Boughs & Bows: A (Judy) Garland Christmas

If Christmas had a signature accessory, it would be the garland — looping, draping, twinkling, and just a little bit tangled (like us by the end of the Christmas season). This weekend we leaned into that spirit, stringing together a Judy Garland–inspired day that mixed wreath-shaped food, family crafts, oversized porch lights, and a soundtrack straight from Hollywood’s golden age.

Technically, this date started the night before (Halloween) with the doorbell ringing from trick or treaters still reverberating in our ears. As soon as our front porch lights were turned off, we poured a glass of Ghoul Wine Gluhwein and settled down to watch Meet Me in St. Louis. Few films cover all four seasons, but this one does — from Halloween pranks to a Christmas Eve ball. Watching it on October 31 felt like handing the baton from one holiday to the next. Our day followed the same arc: pumpkins and fall leaves on the porch one night, Christmas lights and evergreen garland the next .

Breakfast as we woke up to the month of November hand-decorated “BOUGHnut” wreath donuts with M&M berries. Once fully fueled, the decorating for Christmas got underway. While the kids built a paper chain countdown for our Christmas festivities, trays of oranges baked in the oven. And by the time they came out, the house smelled like a Christmas market. Historically, dried oranges and popcorn were strung into garlands in 19th-century America — a way to add color and scent to simple pioneer Christmas trees. That made it even more fitting when our “decor” doubled as snacks.

Lunch was tomato soup with bow-shaped pretzels, followed by quiet time and a Judy Garland playlist. We cycled through her holiday canon: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Silent Night, The Christmas Song, and numbers from The Judy Garland Christmas Show.

Fun fact: One of her best-known contributions almost didn’t happen the way we know it — Garland refused to sing the original “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” lyrics because they were too grim. Thanks to her push, we now get the lighter version that’s been sung for 80 years.

And another fun fact and a point of our Minnesotan pride, Judy Garland’s very first stage performance was at a Christmas show in Grand Rapids, MN, where she performed “Jingle Bells” when she was just two-and-a-half. From a baby debut in our state to headlining MGM musicals — not a bad trajectory.

The main event of the day was outside. We built jumbo Christmas lights by sliding green We even added an over-sized electrical plug-in fashioned from a trash can. Once dusk hit, they glowed in bold colors that could be seen a block away.

Back inside, the orange slices and bowls of popcorn finally got their second life as garlands. We strung them into uneven loops, sometimes slipping in jingle bells or beads. The twins had unique combinations to say the least, but that’s part of the charm. Before the kids crashed after a full day, we played a family round of the Garland Game, which was basically Charades with the added benefit of garland. Miles and Edison got remarkably into it and we had a blast trying to draw up Christmas themed words in our teams of two. A cheese board as well as a turkey cresecent wrap, both designed to look like wreaths kept us going during the festivities.

Once the kids were asleep, we shook up a medley of cocktails (a rosy “Have Yourself a (Rose)Merry Little (Gimlet) Manhattan”, a crisp Tinsel & Tonic, and one with dried oranges and cranberries and a frozen rosemary ice wreath.) And we closed the night as adults crafting our own strands of garland while watching the quintessential and heart-warming The Judy Garland Christmas Show, raising glasses as Judy sang us out.

This date had everything: Halloween-to-Christmas crossover, wreath-shaped food, oranges and popcorn that honored both history and appetite, jumbo porch lights that doubled as a marquee, and Judy Garland’s full Christmas repertoire in the background.

Verdict: one of the brightest dates we’ve had. Or to borrow Judy’s own words — the day truly made our heart “be light”. And hopefully this date did so for you as well!

Activities

• “Meet Me in St. Louis”

• Paper Chain Countdown Craft

• Dried Orange & Popcorn Garlands

• Jumbo Sized Porch Strand Garland

• Jingle Bell & Bead Garland Craft

• Tinsel Garland Limbo

• Garland Game (Pictionary with Garland)

• The Judy Garland Christmas Show

Menu

• Judy Garland “Ghoul Wine” Gluhwein

  Green “BOUGHnut” Wreath Donuts

• Cornflake Wreaths

• Tomato Soup w/ Pretzel Bows

• Wreath Cheese Board

• Turkey Wreath with Basil & Pesto

• Have Yourself a (Rose)Merry Little (Gimlet) Manhattan

• Tinsel & Tonic