Woman's simple, drill-free garland hanging trick hailed the ultimate Christmas decor hack
All of the holiday magic, with zero of the fuss.

It all begins with a shower curtain rod
TikTok is a wonderful hub of ingenious hacks, and that goes double for holiday decorating.
With Christmas just around the corner—and plenty of folks already infusing that Christmas aesthetic into their homes—this viral tip for hanging garland might be a gamechanger for those who love to get festive but hate tedious labor.
Not only is this hack easy to do, it requires zero drilling, eliminating any potential damage to the walls (apartment dwellers, rejoice).
Home decor blogger @thekwendyhome explains.
“Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you: Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod,” she wrote in the caption of a video posted to her TikTok channel focused on all kinds of nifty home hacks.
“I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself,” she continued. “It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating.”
@thekwendyhome Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you! Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod! I had to try it for myself after seeing @Letneeutro do it! I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself. It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating 😅 I linked everything on my LTK in my bio. Now go forth and deck those halls. #deckthehalls #christmasdecorating #christmas #christmas2023 #christmasdecor #decorhack #decorhacks #christmashack #christmashacks #garland #christmasgarland #christmasgarlandhack #homedecor #damagefreedecor #rentalfriendlydecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) - Auni
Her suggestions are as follows:
- Use a shower curtain rod and tighten at an entry. (Wayfair currently has an adjustable golden curtain rod for less than $20, with great reviews)
- Drape and wrap your shower rod with a garland. You might need two for a fuller look.
- Remember to fluff your garland.
- Weave twinkle light into your garland.
- Add your accent — whether that’s ornaments or an additional sparkly garland (or both).
- Raise your shower rod to your desired height and tighten.
- Then turn on your twinkle lights and enjoy the magic.
This tip quickly got millions of views, with people calling it a “genius” idea. And @thekwendyhome has even more brilliant, cost effective holiday decor tips where that came from.
Like this hack for creating the same gingerbread houses you see at Crate & Barrel for a fraction of the cost.
@thekwendyhome Let’s make these gingerbread houses on a budget! I shared this DIY last year but saw that PB is making selling them this year for $50-70 a pop so I figured I’ll share it again! You can snag these birdhouses from the dollar store or from Michaels. Spray paint them brown and the key is to use joint compound as frosting. It gives a much more realistic look and you can make those 3D drippy designs and icicles hanging off your gingerbread house roof tops! It’s super easy to make a budget friendly. This is the perfect diy for your next crafty party with friends and family. Plus you can display these year after year. #christmascrafts #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #homemadechristmas #homemadedecor #homeadedecorations #deckthehalls #gingerbreadhouses #kidfriendlycrafts #kidcraft #kidcrafts ♬ Home Alone - Somewhere In My Memory - Theme - Geek Music
Or some Christmas garland using upcycled tomato paste tubes.
@thekwendyhome This upcycled garland is such a beautiful diy. Let’s give a tube of tomato paste a new lease on life! @_hausimwald_ on Insta captured my imagination with this beautiful diy and now I can’t stop! It is perfect for your autumnal decor, Thanksgiving and for Christmas. It gives me all the cozy cottagecore feelings. The possibilities are endless. Imagine cutting out your own Merry Christmas garland or any letter garland. You can do little moons 🌙 and stars ✨. Or even little mushrooms. In other words, I need more tomato or mustard tubes! What other packaging can we upcycle? #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #diy #handmadedecor #homemadechristmas #homedecor #deckthehalls #garland #upcycle #upcycleddecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) - Auni
Christmas can be a time when people feel so pressured to spend money that they end up not fully enjoying the holiday. But there’s almost always a workaround, and sometimes it’s more fun to get creative than simply purchasing anyway. Bottom line: tis the season to be jolly, in whatever way feels best.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.