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If you know anything about me, you’ll know I love a good wreath. The wilder the better. Normally dried flowers, admittedly. But when November rolls round, I start craving something fresh and green to adorn my front door – a lush winter wreath that feels seasonal but not too Christmassy. Enough of the autumn tones: bring on greenery, texture and a little glamour.
There’s something about sitting down on a dark winter evening with a table covered in evergreen sprigs, a mug of something warm, and the soft rustle of foliage. Wreath-making has become one of my seasonal anchors – a way of marking the slow turn into winter that feels grounding and quietly celebratory. It’s not complicated or fussy. It’s simply a chance to pause, gather what the season offers, and create something beautiful for the door.
If you’d like to make a natural Christmas wreath you look forward to every year, here’s the approach I use: practical, sustainable, and full of small comforts. And if you’re going to the effort of making your own wreath, make it a corker – big, bold, and beautiful. That way it can stay on the door well into February.
What You Need to Make a Natural Christmas Wreath
Here’s a simple shopping list before you start your DIY Christmas wreath:
- A copper wreath frame – 26 cm (10 inch) works well for most doors
- Hay, straw or moss for the base
- Binding wire or biodegradable twine
- Secateurs
- Evergreen foliage
- Ribbon
- Any decorations to personalise your wreath – berries, dried flowers, cones, fruit, seed heads
These materials are inexpensive and easy to find, and each one earns its place.
Gathering the Ingredients of the Season
A beautiful foraged Christmas wreath starts long before the wire comes out – usually on a walk. Foraging is part of the ritual: noticing shapes, textures and colours, and only taking small amounts where you have permission. My dog walks are ideal for this. I tend to spot promising patches from October onwards. All those small finds help the wreath feel connected to the place you live.
For the main bulk, I rely on evergreens I know will last:
- Spruce
- Conifers
- Yew
- Berried ivy
- Holly
- Skimmia
- Viburnum (especially if flowering)
Most berried shrubs have thorns at this time of year, so take care. If berries are scarce, dried flowers make a lovely substitute.
This year, though, has been extraordinary for berries – the hedgerows are glowing and, for the first time, I’ve found a holly tree still laden with berries well into winter. Usually the birds get there first, as they should.
Your wreath doesn’t need a huge variety. A few reliable greens and a couple of berry types are enough to create shape, texture and movement.
If you’re lucky, a Christmas-tree seller or tree surgeon may have evergreen offcuts you can use, but these are less freely available than they used to be.
How Much Foliage Do I Need for a Christmas Wreath?
The amount of foliage depends on:
- Your wreath frame size
- Your preferred style (wild and full vs restrained and elegant)
- The type of evergreens you’ve gathered
A good rule of thumb: gather more than you think. Once you start making your winter wreath, you won’t want to stop to forage again.
For a 10-inch frame, I usually need 12 hand-sized bundles, sometimes up to 15 if I’m overlapping heavily for a fuller look.
Two or three generous 3-foot branches of conifer plus a variety of smaller bits is usually enough.
The Frame and the Foundation
I use a flat double-circle 10-inch (26 cm) wreath frame, which may look small, but once longer stems are added, the finished Christmas wreath measures around 45 cm. It’s a generous, classic size for a front door.
Frames are inexpensive and easy to find. Buying a bundle often works out cheaper – the perfect excuse to invite friends over for wreath-making.
Do I Need to Cover the Wreath Ring?
The frame provides structure but very little substance. If you plan to add extra wired decorations, you’ll need something for the wire to grip.
You can make a wreath with no base layer, but attaching berries and pine cones becomes a challenge – it feels like wiring onto thin air. But if you are just wanting greenery (anything that can be secured in place using the bundles) then you can miss out covering your base.
Why I No Longer Use Moss
Moss is traditional, holds moisture well, and makes a lovely soft base. But unless you’re harvesting your own, it’s not the most environmentally friendly option. It plays an important ecological role and large-scale harvesting isn’t something I feel comfortable supporting.
Hay or Straw Instead
Hay or straw works perfectly as a sustainable alternative. They provide structure, are easy to find, and any surplus can be used to keep your dahlias cosy over winter. If in doubt, a small pet-shop bag of hay is ideal.
This layer is your mechanics – the part that should be invisible once the wreath is finished.
