30 Beautiful Holiday Wreaths
Spruce up nature [1]
Give a standard evergreen wreath a sweet touch. Start with a boxwood wreath, purchased or made by inserting boxwood sprigs into a damp floral foam wreath base. Add hypericum berries and hydrangea blooms from a flower shop and candy and berries from a crafts store. Hang the wreath with the ribbon used to form a bow.
Make it merry [4]
Go from naturally neutral to bright and merry by spray-painting a purchased or homemade pinecone wreath (hot-glue and wire pinecones onto a foam ring). When dry, use floral wire to attach sticks of berries and pine, and wrap with ribbon. Embroidered fabric hangs behind ours, but a table runner works, too.
Winter colors wreath [7]
Wrap floral foam with bands of winter colors, using your favorite materials for a creative wreath.
To start, cover a 10- to 12-inch ring of floral foam with white cotton batting. Add materials you have on hand or find at crafts stores--we used snowflake ornaments, ribbon, pinecones and branches, mittens, icicle garland and silver-painted leaves and berries.
Natural splendor wreath [11]
Traditional colors and a mix of fresh greens show off the natural materials in this wreath. Lush and abundant, it starts with bittersweet vine for the base.
Take a nature hike to find natural additions to tuck in, such as cedar, blue juniper, pine and deep green yew. Purchased pear ornaments and a faux nest from the crafts store mix up the wreath's scale and texture. Two bows--one in traditional Christmas plaid and the other a sumptuous golden satin--add festive sparkle. Wire or hot-glue everything in place.
Cookie cutter wreath [14]
Inexpensive cookie cutters create a fun and easy-to-make door decoration.
Arrange cookie cutters inside a shape drawn on paper. Each cutter should have contact points with another. Join contact points with a paper clip or wire, and top with a ribbon.
Ribbon greeting [17]
Add a special touch to an evergreen wreath with "Merry Christmas" handwritten on a burlap bow.
Ode to snow wreath [20]
White foam snowballs, soft feathers, crystalline snowflake ornaments and ice-blue ribbons reflect the cool beauty of a Midwest winter.
Begin with a hard white foam circle (ours was 21 inches wide). Use a white feather boa to cover the foam, attaching it with U-shape pieces of wire. Add ice-blue satin bows, and tuck in snowflake ornaments. To finish, spray hard white foam balls with artificial snow to resemble snowballs, and place them into the wreath with florist's picks.
Mossy beauty [24]
Show off the natural beauty of moss on a contemporary square wreath crafted from floral foam. Add sparkle with mini-ornaments.
Ribbon wreath [27]
Create this pretty wreath with curling ribbon. Just cut equal-length strips of ribbon, tie them tightly around an embroidery hoop and curl away!
Green on green [30]
On this slide and the 3 following ones are four ways to spruce up a plain evergreen wreath. Here: Weave sprigs of lighter green leaves and berries, such as seeded eucalyptus, into the wreath.
Sweet as candy [33]
With a large needle, string colorful gundrops on fishing line to create a long garland. Wind around an evergreen wreath, securing with floral wire.
Star bright [36]
Spray one side of whole star anise (look for this at gourmet markets) with spray adhesive, then dip into a bowl of very fine glitter. Let dry, then wire onto an evergreen wreath.
Bow ties [39]
Accordion-fold lengths of ¼- to 1-1/2-inch-wide ribbon, then tie tightly at the center with ribbon or floral wire. Snip along the folds with scissors, fan out and wire each to an evergreen wreath.
Natural touch wreath [42]
Handfuls of fresh curly willow branches and red dogwood provide a perch for cardinals and groupings of red-hue ornaments. A bright vintage ribbon droops gracefully at the bottom.
Pretty ornament wreath [45]
Hand-painted red-and-white foam balls embellish this evergreen wreath. Get a similar look by using any of your favorite ornaments; use florist's picks to place the balls in the wreath.
If you want to make balls like those shown, paint the balls with patching plaster, gesso and then sealer. Sand between coats with 100-grit, 150-grit and then 400-grit paper (use a foam sheet as a drying rack). Finish with acrylic paint and varnish, then sand with 400-grit paper.
Candy fun [48]
Add your own touch to an evergreen wreath by crafting pieces of "candy" from felt or other material you have at home. Tie with red twine or ribbon.
