Nothing ushers in the Holiday Season more quickly and easily than a beautiful wreath! Getting a wreath on my front door is usually my first order of business for winter and Christmas decor. While there are millions of variations on holiday wreaths , here are three easy tips for a classically beautiful and elegant wreath.

Use a Variety of Greens

The nicest looking (and often most expensive) wreaths feature a variety of greens. Whether you are using real or faux greens for your wreath, you can get that same look by adding a mix of greenery to your own wreath. Start with the classic fir wreath and wire or tuck in sprigs of a variety of other types of greens for the variegated shades and textures that make mixed green wreaths look so lush and beautiful. You can add greens cut from your yard, or faux equivalents from a vendor that carries nice quality. I like to add juniper, cedar, pine, boxwood, and spruce because I have them readily available, but eucalyptus, magnolia leaves, and faux holly sprigs look great too (real holly tends to curl up and look tired quite quickly).

This balsam fir wreath got a bit of zhushing up with the addition of sprigs of spruce, cedar, juniper, and boxwood. Pine cones add texture and all-weather faux berries hold up without bursting in the cold temperatures and don’t disappear. Real berr… — This balsam fir wreath got a bit of zhushing up with the addition of sprigs of spruce, cedar, juniper, and boxwood. Pine cones add texture and all-weather faux berries hold up without bursting in the cold temperatures and don’t disappear. Real berries last about 10 minutes here…it’s like putting out an all-you-can-eat buffet sign for our backyard birds!

If you don’t have the time to create your own mixed green wreath, this one from Frontgate is all done for you, and even comes embellished with battery LED lights.

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This 36” mixed greens lit wreath from Frontgate is made entirely of exceptionally lifelike faux greens . This means it will look beautiful for years to come!

Get the Scale Right

I like to err on the side of large for a generous looking wreath. Most spots you would use a wreath need at least a 30” wreath. Sometimes 24” will look okay, but smaller than that tends to look a little under-nourished if it is in a focal point location like a front door. Most entry doors are at least 32” and more often 36” wide. Some wreaths are sold by the size of the ring frame they are built on and so are actually wider than stated, but often they are measured from the widest errant sprig. I carry a small tape measure in my purse to double check measurements of everything anyway!

This large wreath was created to hang over a mirror at an inn we decorated in a winter wonderland theme with peacock colored embellishments that echoed the colors in the furnishings.

Also, beware of the scale of the greens! Diameter is not the only consideration, the scale of the wreath should increase as the diameter does. A 48” wreath with a 38” hole in the middle looks more like a hairy hula hoop than a wreath!

Add a Beautiful Bow or Embellishments

Embellishing your greenery is where you can tie the wreath in with your existing room decor or enhance your exterior paint colors. In addition to enhancing its environment, a wreath decorated in colors other than traditional red and green Christmassy decor, will have a bit more longevity to extend beyond the season well into the winter months. Add a bow that coordinates with the location your wreath will hang, or add decoration that enhances your Christmas decor theme. Our house is full of musicians so these musical score printed paper leaves and songbirds are the things we chose to add to our wreaths, tree and garlands.

Nothing elevates the look of a wreath faster than a beautiful bow, and nothing undoes the charm of a beautiful wreath like an anemic bow! It is SO easy to make a gorgeous bow with the wired ribbon available now, there is no excuse for buying one of those fake velvet (or worse, plastic!) generic red bows at the local Walmart.

For the best bows, use at least 2” wide wired ribbon. I like to combine 2 or 3 different patterns and textures of ribbon for added interest, but a single ribbon in a generous bow can be classic.

This wreath bow combines a holly and bells printed ribbon with a solid red and a sheer gold for an opulent feel.

Bows can be attached at the top center or bottom center for the most traditional look, or at any of the quarter points (1:30, 4:30. 7:30, or 10:30 of a clock face) for a more asymmetrical look. With asymmetrical placement, the remainder of the wreath should have some embellishment for balance. This can be as simple as pine cones and berries, or include other ornaments.

This asymmetrical bow made with 3 different ribbons is balanced with fruit, berries and a straw cardinal

With center top or bottom bow placement, embellishments can be optional. A bow on the bottom with long tails is a nice way to extend the “reach” of a wreath that needs to be placed higher than optimal on a door because of some impediment like a door knocker that needs to fall in the center of the wreath to still be usable.

Another option is to forego the bow altogether and add embellishments like gilded leaves, fruit, flowers, tree ornaments or other decorative touches.

This mixed greens wreath is embellished with pinecones, berries, and bundles of cinnamon sticks… the bow could use a bit of miracle-gro for better scale with the size of the wreath, and it looks like someone co-opted the second bundle of cinnamon st… — This mixed greens wreath is embellished with pinecones, berries, and bundles of cinnamon sticks… the bow could use a bit of miracle-gro for better scale with the size of the wreath, and it looks like someone co-opted the second bundle of cinnamon sticks and left the ribbon, but other than that, it’s a very pretty and elegant look!

This 30” Magnolia Wreath with Lemons and Artichokes from Frontgate is a beautiful departure from traditional red and green Christmas decor. This could easily stay up all winter, or even year round!

This gorgeous wreath doesn’t need a bow at all! The lush additions of fruit, vegetables , and gilded leaves and ornaments are an abundant visual feast!

Christmas decor is our reward for enduring the cold and dark winter months here in the Northern Hemisphere, and a beautiful wreath is a nice way to kick off the decorating fun!

What are your favorite ways to decorate a wreath?