Day 901: easy Christmas wreath ideas

I'm kind of plain-Jane when it comes to Christmas decorations, but I know that my personal style doesn't float everyone's boat. Here are a couple of ideas for jazzing up my favorite Christmas decoration: a real evergreen wreath.

My wreath is hanging by just one ribbon, but I love this (from Cottage Living). I also really, really love wreaths hanging indoors. They're a great way to lend some Christmas-ness to the rest of your house. They also take up much less space (and cash) than adding another tree. Try hanging one over a window or a mirror.


This is just too pretty. I don't think my Frasier Fir wreaths would quite work -- they wouldn't hang as nicely -- so look for a cyprus version. This is lovely under a chandelier, especially for a festive dinner or party.

If you're looking for a great double-faced satin ribbon like this, I love Midori. It is on the pricier side (pricier than what you can find at craft stores), but I think it's worth it for the color and width selection. I give mine a quick iron every year and it looks as good as new. Locally, I buy it at Smith's Variety.


I love the idea of adding whatever you can find in your yard to a plain wreath. Holly is widely available this time of year and is especially festive. A sprinkling of fake snow is fun, too.


This plain Juniper wreath wrapped in a string of wood beads has some country charm. If you can spare a string of garland from your tree, this is a nice way to tie the two together.


This photo has made its way around, but I couldn't leave it out. If one wreath is nice, three is certainly better! I have noticed that the smaller sizes of wreaths seem to go more quickly, so if you want to do this next year, act fast!

By the way, I noticed this year that Lowe's and Home Depot sell live wreaths and garland in addition to Christmas trees (that may not be news to you!). In Birmingham, the local garden shops are a good source as well (try one of the Leaf 'n' Petal locations). Of course, you can easily make your own with scraps from tree. This year, I hit up Lowe's twice.


If you like some sparkle, why not layer an ornament wreath over your evergreen wreath?


Remember how I wanted to use my bells on my wreath? Well, the ones I had were a bit too large, so I put them on the tree instead. But then, I happened upon a few smaller ones while shopping at Leaf 'n' Petal for a gift.


I untied the knots and used the rope to tie them to the wreath form -- pretty simple! For once I managed to create what I saw in my head. By the way, I'm a little sad to say that my supposedly-unique bells (which came from here) are now available at Pottery Barn where they are billed as -- of all things -- cowbells!