Jeweled wreath [51]
Gather the vintage materials for this sparkling wreath from your family jewelry box, flea markets or vintage stores.
Choose jewelry in one color, or base your design on clear pieces with just a dash of red and green for holiday dazzle. Wrap a wreath form in pretty ribbon or fabric, then hot-glue or pin jewelry pieces in place. Finish with a luxurious satin bow.
Cranberry creation wreath [54]
Fresh cranberries and branches of redtwig dogwood create a festive, natural-looking wreath.
Wire red-twig dogwood branches into a circle, letting some stems stick out. Pop fresh cranberries on the tips. Thread cranberries on a long string, looping it around the wreath. Finishing touches: silver ball ornaments and greenery.
Grapevine wreath makeover [57]
Fill out a store-bought grapevine wreath with materials from your yard, a crafts store and florist's shop. Midwest Living® featured this wreath on the December 2004 cover.
Tuck in fresh greens, wired pinecones, dried flowers, leaves, pods and half a dozen fresh roses in water-filled floral tubes. Add a quick accent by spray-painting pinecones in a coordinating color and piling them nearby in various pretty vases or planters.
Fresh flowers wreath [60]
This wreath, which appeared on the December 2005 cover of Midwest Living®, contains an ornament vase so fresh flowers can be changed throughout the season.
Start with a 14-inch floral foam wreath frame (we used Oasis brand) submerged in water to hydrate. Fill with short sprigs of fresh greens, flowers and filler. Add 1-inch Christmas balls wired to floral picks. Wire an ornament (with top cap removed) or an inverted tree topper to the bottom of the wreath. Fill with water and add flowers of your choice.
Roses are red wreath [63]
'Hocus Pocus' roses, in luscious red tinged in yellow, mingle with fresh juniper in this sweetly fragrant floral wreath. Matte and glossy ornaments feature two shades of red and provide a charming counterpoint to the bright green lilygrass wound throughout.
Holiday surprise wreath [66]
These lush boxwood wreaths stand out because of their shape and materials.
The colors are expected—reds, golds and greens—but the square shape gives the wreaths a surprising update. Artichokes and guava stand out on the wreath, as well as the dramatic bow.
Star cookie wreath [69]
Sugar cookies make a cheerful decoration on this wreath, which appeared on the December 1999 Midwest Living® cover.
Shape cookies like stars and tie to a boxwood holiday wreath with organdy ribbon. We don't recommend eating the cookies after they've been on the wreath, but do sample some fresh and save the extras--they're delicious!
Star cookie wreath [70]
Make-a-wish wreath [73]
Add an easy-to-make wreath to your outdoor decor with this simple, starry design.
Add a spray of chenille stems and precut wood stars to an evergreen circle. Wrap a length of bead garland loosely around the bottom.
Ivy inspirations wreath [76]
Ivy dresses up a variety of holiday decorations, such as this wreath featured on the December 2000 cover of Midwest Living®.
Eight Manda's Crested ivy plants, accented with ribbon and jewel-tone ornaments, adorn a 21-inch topiary wreath. Manda's Crested ivy is easy to grow indoors; the plants have star-shape leaves that grow curly, full and bushy, ideal for a wreath or hanging basket.
Bright berry wreath [80]
This charmer, hung with a simple ribbon, bursts with color.
Create this wreath by hot-gluing artificial berry picks into a plastic-foam ring. The more berries you use, the fuller the wreath.
Veggie lover's wreath [83]
Purchase the ingredients for this wreath on your weekly trek to the supermarket. Stock up on an assortment of greens: variations in color, shape, and texture lend richness to the finished cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. Our wreath includes artichokes, asparagus, peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, grapes, tomatilloes, and miniature limes -- all attached with long pins or florist's picks.
Star wreath [86]
Dress up a door with this easy star-shape wreath.
Create a frame using thin-gauge wire. Attach boxwood sprigs using florist's wire, then add a shiny ornament and gossamer bow.
Holiday rose wreath [89]
Make this lovely wreath, featured on the December 2003 cover of Midwest Living®, with juniper, cranberries and two varieties of fresh roses.
For details, click on the link below.
Merry and bright kumquat wreath [93]
Wreaths with fresh fruit are an American colonial tradition.
Use a 12-inch metal ring for a base, 18 to 20 kumquats, several sprigs of medium-size broadleaf greens and 26-gauge wire to attach the fruit and leaves.
