Artificial Christmas wreaths

How to choose an artificial Christmas wreath

A wreath is the first decoration anyone sees, and for a few weeks it's the thing your house is known by. A real one looks wonderful for a fortnight and then browns, drops needles on the step and goes in the compost in January. An artificial wreath looks the same on Twelfth Night as it did on the first of December, costs nothing the following year, and can be dressed, lit and re-ribboned to suit whatever you're doing with the rest of the house.

Choosing one is mostly about getting the size right for your door, making sure it will survive wherever you hang it, and knowing how to hang it without damaging the door. This guide covers all of that, plus the styles available, what makes one look convincing, pre-lit options, and how to shape, use and store it so it lasts.

The short version

• For a standard UK front door, a 45–55cm wreath is right. Narrow cottage doors suit 40cm; wide or double doors suit 60cm and up. Measure the door panel – not the frame – and aim for a wreath about half to two-thirds of its width.
• Artificial wreaths are measured by finished diameter. Fresh wreaths are often quoted by ring size, which finishes much larger. Don't carry a florist's "12 inch" advice over to an artificial wreath.
• Check it's suitable for outdoors if it's going on an exposed door. Many pre-lit wreaths in particular are marked indoor-only. A covered porch is kinder to any wreath.
• Don't nail, screw or stick anything to a uPVC or composite door. Use a slim over-door hanger, a magnetic hanger (if the door has a steel core), a rated suction hook, or a ribbon looped over the top of the door and fixed inside.
• Mixed foliage looks most real – fir with pine, cedar or eucalyptus, in more than one green, with matte berries and natural-looking cones. A single flat green with glossy red berries is the "fake wreath" look.
• Spend five to ten minutes shaping it. Every wreath arrives squashed. The gaps people complain about in reviews are almost always a wreath that hasn't been fluffed.

Getting the size right

Size is where most wreath purchases go wrong, usually on the small side. There are two reasons.

Why the advice online contradicts itself

Fresh wreaths are made on a wire or moss ring, and florists often quote the ring size. A "12 inch" fresh wreath has a 30cm ring and finishes at 50–60cm once the foliage is on. Artificial wreaths are sold by their finished outer diameter. So when a florist's guide says a standard door takes a 12–14 inch wreath and an artificial retailer says it takes 50–55cm, they're describing the same wreath. If you've only ever bought fresh, be careful not to order a 30cm artificial wreath expecting it to look the same. It will look like a bracelet.

Measure the door, not the frame

Measure the width of the door leaf itself, from edge to edge of the panel that opens. Most UK front doors are 76–84cm wide; older cottage and terrace doors can be 70–75cm; wide or grand doors 90cm and over; double doors around 1.5m. A wreath that's roughly half to two-thirds of the door width looks deliberate. Smaller than half and it looks like an afterthought; wider than about three-quarters and it crowds the frame and catches when the door opens.

Where the wreath sits

Hang it at eye level or a little above, roughly centred on the top panel of the door, so it isn't obscured by the knocker or interfering with the letterbox. A ribbon from the top of the door lets you fine-tune the height. On a door with a glazed panel, think about whether you want the wreath over the glass (where you'll see its back from the hall – see hanging) or on the solid part below.

If in doubt, go up a size

Wreaths look smaller on a door than they do in a product photo, where there's nothing for scale. Decorated wreaths with bows and sprays also read larger than plain foliage ones of the same stated size. If you're between two sizes, the larger one almost always looks better.

Indoor or outdoor?

This matters more for wreaths than for any other artificial Christmas decoration, because the most common place to hang one is outside, and a surprising number aren't designed for it.

An indoor-only wreath will fade in daylight (reds go pink, greens go yellow), its wire frame may rust and mark the door, glitter and flocking will wash off in rain, and any battery pack and lights will not be sealed against water. One wet December can finish it. Pre-lit wreaths from mainstream retailers are especially likely to be indoor-only – check the listing before you assume a front-door wreath is meant for a front door.

An outdoor-suitable wreath has UV-stabilised foliage that won't fade, a coated or galvanised frame, decorations that are glued and wired rather than just pushed in, and – if lit – a battery box that's at least splash-proof (IP44) with the cable sealed where it enters. Even then, "outdoor" means a British winter on a door, not a summer in the sun. A covered porch or deep reveal will keep any wreath looking good for far longer than a door that takes the weather head on.

If your door is exposed and you've fallen for an indoor wreath, you have two options: hang it inside the porch door or in a hall window instead, or accept that it's a one- or two-season purchase.

