I get this question a lot.
What's the difference between a banner and a garland? Aren't they the same thing?
And the answer is, they are the same thing...sort of.
The Google version is this:
Banner: noun 1.a long strip of cloth bearing a slogan or design, hung in a public place or carried in a demonstration or procession.
Garland: noun 1: a wreath of flowers or leaves, worn on the head or hung as a decoration.
So, both are basically some form of decoration, just one has words and one has flowers.
And that is the same definition I use. 
If I have something labeled as a banner, then it's overall design is that word or phrase; Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Go Away. The majority of my banners are currently winter holiday seasonal themes, but I’m building my collection of year round seasonal sayings
{shown: a selection of winter seasonal sayings}
If it is labeled as a garland, it does not have words on it, just shapes like clouds or sloths or triangles. The only exception, currently, because there is always an exception!, is the Large Candy Heart Garland. I consider the candy heart phrases a part of the larger candy heart 'object' so they 'don't count as words'. Also, all my banners are the exact same design: 2-point tabs in 2 colours with letters on them. The candy hearts don't fit that design so....garland.{shown: Fall Leaves Garland}
I use these two categories mostly to help keep myself organized, like the first subcategory of my wall decor product line. My original list of wall decor which listed everything together seemed overwhelmingly long. As soon as I sorted my designs by banner vs garland (vs other designs), the products & lists seemed much more manageable.
And there you have it!
Banners have words!
Garlands do not!
the end.