L
ast year, I showed you all how I love to put fresh greens on the mailbox. They’re pretty, they are free, and they just look so much better to me than the fake ones do. Besides, I love free! I stopped by a local tree lot and picked up a few branches of their discarded spruce tree limbs, which are the perfect base for a mailbox swag.
Made myself a bow from 2 rolls of Dollar Tree gold ribbon ($2 total). I had bought that set of 3 gold and silver plastic ornaments last year in the after Christmas sales (I think I paid $5 for them all), with plans of doing this on the mailbox this year. The little gold/silver jingle bell garland came from Dollar Tree too. Fresh cedar and magnolia from some nearby trees complete my greenery needs to mix it up here on the mailbox. 
Start by wedging in some foam on top of the mailbox. I had to jam 2 pieces together to get it to stay, along with some added floral wire.
After adding in some branches, then go back with a few more strands of floral wire and loop them through the branches around the back of the mailbox post and that will help keep it all secure. Do that in 2 or 3 spots and it should hold up through wind and rain.
Now, all you do is start cutting smaller branches and sticking them in the foam all up and around the mailbox, filling in and keeping it even all the way around. I added in the cedar towards the front, along with the magnolia, that’s what I want to be seen the most. The spruce branches are a good base and the other 2 greens just add additional texture. 
Then I wired in the gold bow to the top of my mailbox which has some scrolly ironwork up there. And I tied the gold and one silver pinecone on that iron piece too so that it would hang down on one side. Did the same thing with the other silver pinecone on the other side. 
Then, I just strung the jingle bell garland across the whole thing, letting it hang down equally on either side. You can see it in this pic.
And that’s it! A mailbox swag, cheap and easy and I’ll keep everything for next year, except all the fresh greens, they will be tossed. I love how pretty this looks and that it doesn’t look like every other mailbox on the street.
You know I have to be different! 
Try it at your house and see what you come up with. It’s a fun way to welcome Christmas for your neighbors, who will see it every day too.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
That is darling!
Too Cute! Looks beautiful! I have been wanting to tell you this for a long time! I love your blog! BUT I like YOURS because you show us real pictures. Some of these blogs try to do the up close thing… which is nice but not for every photo! Photography is great but I also like to see real pictures from a distance! THANK YOU FOR BEING REAL! Nancy from OHIO!
This is great! Bookmarking for once we finally get a house!!
Rhoda! That is gorgeous! love the shiny magnolia leaves in there!
I just did something kind of similar over our piano …no mantel (sniff) …using the oasis and leaves from the yard.
I love the swag. Just gorgeous. I can not wait to live at my Savannah home and use the magnolia leaves in decorating.
(And the snow banks will not bury the mail box so I can find and decorate it- Hey maybe the snowplow driver will think it is so beautiful they will not take it out this year -LOL)
Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea.
Debra
Oh my stars! That’s gorgeous, Rhoda!
What a great and gorgeous idea! Rhoda, I forgot to mention this yesterday. Yes! I would love a tutorial on making bows. I’m hoping others have the same request. Thanks for all of the the great ideas.
Very pretty, Rhoda! I like this idea because I think I have some left-over decorations and I’ve got greenery in my yard I can take. Everyone by me seems to either wrap garland around their mailbox post or red ribbon {we have our mailboxes at the street as well}.
Oh how lovely the swag is! How fortunate you are to live in the south where the magnolias bloom. You have a true gift for making things beautiful.
Rhoda! You’re so smart and this is so beautiful! Merry Christmas and be a sweetie,
Shelia
After seeing this, I am so decorating my mailbox next year! It’s easy, peasy ( love that crazy word) and it just makes the mailbox stand out from all others.
~ Sue
This is so pretty! LOVE the greens and magnolia leaves! my mailbox, sadly, is across the street from my house
I did decorage my lampost though! I will stick some magnolia in it next year!
Have a great Christmas!
Lou Cinda
Hi Rhoda,
What a great looking mailbox. Wish I had one to decorate like yours. Those gold and silver pinecones are beauties. This will definitely be noticed by everyone who drives by and it will be interesting to see how many of your neighbors will start doing the same thing. TFS! Sheila
Rhoda, this is beautiful!
Do you water the foam to keep the branches fresh?
Wonder how this would hold up in below freezing temps.
Beautiful! I’m going to try that…(if only it was warmer so I wouldnt freeze outside). If it turns out I’ll put a picture up…thanks for the tips! Love your blog! ~Cindy
So cute!!
*hugs*deb
Looks great! Any way to water it to keep it fresh?
How clever, I love it.
Oh how I love this swag and I have all the stuff for one…always wonder how to make one of these so now I do. Thanks for the help!
Hey, ya’ll! I’m glad you all got inspired to maybe try this, it really is easy. And no, I don’t worry about watering it at all. We have gotten plenty of rain lately, so it is getting plenty of water & with the cooler temps, it will stay fresh til the end of the month, I think. Last year’s greens still looked decent when I took them down.
Your mail carrier is lucky to have such a pretty place to deliver to each day! Thank you for all your work this past year in posting such great things and providing so much inspiration! Your ideas are so practical, yet FABULOUS to look at!
Peace to you and your family this Christmas!
Your mailbox looks very elegant! I love it especially with the natural greenery.
Yours looks great Rhoda….I do the same to mine every year….I just go out into the woods and pick away…and of course you know here in NE if you wanted it would last until Spring…..it’s around 10 degrees today…LOVELY I have been baking all day and putting my bum next to the woodstove..
Baby it’s cold outside…..
All the best,
Kathy
That swag is amazing! You’re so good.
I have fresh cedar on my mailbox, but I didn’t think about adding all of the extra things like you did.
I love the height and the depth that yours has.
Sweet dreams.
So pretty. Thanks for showing us how to make it. Merry Christmas!
Rhoda, this is just beautiful! You did such a fabulous job putting it all together, too. LOVE the Dollar Tree!!!!! I decorated my dining room tree with ornaments from there. Thanks for walking us through the steps to make such a wonderful decoration….now only if I had my OWN mailbox. Ah well….
Hey, girlie, you won my giveaway!!!! Three little burlap cones are waiting to come and live at your home. I will need your address, so can you please email me at sweetcottagedreams1@comcast.net? Congrats and thank you for visiting my blog. Yes, KIM is a doll! So happy that YOU had the pleasure of meeting her, too.
xxoo
Becky
I love the mailbox swag! We live in a newer development and our mailbox is one big silver eyesore that houses 10 peoples post and I hate it. Not only is it ugly but I have to walk around the corner to get my mail. Lets just say the mail gets to my house once a week because of laziness.
Just started following your blog, love it!
Megan
This looks wonderful, Rhoda. Makes me homesick for Birmingham. . . the mailboxes there were always so pretty! We lived in Mtn. Brook for awhile, then in Vestavia Hills, and I used to love driving around just looking at the Christmas mailboxes. Alabama girls know how to do this right!
Looks amazing! Thanks so much for the advice with my garland around my door. I used the cup hooks like you said and it worked like a charm! Thanks agin!
It really is pretty…but with the high winds that overtakes out mailbox that just would not do…unless i would go and work on it daily…sigh…I will just enjoy yours. Dianntha
Gorgeous! Make me wish I had a curbside mailbox to decorate!