Styles of wreath

Plain foliage

Just greenery – fir, spruce, pine, cedar, or a mix – with no decoration. The most versatile and the most realistic, because there's nothing to give it away. It looks finished with a single wide ribbon and can be dressed differently each year, or left plain for a Scandinavian look. If you want a wreath that can stay up from November to February without looking like Christmas has overrun, this is it. Plain fir and eucalyptus wreaths are the ones people hang year-round.

Berries and cones

The traditional British wreath: green foliage with red berries, pine cones and perhaps a little holly. Warm, classic, suits almost any door. The quality varies enormously – look for matte berries in more than one shade and size, and cones that are either real or convincingly moulded. Glossy, uniform, cherry-red berries are the quickest way to spot a cheap wreath.

Snowy, frosted and glittered

Foliage dusted with white flocking, a frosted "iced" finish, or glitter on the tips. Lovely under lights and with a pale or Nordic scheme, and they photograph beautifully. They do shed – flocking and glitter come off on your hands and on the door, more so in rain – and they are almost always indoor-only. Frosting is subtler and sheds less than heavy snow.

Eucalyptus, mixed greens and "natural" wreaths

Silver-grey eucalyptus, olive, bay, pine and fir mixed together, often with dried-look elements, seed heads, white berries or pale cones. Softer and more contemporary than a fir-and-red-berry wreath; suits pale, grey, sage and black doors and modern interiors. These are often loosely made with an irregular outline, which is part of the charm and makes them look very real.

Bauble wreaths

Shatterproof baubles packed onto a ring, sometimes with foliage, sometimes without. Bold, glossy and fun – very good on a dark door or in a child's room – and not trying to look natural. Check the baubles are glued as well as wired; on cheap ones they fall off.

Bows, bells and fully decorated

Everything already on it: ribbon, bow, baubles, berries, cones, perhaps bells or a sign. The fastest way to a finished look and good value if you'd otherwise buy all the trimmings separately. The downside is you can't change it much, and fabric bows don't like rain. Check the bow is removable if you might want to swap it.

Twig, rattan and wooden

A visible willow, birch or rattan ring with foliage or decorations attached. Rustic and natural-looking, and the exposed base is a feature rather than something to hide. Real willow will weather if left out in the wet; look for it sealed or keep it under cover.

Half wreaths and swags

Not a full circle: a teardrop, a crescent that sits across the top of a door, or a vertical swag of foliage. Useful where a round wreath would block a glass panel or a knocker, and an elegant change from the usual. Measure carefully – they're sized by length, not diameter.

What makes an artificial wreath look real

You'll be buying from a photograph, so it helps to know what to look for. Most of these are visible in a good close-up.

• A mix of foliage types. Real wreaths are made from whatever the florist has: fir, pine, cedar, eucalyptus, holly, ivy. A wreath made of one kind of plastic tip repeated two hundred times looks manufactured. Two or three different foliages, with different textures and lengths, looks made by hand.
• More than one green. Darker old growth, lighter tips, a touch of grey or blue in the pine or eucalyptus. A single flat green is the giveaway.
• Matte, not shiny. This goes for needles and for berries. Real berries have a bloom, not a lacquer finish.
• Moulded PE tips on the outer face. As with trees, PE foliage is cast from real branches and looks and feels like needles; PVC is cut from sheet and looks like bottle brush. Mixed PE and PVC is the sensible middle, and all-PVC can be perfectly good if the colour and density are right.
• Brown stems and some structure showing. Branches wrapped in brown rather than green, and a hint of the frame or twig base glimpsed between tips.
• Natural-looking decorations. Real or well-moulded pine cones, berries in varied sizes and shades, perhaps a few dried-look seed heads. Oversized cones and perfectly spaced decorations look like a kit.
• A slightly irregular outline. Real wreaths aren't perfect circles. Tips that stick out a little here and there are a good sign, not a fault.

A useful test: imagine the wreath without its bow and berries. If the foliage alone looks like a tree branch, it's a good one.

