors, but we worried about the same thing. Snow and rain does reach that far, even though it’s covered. In addition, the condo board just put up new siding this past summer and they frown upon (and complain LOUDLY) if you attach anything to the building (nails, hooks…) so we opted to use the garland inside.
Our first choice was over the opening to the hallway (from the hallway to the living room) that way we could enjoy it all the time. Plus there is a plug in that area, so that worked out perfectly.
I purchased a few 3M Command Hooks (the kind you see advertised on TV). They don’t damage the wall, so we figured that would be the perfect way to hang the garland without adding nails to the wall.
I purchased hooks that would hold four pounds, figuring that was good for the garland (plus it was the heaviest ones I could find). We followed the direction to a tee, but when we went to hang the garland we found that the garland was too thick and wouldn’t fit in the hook part. No matter how we tried to get it to fit, it wouldn’t fit. It was also heavier than expected and two of the four hooks popped off the wall.
My husband needs to figure out another viable option for hanging the garland. In the meantime we hung it in the dining room around our window. It actually looks good there and we can enjoy it all the time since we can see into the dining room from the living room.
These photos turned out a bit better than the ones for the wreath.
I love the way it looks. I especially love how the light dances off the ceiling.
As you can see from the photos the garland is adorned with pine cones, flowers and other beautiful things.
The photos really don’t do this justice. You have to see it in person to truly appreciate it.
Both the wreath and garland (Venetian Elegance) are available in different sizes as well as without lights. They also have a variety of styles too. Here are just a few examples.
Wreath and garland are each sold separately.
Tree Classics also carries tree toppers, tree skirts, ornaments, storage bags, lights, swag, stockings and of course – Christmas Trees! They even have trees that snap together quickly and easily.
To learn more about Tree Classics, or to check out their beautiful products, visit TreeClassics.com. You can also find the brand on social media. All of their links are found on the bottom of their website.
What do you think about the Tree Classics wreath and garland I received to review? Do they look like something you’d like for your home? Feel free to share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.
Kimberly
*I received free products to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Barbara Montag says
I love these decorations – so festive for the holidays!