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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Tips for Best Ever Christmas Wreath

Tuesday, December 3, 2019



Tips for the best ever Christmas wreath for your front door start with a store-bought fresh wreath. And, if you live near a Trader Joe's, you can buy a reasonably-priced fresh wreath with pine cones and fresh juniper berries. With a handful of tips you can take the already gorgeous wreath to a special one.


Like the wreath on my front door AFTER I transformed a basic fresh evergreen wreath... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath with stars on blue front door
There is something special about a Christmas wreath on a front door. Seeing a wreath when passing by or when visiting a home makes me smile and feel the joy of the Christmas season. For those of us who grew up reading Southern Living magazine, a Christmas wreath made using fresh greenery says Southern hospitality at its finest. 




Thank you, Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home, for gathering twenty of us together to share the beauty of Christmas Door Decor. I love giving my readers beautiful inspiration for adding special holiday decor to their front doors. Links to all the ideas are at the end of the article. 

If you just read Katie's at Let's Add Sprinkles  door ideas for the holiday, welcome! Katie always has good ideas for decorating with special touches. 






T I P S   F O R   B E S T   E V E R  


 C H R I S T M A S   W R E A T H  




If you are fortunate enough to have live evergreens and hollies growing in your yard, you don't need to buy a fresh evergreen wreath to make a holiday wreath for your front door. Lucky you! 

Then there are those of you who may prefer artificial greenery; keep reading. These tips still apply to help create a stunning wreath. Good ideas for all wreath lovers... fresh and faux. 


Now, for those of you who love fresh greenery, but don't have spectacular evergreens in your yard, buy a basic wreath from your local garden center. You will turn the basic wreath into the best ever Christmas wreath. 

TIP: Trader Joe's has beautiful fresh wreaths with pine cones and juniper berries for a very reasonable price. 


Front door wreath after adding personal style to a basic fresh wreath ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door with table top tree in blue flower pot
Regular Botanic Bleu readers probably realize I love French Country and traditional decor. Therefore, my decor is more of the simpler, understated version of Christmas decorating. With touches of fleur de lis, live plants, fresh greenery, and with just a little sparkle. 

I truly was brought up reading Southern Living, and it made an indelible impression on my style. All of which goes very well with my post and beam country house. 



Where to start ... 

Begin by cleaning the door, glass surrounds, windows, porch, steps, walkway... The most beautiful wreath will not shine unless the area around it is sparkling clean. 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on front door with skimpy bow before makeover
Look at those smudgy glass panes in the half round window in the door. Guilty of not taking my own advice before adding the wreath to my front door. But, an easy fix after I saw this photo! 


Good points of first attempt for a beautiful wreath ... 

  • clean door ... but dirty windows ... 

  • fresh wreath with pine cones and juniper berries ... but with gaps in the greenery ... 

  • beautiful wired-ribbon bow ... but way too skimpy for even a minimalist ... 

  • extra starry decor ... 




Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on front door before makeover of bow, hole in wreath, and cleaned windows

The wreath was pretty, but needed work to make it beautiful. The dirty window, skimpy bow, and gap in the greenery keep the wreath from being its best! The window is not actually part of the wreath, but can you take your eyes away from the splotches? 


Not to worry, all can be fixed. 


Clean, clean, clean ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door cleaned sidelight windows and half round window in door
What a difference clean windows make. Now see the wreath without being distracted by its surroundings. 



Make a bow to fit the size of the wreath ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door after fuller ribbon bow with gold fleur de lis design
Wired ribbon holds its shape in all kinds of weather ... windy, rainy, freezing. Choose ribbon in a color to complement your door, decor added to the wreath, and your style. 

Gold fleur de lis on a sheer background is French style and goes with the gold stars. The bow has several loops and fills the width of the wreath, but does not overpower the stars or greenery.   



Add weather-proof embellishments ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door with gold metal stars and fleur de lis ribbon
Metal gold stars are sturdy enough to take a beating ... against the door and from the weather. Avoid using glass ornaments unless your door is in a well-protected area. 

Remember to add an odd number of items and to stagger their positions. From first glance at this photo, it appears there are only two stars as part of the wreath design which illustrates why three is more interesting than two. 



Fill gaps with extra greenery ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door after makeover with fresh greenery from tree trimming
Recall the gap in the wreath on the left side? No longer there ... 

I used stems from a small Christmas tree to fill in the missing space in the wreath. If you have an artificial wreath, fill in missing spaces with either fresh greens or faux stems salvaged from another artificial greenery. 

But, the best way to avoid gaps in a wreath is to check the wreath  for overall shape when buying it. I did not look closely enough at the wreath before I got it home. 




From okay wreath to best ever Christmas wreath ...


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door with gold metal stars, fleur de lis ribbon box, and fresh greenery filled gaps

In four easy steps 
 
Clean, clean, clean 

Make bow to fit the wreath 

Add weather-proof embellishments 

Fill gaps with extra greenery 



Still considering another improvement ... 


Tips for best ever Christmas wreath on blue front door before replacing brown twine cord with gold cord hangers
Perhaps the cords on the metal gold stars should be replaced with gold cords. 


What do you think?

Keep the original brown twine hangers or switch to gold thread hangers? 


~~~~❦~~~~

French Country, traditional, fresh greenery not your style? 

With twenty posts for Christmas Door Decor, you are sure to find a style that fits your home. Up next on the hop is Cecilia at My Thrift Store Addiction with a totally different look from my style... but always gorgeous! And there are eighteen more articles with ideas for your Christmas Door Decor this season. 



J O Y E U X   N O E L  
from my front door to yours  

⚜ 


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