Fresh Homemade Holiday Wreath Tutorial

Being a gardener and a plant lover, it’s no surprise that I spot fresh, local greenery that is perfect for home decor everywhere I look. As the holidays approach, I like to find ways to bring the garden indoors to enjoy. I’m going to show you how it’s possible to take free, homegrown, or foraged materials and create a lovely homemade holiday wreath!

As a word of caution, please be careful and research the plants you are using or be sure to ask permission if it’s not your own yard! This is a key part of foraging ettiquette! Additionally, leave enough for others and wildlife.

Finding inspiration for your homemade holiday wreath

I make a homemade holiday wreath for our front door every year. What I love most is how your wreath can look different depending on the fresh greens, herbs, and decor that are available. For example, one year we had lots of juniper clippings from my mom’s tree but the next year a neighbor offered some of her eucalyptus branches. If you’ve got extra Christmas tree clippings, those are perfect for a homemade holiday wreath, and we can jazz it up with other garden goodies! No matter what greenery you are working with, the process is essentially the same. I’ve embedded a full video tutorial below along with a written supply list and instructions. Have fun and happy holidays!

Supplies for a Homemade Holiday Wreath:

How to make a homemade holiday wreath

STEP 1

Add your wire to the wreath form.

Start by twisting the end of the paddle wire around the inner ring of the wreath form. Twist like a twist-tie so you have an anchor for the rest of the process. 

Keep the wire attached to the paddle….don’t cut it yet!

STEP 2- time to add your greenery!

Make a small bundle of greenery and assorted dry items in your hand. This is going to be the base or main volume of your wreath. 

Take that bundle and lay it on your wreath form.

Grab the paddle wire and wrap the bundle onto the form to secure firmly. Make sure you are wrapping around both the bundle and the wreath form. See video for a better visual. 

Repeat this process all the way around the wreath.

Tip: make your bundles equal in size so your homemade holiday wreath does not become lopsided. You can mix and match greens or dried accents as you go along. Be creative!

STEP 3- cut & tuck the wire

Once you are finished adding greenery bundles all around your wreath form, cut the wire with enough length to tuck it away visually.

Tuck in the wire end and secure it to the wreath. 

Inspect your homemade holiday wreath for holes or areas that might need some extra greenery added.

STEP 4- adding dried accents, everlastings, etc.

Take pieces of wire and simply use it to secure your dried accents into the wreath (the video shows me adding dried citrus slices).

Some of my favorite dried accents are citrus, cinnamon sticks, and everlasting flowers. You can read all about growing your own everlastings for home decor HERE. In the end, your homemade holiday wreath is uniquely yours!

You can also add a rustic bow or ribbon too. 

Additional DIY notes…

Adding dried accents can be easier at the end. If you have items with long stems, you can actually include them in with the intial bunches of greenery for a more natural look, but other items (like the dried oranges) should be wired in at the end as I show in the video below.

Another option for adding accents is to hot glue them. For example, for my eucalyptus wreath (shown at the beginning of this article) I simply hot glued the strawflowers to my wreath because I ran out of wire and it was easier!

Watch how easy this project is in the video below!