5 Steps to Create Your Own DIY Wreath Just in Time for the Holidays

If you love creating DIY holiday decor, there’s no more iconic way to greet the season than with a natural, traditional wreath. Welcome visitors to your home with a circle of bright evergreen branches arranged in a lovely wreath, and make the classic design your own with beautiful ribbons, lights, and ornaments. You can create a festive Christmas wreath, a classic winter wreath with natural colors, or a bright and colorful wreath for any holiday of the year. With this guide, you’ll know the step-by-step process for creating a DIY wreath. Then we’ll explore different decor ideas to make your wreath pop.

Step 1: Choose Your Tree Boughs

Natural woods are a wonderful choice for a festive DIY wreath. Purchase fresh or dried boughs of fir, pine, cedar, or other resin-free woods from your local garden center. You can also work with artificial boughs for a long-lasting craft that you can hang year after year. Look for slender boughs (no more than half an inch thick) and pliable. You will also need around 25 two-foot boughs to complete the project and create a 14″ wreath. The number you need will vary based on the size of the wreath and how full you want to make it.

Step 2: Gather Your Other Materials

A plain green wreath is a beautiful decoration. But it can also be the base for a lot of holiday pizazz and spirit. Gather these additional materials to make a DIY wreath:

• Circular wreath frame with hanger (required)
• Pliers (required)
• Snippers (required)
• Floral wire (required)
• Ribbons (optional)
• Bells (optional)
• Pinecones (optional)
• Ball ornaments (optional)
• Sprigs of holly (optional)

Step 3: Prepare and Attach the Branches

First, snip the arms of the boughs so you have long, slender branches to work with. Next gather together a bunch of three branches of different lengths, with the longest in back and the smallest in front. Secure the cut ends of the bundle to the wreath frame with a length of floral wire. You can start anywhere along the frame.

Continue to gather bunches and attach them with wire around the edge of the frame. Position them approximately 60° apart (or two ‘hours’ apart if you imagine the wreath frame as a clock), and make sure they all face the same way. This makes the springy ends of each bunch cover the cut end of the previous bunch. Once you reach the end of the circle, bring the springy ends of the first bunch in front of the cut ends you just tied in place. 

Now you have a vibrant, lush-looking DIY wreath with no cut ends or wire in sight!

Step 4: Add Your Decorative Elements

If you love your plain wreath, skip this step. But if you love adding colorful decorative bits and bobs to your wreath, this is that fun step. You can: 

• Wind a string of LED holiday lights around the wreath. Just tuck the battery pack on the back side of the wreath!
• Create bows from your ribbon and secure them with floral wire or wooden skewers.
• Add sprigs of additional greenery, like holly leaves. These can be added to the bunches during construction, tied on later, or simply stuck into the boughs near the end.
• Glue pine cones or ornaments to skewers or a length of wire. Once the glue dries, attach them to the wreath.

Step 5: Hang Your Wreath

Make sure the hanger’s hook is easily accessible, or make a new one out of a long piece of floral wire. Center a hook on your front door, such as a small hook you can hammer into the surface or a wreath hook that hangs from the top of the door. Then orient and place your wreath in position. The last step is to snap a cute picture of your craft.

Looking for Extra Pizazz? Try These Fun Ideas

When you’re looking for a creative holiday wreath, consider these crafty options:

• Purchase a greenery styrofoam wreath from your craft store. You can hot glue ribbons and ornaments to cover the entire surface for a fun twist on a traditional wreath.
• Spray-paint your wreath white or silver for a monochrome holiday decoration.
• Choose a fun theme, such as gingerbread baking, toys, or candy for all of your decor elements.

Looking for more ways to celebrate the holiday season? Visit Clarks Ace Hardware for craft ideas, tools to make your ideas come to life, and all your holiday decor supplies: