Our Fave Christmas Wreaths, Garlands and Swags

The holidays are almost here — time to deck the halls with boughs of holly, evergreens ... and pom-poms.

By: H. Camille Smith

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Photo By: Brittney Gazaway; Styling by H. Camille Smith

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Photo By: Brittney Gazaway; Styling by H. Camille Smith

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Photo By: Sarah Busby; Styling by H. Camille Smith

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Lauren Carnes Photography

Photo By: Cassidy Garcia; Styling by H. Camille Smith

Photo By: Image courtesy of The Yellow Cape Cod

Photo By: Image courtesy of French Country Cottage

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Photo By: Sarah Busby; Styling by H. Camille Smith

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Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

Let It Snow

Frosty is fabulous with this DIY wreath that you can craft for Christmas, then leave up all winter long.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Snowy Sunburst Winter Wreath

From: H. Camille Smith

Cue the Color

Follow our tips to craft this colorful garland that's sure to boost your staircase's cheer factor — without damaging the banister or spindles. And, bonus, we'll show you how to securely attach the ornaments so you can display this gorgeous garland year after year.

See More Photos: How to Design a Colorful Christmas Staircase

From: Morgan Faulkner

Mix Rustic With Refined

Backyard clippings + brass bells = timeless holiday decor that'll help you ring in the holidays in seasonal style. Hang your completed swag indoors for a farmhouse-chic touch or on the front door in place of a standard wreath.

Get the How-To: Ring in the Holidays With This DIY Evergreen Swag

From: Chelsea Faulkner

Make the Season Merry

Let's toast to the holidays! Craft this tipsy Christmas advent calendar wreath to (joyfully!) count down the 12 days till Christmas. Keep it for yourself or gift it to your favorite holiday host or hostess.

Get the How-To: Boozy Christmas Countdown Wreath

From: H. Camille Smith

Go Foraging

Turn budget-friendly backyard clippings (hooray for free!) into a lush garland that only looks expensive. Just follow our tips, below.

See More Photos: How to Make Holiday Garland From Foraged Greenery

From: Chelsea Faulkner

Pom-Pom It On

Celebrate the ho-ho-holidays with this playful pom-pom wreath that'll put the merry in your Christmas decor.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Colorful Holiday Pom-Pom Wreath

From: Morgan Faulkner

Try a Twist on Scandi Style

Pair wood slices and foraged greenery (hello, free!) with mini bottlebrush trees and faux berry picks for a minimal wreath with maximum charm.

Get the How-To: DIY Wood Slice Winter Wreath

From: Chelsea Faulkner

Make It Plaid-Tastic

Our crafting tips, below, will help you turn an embroidery hoop, plaid fabric, iron-on transfer and faux greenery into this farmhouse-chic Christmas wreath that you can display either indoors or out.

Get the How-To: Easily Craft This Plaid Embroidery Hoop Wreath for Christmas

From: Morgan Faulkner

Freshen Up With Eucalyptus

Known for its fresh scent and year-round availability, eucalyptus leaves are a beautiful alternative to traditional evergreens when DIY-ing a wreath. Our tutorial and video, below, show you how to quickly assemble a lush wreath or use the same techniques to create a fresh garland.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Eucalyptus Garland + Easy Greenery Wreath

Get an Assist From the Kiddos

Kids love seeing their handmade ornaments and decorations displayed at Christmas. This colorful yarn garland is an easy craft for kids of all ages, making it an ideal family activity to enjoy while watching your favorite holiday flick.

Get the How-To: Kids' Craft: Make a Pom-Pom Christmas Garland

From: Marian Parsons

Repurpose Those Old Skates

Raid your garage (or a garage sale) for a pair of vintage ice skates to fill with fresh-cut backyard greenery for an easy-to-craft seasonal statement.

Try a Basket, Instead

The quick succession of fall and winter holidays — Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas — can make decking out your front door feel like a chore. Simplify with a single slim basket or straw tote you can use again and again to easily create beautiful looks customized to each holiday.

See More Photos: Skip the Wreath: Try a Holiday-Spanning Front Door Basket Instead

From: H. Camille Smith

Work In the Holiday's Favorite Flower

Although not technically a flower, (the 'blooms' are actually a type of leaf called a bract) poinsettias have been associated with the Christmas season for almost two centuries. Incorporate these beauties into an evergreen wreath by placing fresh-cut blooms into water picks so they stay well hydrated. Cut poinsettias aren't cold hardy, though, so this treatment is best used indoors or in climates where outdoor temps don't drop below 55 degrees Farenheit. Styled by Cote Designs.

