How to Make a Giant Christmas Wreath

Learn How to Make a Giant Christmas Wreath for your holiday home! Made with fresh fir, pine and cedar sprigs, red holly berries and plaid ribbon, this is an easy and gorgeous DIY wreath.

Ok, you had to know that I would make a giant wreath for Christmas this year! Due to my undying love of giant wreaths, this just had to be done! The wreath I made this year is a little different than years past (you can see those at the bottom of this post), but it’s equally as giant and beautiful. This one is so full of evergreen beauty.

a lady holding out a wreath in front of her

Photos in this post by Bree Johnson

Instead of doing my classic half decorated grapevine wreath, I decided to fill the whole wreath base with fresh evergreen branches. It’s SO full and I love it SO much.

It’s easier than you think!

No, I mean it! These giant wreaths are not hard to put together…they may look complicated and fancy, but I assure you they’re not. If you can stuff stems and branches into a grapevine wreath base you can make this wreath. You don’t even need glue or floral wire.

Fill it as full as you can!

Honestly, I don’t think you can overfill these wreaths…I filled mine as full as I possibly could and I still think there are a few spots I could stuff more branches! 😉 I just really love how full they look…the more the merrier, right?

a lady leaning on a fence next to a evergreen wreath

an evergreen wreath hanging on a fence post

Finish it off with red holly berries and ribbon

I think all the greens really speak for themselves in this wreath, so not a lot of embellishment is needed. I kept it simple by adding just some bunches of faux red holly berries, a few pine cones, and a big strip of plaid ribbon. Just perfect.

I wish you could smell it!

And not only does this wreath look SO PRETTY, but it smells amazing too! Evergreen wreaths smell like Christmas. If you want to keep your wreath at it’s best and smelling great all holiday season long, make sure to read my wreath tips below…but first, let me tell you how to make a giant wreath of your own!

What you need to make your Giant Christmas Wreath:

a large grapevine wreath base:

I use a 24 inch grapevine base for my giant wreaths. They’re big but still fit on my front door. But the grand size is especially perfect on my mantel Tip! I reuse the same grapevine base for all of my wreaths, over and over and over, for all seasons, which is great because who has space to store dozens of wreaths?!

evergreen sprigs:

For this wreath I used all fresh evergreen stems: a mix of fir, cedar and pine. It’s hard for me to give you the exact amounts of the stems that I used because so much of this type of wreath making is trial and error. But I will say that I used A LOT of branches because I wanted my wreath full! But here’s what I bought at Home Depot:

5 big bunches of fir branches
3 big bunches of cedar branches
2 big bunches of pine branches
tip: you can make this wreath with all faux greenery if you wish

sprigs of berries:

7 small sprigs of large faux red berries (these were on 1 or 2 stems from Michaels, and I just cut the small sprigs off)

pine cones (and floral wire):

I used 3 medium sized pine cones and secured them with some floral wire

ribbon:

I used a cloth plaid ribbon tied at the base of the wreath

an evergreen wreath hanging on a red barn wall

a lady holding an evergreen wreath against a red barn wall

How to Make a Giant Christmas Wreath:

Hang the grapevine wreath base on a wreath hanger on a door. I like to do this so that I can see what I’m doing…it’s much easier than trying to put everything together laying on a table.
Most of the branches that I bought were large stems, which are much too large for the wreath, so you have to cut the stems into smaller branches.
Cut the evergreens into the length you would like. The longer the branches the more rustic your wreath will be. The shorter the branches, the more tidy your wreath will be. Either way is gorgeous!
When putting together the wreath, there really are no rules. Honestly, it’s all just about stuffing the branches into the grapevine wreath base.
I start with the fir branches because they are the most sturdy. Stuff the fir stems in at the bottom of the wreath and work your way around the wreath. I try to really fill the wreath base with mostly fir branches then use the other greens as filler. So make sure your wreath is full with fir branches first.
Once your wreath looks mostly full with the fir stems, start stuffing in small pieces of the pine and cedar branches. When I do this, I really try to follow my rule of what I do to one side of the wreath, I do to the other, for balance.
Just keep stuffing and arranging until you get the look you want. If you have to, remove stems and add stems as needed.
Once you have the wreath looking the way you want, tuck in the little sprigs of red berries and the pine cones.
Step back, have a look and see if everything looks balanced, and add and adjust as needed.
Wrap the ribbon on the base of the wreath, leaving ribbon trailing down.
Voila! You’re done!

a close up of red holly berries on an evergreen wreath

a close up of a plaid ribbon on an evergreen wreath

Tips for keeping your Evergreen Wreath Fresh:

Buy greens that are fresh and rich with colour.
Trim the ends of the branches and keep them in water until you are ready to use them.
Fresh wreaths are best kept outdoors in the cold. Inside, or in warm temperatures, the wreath will dry out.
If your wreath is outdoors, avoid sunlight if possible.
If you are keeping your wreath indoors, make sure to mist it with water every 1 to 2 days to keep it hydrated.