Getting Started: Organising Your Bundles
Before I start wiring anything to the frame, I sort my foliage into about 12-15 bundles about the size of my hand. I prefer not to tie the bundle together, I just gather everything into piles. Feel free to tie the bundles together if you find handling the loose bundles tricky.
Each bundle contains:
- A base of evergreens (spruce, conifer, ivy)
- A collection of berry sprigs or “special” stems. This will vary from bundle to bundle. I try to organise the bundles so that the different varieties are evenly spread across the wreath.
I probably have about five different materials per bundle. This keeps the wreath consistent but avoids anything looking too matchy-matchy. Decorations that don’t suit bundling – cones, delicate berries, dried flowers – are added at the end.
How to Make a Christmas Wreath: Step-by-Step
This part always feels like the heart of the ritual. The table goes quiet, the room smells of pine tree and winter air, and it’s just a case of working your way round the circle.
- Attach the binding wire securely to the frame – it’s easier to use one long piece that is used for both covering the frame and attaching the foliage.
- Cover the frame with hay or straw, wrapping the wire over each handful, securely attaching it to the frame. Repeat until the frame is completely covered. This is a good step to get the feel of getting the tension of the wire right before you start on the foliage. It needs to be tight enough to stop the filling from falling out but not so tight that it looks really crimped.
- Place your first foliage bundle, starting off from where you finished the base layer, spreading it to cover the mechanics. Secure with two firm wraps of wire.
- Add the next bundle, overlapping the stems of the previous one. The tighter the overlap will determine how thick your wreath is. Only just overlapping will give you a slightly restrained elegance. Virtually on top of each other will give bulk.
- Work your way around, holding the wreath up now and then to check for balance and gaps – it’s astonishing how different it looks upright.
- Tuck the last bundle under the first for a seamless finish. This is more tricky than it looks, especially wiring it in place. Take care not to trap the foliage of the first bundle while you are doing this.
If your bundles are full and wide, you won’t need separate inner and outer edge bundles. Just check for gaps.
Adding Seasonal Touches (Optional)
A foliage-only wreath is beautiful on its own, but if you enjoy adding details, wire in:
- Cones
- Dried strawflowers
- Limonium
- Seed heads
- Small fruit clusters
Wire them in small clusters and place them where the wreath naturally dips or needs focus.
Always tuck wire ends safely inside the foliage.
Final Touches
If in doubt, add a ribbon – but make it a good one. Wreaths can look glorious without, but if you want to add festive cheer add a ribbon. I like thick velvet or satin but it all depends on your style or taste.
If you can’t tie a bow, tails work really well to. They take seconds and adds so much extra. Two slightly contrasting ribbons looks good, dangling from the top (or slightly off-centre) of your wreath. Cut the ribbon twice as long as you would like the tail. I find it easier to use a bit of wire to attach the ribbon, but you can tie it around your wreath, again it depends on your taste. Cut the ends of the ribbon on a diagonal at slightly different lengths.
Wherever you tie your ribbon, make sure the ribbon isn’t going to be annoying with things like door bells, knockers or letterboxes.
Helping Your Wreath Last
A little moisture helps the hay or straw base stay plump. If your door is exposed, rain will do the job, no extra effort required. If not, leave the wreath outside briefly (foliage down) to absorb a little moisture. It doesn’t need to be soaked. This should keep the foliage fresh.
If I’m honest I don’t think it makes much difference. My wreath is under a porch and I never water it and it lasts for months.
A Small Seasonal Ritual Worth Keeping
What I love most about wreath-making is how unhurried it feels. The repetitive movements, the scent of evergreens, the handful of foraged bits – it all creates a quiet pocket of calm before midwinter.
Your wreath doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to feel like yours – made with what the season offers, with your hands, in your home. A quiet tradition, revisited every year, to welcome winter in.
And truly, it’s one of the loveliest ways to spend a cosy winter evening. Put on a pot of something warm, clear the table, and let the evening unfold. Even better, invite a couple of friends round to make theirs too – there’s something deeply companionable about sitting together, glass of wine in hand, each building your own circle of winter greenery. A simple, generous way to begin the season.
If this hasn’t been tempting enough to give making your own a try then you can always buy a one and just pretend it was all your creative work.