Or, DIY Poinsettia Pretties

Fabric poinsettias are easy to craft and make a beautiful addition to Christmas wreaths and garlands or place several together in a vase for a maintenance-free centerpiece.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Felt Poinsettia

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Make Garlands Beachy Keen

Give a faux or fresh evergreen garland a coastal-chic upgrade by mixing in starfish and shells. You could even start a new tradition by gathering shells in the summer, then working them into your holiday decor as a beachy reminder of summer fun.

See More Photos: 45 Coastal Christmas Decorating Ideas

Or, Add a Nautical Nod to a Wreath

Give a plain evergreen wreath a beachy twist with capiz shells. To attach them, add a short length of wire to each shell with quick-dry epoxy, then just wire them on. Instead of a ribbon bow, wrap the bottom of the wreath with textural yarn or rope and embellish with a few starfish.

See More Photos: 45 Coastal Christmas Decorating Ideas

Light It Up

For interior garlands on mantels, work battery-operated LED twinkle lights into the greenery for a magical effect.

From: H. Camille Smith

Give New Life to a Dusty Floral Wreath

Don't toss that dated floral wreath. Instead, remake it into a snowy winter wreath. Our tips, below, will show you how to clean each element, then give them them a frosty fix-up that you'll be proud to hang on your front door.

From: H. Camille Smith

Craft an Advent Wreath for Kids

Fill 25 mini gift boxes and favor bags with small toys or treats to help kids count down to the Big Man's arrival.

Get the How-To: The Cheeriest Christmas Advent Calendar

Or, Count Down With Mittens

Although the busy days leading up to the holidays speed by for adults, Christmas can't get here fast enough for kids. Help them count down the days with this clever advent calendar. Fill the mittens with a small toy or treat to bide the time and build excitement for the big day.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Mitten Garland Advent Calendar

Make It Personal

Give your front door wreath a perfectly personalized touch with your family's inital. Check local craft stores for an oversized chipboard or plywood letter, then paint it in a shade to coordinate with your home's exterior. Image courtesy of The Yellow Cape Cod.

Garlands Aren't Just for the Indoors

When decking out your outdoors, don't stop at the front porch. Drape outdoor fireplaces, window sills, fences or low walls with fresh garland. Our tips, below, will show you how to create your own garland using greenery scavenged from the backyard. Image courtesy of French Country Cottage.

See More Photos: How to Make Holiday Garland From Foraged Greenery

Wrap Foam Spheres in Ribbon

Hit your local craft store for budget-friendly foam spheres, hot glue and lots of colorful ribbon to create this cheery wreath that'll bring joy to your decor. Because of the ribbon, this wreath is best displayed indoors or on a covered porch.

Get the How-To: 3 Wintry Wreaths Worth Making for the Holidays

Or, Yarn

Cozy up your front door with this DIY yarn ball wreath. Create a pretty tone-on-tone effect using yarn in three to five shades of the same color or keep it Christmas-classic with a red, white and green palette.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Tone-on-Tone Yarn Ball Wreath

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Deck Out, Without Damage

Decking out your entryway is a sure way to add holiday cheer to an area of your home that both you and your holiday guests will enjoy. To create this look without damaging the banister, start with a long section of wired faux evergreen garland. Wrap it around the banister as a base, then tuck small sections of fresh-cut evergreens and magnolia branches into the wrapped loops. Finish with a few springs of fresh or faux berries.

Get the How-To: No Mantel? 5 Ways to Still Hang Stockings With Care

Mix In Backyard Berries

Long stems of dark crimson berries that shine on bare winter branches, winterberries are a seasonal stunner that brighten up many backyards around the holidays. Work cut branches into an evergreen wreath to add a cheery pop of Christmas color.

See More Photos: Holiday Decorating With Winterberries

From: Lynn Coulter

Turn Pinecones Into a Garland

Kids are natural scavengers. Put their talents to good use hunting up pretty pinecones to dip into craft paint, then knot onto yarn for an easy, rustic decoration.

Get the How-To: DIY Holiday Pinecone Garland

Or, a Woodsy Swag

Go foraging to gather 8-10 pinecones to craft this seasonal swag. Before stringing the pinecones together,place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 200-degree oven for an hour to release the sap. This will also help the scales to open more fully and lend a bit of shine. After the pinecones have cooled, attach ribbon to the top of each with hot glue, then tie the ribbons together.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Opt for a Variety of Textures

Make your mantel a real showstopper with a garland that combines a variety of greenery textures and colors. For ours, we mixed fresh-cut cedar and pine with magnolia branches and a string of felted wool beads.

