How to Make a Christmas Swag Wreath for Your Front Door

BH&G Holiday Editors

Want to dress up your front door for the season but looking for something other than a round holiday wreath? A Christmas swag is an easy way to add traditional evergreen to your door without building a whole wreath from scratch. Crafted from seasonal greenery, this traditional holiday door decoration is easy to make and will last for years so you can enjoy it season after season.

Stock up on winter greenery and seasonal accents to decorate the prettiest Christmas front door on the block. We used faux branches, but you can use the same directions to build a swag from real evergreen.

Jay Wilde

Supplies Needed

  • Long-needle teardrop-shape swag with pinecones

  • 2 large faux mixed pine sprays

  • Florists wire

  • Wire snips

  • Pinecones (optional, depending on how many pinecones your swag has)

  • 1-2/3 yards of 2-inch-wide wire-edge red ribbon

  • Scissors

  • Faux red berries on stems

  • Faux eucalyptus stems

  • Hot-glue gun and glue sticks

Get the supplies for this Christmas swag in our Amazon store!

Step-by-Step Directions

This classic DIY Christmas swag wreath can be easily customized any way you like. Change up the bow color and other accents (we love decorating with pinecones!) to put your own spin on it. Follow the directions below to make yours now!

Step 1: Add Layers of Faux Greenery to Swag Base

Lay the swag on your work surface. Center the mixed pine sprays vertically on the swag, placing one spray pointing toward the top and one toward the bottom (with stems meeting toward the middle). Wire the sprays to the swag. Use florists wire to attach additional pine cones as you like to the middle of the swag, centering them on the swag vertically and slightly below center.

Step 2: Add a Bow to Your Christmas Swag

To make the florist bow, cut a 40-inch length of ribbon. Leaving a 10-inch tail, make a 5-inch loop, holding the ribbon between your thumb and index finger. Continue holding the ribbon, and make a second loop the same size in the opposite direction. Continue until you have six loops. Wrap wire around the bow center, not trimming the wire ends. For the remaining bow tails, wire the remaining piece of ribbon to the center. Trim the wire and ribbon ends.

Use florists wire to attach the bow, placing it toward the top of the swag just above the pine cones.

Step 3: Add Berries to Finish

Hot-glue artificial red berry clusters to the Christmas swag, positioning so they fan out from the swag center. If you're using real berries, use florists wire instead of hot glue. To hang the wreath, use ribbon or wire to create a hook and follow our easy wreath-hanging instructions to hang it on your front door. You could also hang it under an outdoor light fixture or tie it to a front porch railing.