This blog comes to us from Elf friend, Heidi who used to have a wreath selling business, so she’s an expert!

1. Try to get a wreath made of balsam. It is not only delightfully fragrant, but holds its needles better than any other evergreen. (This is especially important for wreathes because they are usually placed on doors which get open and shut on a daily basis—you thus won’t end up with piles of pine needles on your door jamb).

2. Look for wreathes made of evergreens that look fresh—not brown, not dry. Lightly grasp some of the evergreen and pull gently. Very few needles should come off if it’s fresh.

3. The best wreathes are double-sided. They look pretty on front and back in other words. You’ll get a fuller wreath this way, and if you put your wreath on a storm door or window, it will look lovely from inside and out.

4. If the wreath is decorated, personal taste dictates what you may like. I like bows that aren’t squashed, and pine cones and decorations that aren’t broken, but that’s probably a no brainer.

5. If you’re feeling crafty, you can decorate your own wreath. Getting the decorations to stay in the wreath is all about wire and picks. Bows can be wired to the wreath. Pine cones can be first tightly wired together in twos and threes, and then wired around the wreath (use light gauge wire that’s easy to manipulate. Wire length should be about 18 inches long). Thread the wire behind and between the evergreen foliage so it doesn’t show, and twist it together tightly on the back of the wreath. For attaching other decorations, it helps to purchase some wreath picks (wood or metal spikes with wires attached). Tightly wire the decoration (bow, holly sprigs, juniper sprigs, dried flowers, magnolia leaves, cranberries strung on wire, mini ornaments, whatever) to the pick. Then jam the pick into the wreath so it won’t fall or blow out. If you have a glue gun, or hot glue available, you can also hot-glue some decorations to a pick (nuts, apples, lemons, lotus pods, etc.) and firmly stick them into the wreath. Birds will eat the fruit on your wreath, but it’s all good.

6. Wreath hangers for your door are a brilliant invention. No need for nails and screws that way. Wreath hangers are available for standard doors and storm doors, but if you can’t find a storm door hanger, a regular door hanger can be re-bent with pliers to fit a storm door (storm doors are narrower than standard doors). If possible, hang your wreath on the OUTSIDE of the storm door. If the wreath is hung in between the main door and storm door, you may get “greenhouse effect” drying your wreath—especially if your door faces south or gets a lot of sun. You can also hang your wreath on a screw or nail on the door or on the wall beside the door. And they look lovely on windows too.

7. ENJOY. I leave my wreath up until Spring or until it gets warm outside. I figure it’s a Christmas AND winter decoration. One year some sparrows built a nest in my wreath so it stayed up until the fledglings flew off.