From: H. Camille Smith

Add Flair With Fabric

Raid your fabric stash and, instead of a traditional wreath, dress up your front door with a holiday swag made from fresh greenery, DIY fabric branches and glittering pinecones.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Fabric and Evergreen Holiday Swag

From: H. Camille Smith

Keep It Simple + Streamlined

Inspired by the natural simplicity of Scandinavian design, this wreath is crafted from inexpensive natural wood beads. Add either fresh or faux greenery, instead of a fabric bow, as a festive finishing touch.

Get the How-To: 3 Easy Holly Crafts for the Holidays

From: Emily Fazio

Or, Craft a Woodsy Banner

Cut wood slices are a trendy material you can find at your local craft store or source (for free!) in your own backyard. Add letters to spell out a holiday saying and string together with colorful baker's twine.

Get the How-To: Christmas Craft: Rustic Wood Slice Banner

From: Marian Parsons

Repurpose a Ceiling Medallion

Hit your local hardware store to brighten up your front door for the holidays. Just coat a ceiling medallion in green high-gloss spray paint then loop through some colorful holiday ribbon for hanging.

See More Photos: 9 Clever, Kitschy Holiday Wreath Ideas

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Or, Turn Plastic Pots Into Bells

Make a large, lightweight and elegant holiday wreath by wrapping garland around an embroidery hoop and upcycling plastic pots into antique bells.

Get the How-To: Make an Embroidery Hoop Boxwood Holiday Wreath

Craft a Snowy Scene

Create a wintry forest scene for your front door by adding bottlebrush trees and mini ice-skating figures to a foam wreath that's been wrapped in holiday fabric. Our tutorial, below, makes crafting this cute wreath a snap.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Whimsical Bottle Brush Tree Wreath

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Don't Forget Our Feathered Friends

This year, don't just decorate the Christmas tree inside your house. Make these birdseed ornaments to add color to bare winter trees and treat hungry feathered friends to a snack. Kids will love making them to display in their own yard and to give as gifts to their favorite nature lovers.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Christmas Tree for the Birds

Get Crafty With Cranberries

Cover a straw wreath form with moss and garlands of fresh cranberries for a colorful holiday decoration that can be used as either a traditional front door wreath or, laid flat on the dining table, as the base for a Christmas centerpiece.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Moss and Cranberry Holiday Wreath

From: Marian Parsons

Wow With Wood

String together raw wooden beads in assorted sizes to craft this sculptural garland. Get our tips for four more ways to get crafty with wood beads, below.

Get the How-To: 5 Wooden Bead Holiday Crafts

Bring the Outdoors In

Head outside with some clippers to gather an assortment of fresh greenery to craft this traditional (and gorgeous!) evergreen garland.

Get the How-To: Elegant + Handmade: DIY Garland Made Easy

Upcycle an Advent Calendar

Turn an assortment of past-their-prime men's shirts with pockets into a colorful holiday countdown the kids will love. Our instructions, below, explain how to stitch it up, then just hang on your banister or mantel and fill the pockets with candy or small toys.

Get the How-To: Upcycle Men's Shirts Into an Advent Calendar Garland

Our Fave Christmas Wreaths, Garlands and Swags

Related To:

Shop This Look

Let It Snow

Cue the Color

Mix Rustic With Refined

Make the Season Merry

Go Foraging

Pom-Pom It On

Try a Twist on Scandi Style

Make It Plaid-Tastic

Freshen Up With Eucalyptus

Get an Assist From the Kiddos

Repurpose Those Old Skates

Try a Basket, Instead

Work In the Holiday's Favorite Flower

Or, DIY Poinsettia Pretties

Make Garlands Beachy Keen

Or, Add a Nautical Nod to a Wreath

Light It Up

Give New Life to a Dusty Floral Wreath

Craft an Advent Wreath for Kids

Or, Count Down With Mittens

Make It Personal

Garlands Aren't Just for the Indoors

Wrap Foam Spheres in Ribbon

Or, Yarn

Deck Out, Without Damage

Mix In Backyard Berries

Turn Pinecones Into a Garland

Or, a Woodsy Swag

Opt for a Variety of Textures

Add Flair With Fabric

Keep It Simple + Streamlined

Or, Craft a Woodsy Banner

Repurpose a Ceiling Medallion

Or, Turn Plastic Pots Into Bells

Craft a Snowy Scene

Don't Forget Our Feathered Friends

Get Crafty With Cranberries

Wow With Wood

Bring the Outdoors In

Upcycle an Advent Calendar

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