How to Decorate a Christmas Wreath with Homemade Decorations

Here is a method which will allow you to save a lot of money this Christmas holiday season while still being able to decorate your home with wreaths. Florists and garden centers sell decorated wreaths, often displaying the decorated wreaths in prominent locations. However, they also stack a resource of plain wreaths. Buying the plain wreaths and decorating is the key to saving money, as the decorated wreaths usually have roughly a 50% mark up just for the bow and decorations. By making decorations at home, you will be able to save a lot of money this Christmas holiday season. You can save even more by making your own wreath.

Homemade wreath decoration, bow:

Reuse a bow from a previous Christmas. Bows can be stored successfully by simply flattening the loops and packing. Even if the bow wasn't carefully flattened, you can still easily straighten the loops. If you don't have an old bow, you can make one out of ribbon. A bow shape can be cut out from a piece of cloth. If the wreath is going to be protected from rain, you can make your bow out of paper. As long as the bow is showy, it doesn't matter whether or not a professional made it.

Homemade wreath decoration, cones:

Pinecones are common on wreaths, and pinecone decorations can easily be made at home. Start by gathering cones from the ground or from a pine tree. You can use pinecones either plain or painted. Use a can of spray paint for a solid color, such as silver or gold. For the snow effect, use a paintbrush to apply white paint to the tips of the cones. Allow the cones to dry. Take a piece of florist wire at least a foot long, wrap around the cone, and twist together until tight. Then use the remaining end(s) of the florist wire to attach the cone to the wreath. Florist glue (melted in a pan) can be used in place of wire, if you have florist glue.

Homemade wreath decorations, miscellaneous:

Procure dried weeds or plant material and spray paint red, gold, silver, or white. Let dry and fasten to the wreath. Gather birch or other suitable twigs, paint with white paint, and fasten to the wreath. Make a wood carving ornament, paint, and fasten to the wreath. Harvest wild decorations such as winterberry, red twig dogwood twigs, or bittersweet berries and add to the wreath. Gather and weave into the wreath greens such as Pieris Japonica or yellow thread leaf cypress. You can also look through last year's Christmas boxes and reuse or recycle old holiday decorations for your wreath.

By decorating the wreath using homemade decorations, you will be able to save upwards of $10-$25 per wreath this Christmas holiday season while still having a wreath that looks just as nice. And don't forget to recycle the wreath after the holiday for future use. Refer to these links for my guides on recycling and reusing a wreath.