Pre-lit wreaths

A lit wreath on a dark December doorstep is one of the best things about the season, and because nearly all pre-lit wreaths are battery-powered there's no cable to run. Things to check:

• Light count. Twenty LEDs on a 50cm wreath is a subtle twinkle; 30–50 is a good even glow; 80 and over is bright. Micro or "cluster" LEDs on fine wire quote high counts but each light is tiny; they're pretty, but don't compare the numbers directly with standard LEDs.
• Warm or cool white. Warm white suits green foliage and traditional doors. Cool white suits snowy and eucalyptus wreaths. Some offer both with a switch.
• Timer. The single most useful feature. Most run six hours on, eighteen off, so you switch it on once at dusk on the first day and forget it. Without a timer you'll be opening the door in your slippers every night.
• Where the battery box is. It's usually on a short cable at the back, to be tucked behind the foliage. Check it's small enough to hide and that the wreath still sits flat against the door with it there. Most take three AA batteries.
• Outdoor rating. Lit wreaths are the ones most often marked indoor-only. For a front door, look for a battery box rated IP44 or better and a wreath described as suitable for outdoor use. Keep the box at the back, facing the door, and it'll stay dry in all but a direct downpour.
• Cold weather and batteries. Alkaline batteries drain faster in the cold. On a timer, a set of good alkalines lasts roughly three to four weeks; lithium AAs cost more but handle frost far better and can last the season.
• If the lights fail. They're woven in, so you can't easily replace them – but a lit wreath is a wreath first, and it'll look fine unlit. Check whether the guarantee covers the lights.

If you'd rather choose your own lights, buy an unlit wreath and add a battery string of 20–50 micro LEDs. Wind it round the frame from the back so the wire disappears, and tuck the box behind.

Frame, depth and weight

Frame

Most artificial wreaths are built on a wire ring – a single ring on cheaper wreaths, a double or "box" ring on better ones, which holds its shape and doesn't twist. Twig and rattan bases are heavier and more rustic. Foam rings are light but crumble over time and shed, and are best avoided outdoors. Look for a hanging loop attached to the frame; if there isn't one, you'll be hanging it from a branch, which will bend.

Depth

Wreaths are 8–15cm deep, more with bows and sprays. That matters if your door opens back against a wall (the wreath will be crushed), if you have a porch door that closes close to the front door, or if the wreath sits inside a deep door reveal. Flatter wreaths are also easier to store. Depth is usually listed as "D" in the dimensions.

Weight

A 50cm artificial wreath weighs anywhere from 500g to 2kg, with heavy twig bases, lots of baubles and battery boxes at the top end. Most hooks, suction cups and over-door hangers are rated for 2–3kg; door manufacturers advise keeping decorations under 2kg on uPVC and composite doors to avoid straining the hinges and seal over time. If the listing doesn't give a weight, ask.

How to hang it (without ruining your door)

How you hang a wreath depends entirely on the door. Getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake you can make with a £40 decoration.

Timber doors

The easiest. A small brass or steel hook screwed into the top rail is permanent, discreet and strong, and a wreath can hang from it every year. A ribbon from the hook lets you set the height. If you don't want to make a hole, an over-door hanger or a ribbon over the top of the door works too.

uPVC doors

Never pierce the surface – no nails, screws or pins, which let water into the door and void guarantees. Adhesive hooks can lift the finish or leave residue, especially in cold weather. The reliable options are a slim over-door hanger (check it doesn't interfere with the weather seal or stop the door closing), a rated suction hook on a clean, dry, flat area, or a ribbon looped over the top of the door and fixed to a hook on the inside face.

Composite doors

The same rules as uPVC, with one extra: some door makers warn that even a standard over-door hanger can damage the top weather seal. Use the slimmest hanger you can find, ideally one designed for external doors, or avoid the top edge altogether. Many composite doors have a steel core, in which case a magnetic wreath hanger is the ideal solution: no fixings, no marks, very strong. Test with a fridge magnet first – some are a bit shy to admit it. A few newer composite doors have hidden magnets built in specifically for this.

Glass and glazed doors

Suction hooks work well on glass, but bear in mind you'll see the back of the wreath from inside – the frame, the wire, the battery box. Either choose a wreath that's finished on both sides (some are), position it over a solid panel rather than the glass, or put a second small wreath or a ribbon bow on the inside to cover the back.

Using the knocker or letterbox

Looping a ribbon through the knocker is traditional and pretty, but a heavy wreath swinging in the wind will loosen the knocker's fixings over the years. Fine for a light wreath on a solid timber door; not for a 2kg bauble wreath on a composite one. Never hang anything from the letterbox – it needs to work, and the spring won't thank you.

Whatever the method

• Clean and dry the door first if you're using suction or adhesive.
• Hang from the frame or the hanging loop, never from the foliage.
• Add a strip of felt or a few self-adhesive felt pads to the back of the frame to stop it scratching the door as it moves in the wind.
• Check the hook's weight rating against the wreath's weight.
• In a windy spot, a second small hook or suction cup at the bottom to stop the wreath swinging is worth it.

Choosing a wreath for your door and home

A wreath is a decoration for the outside of the house, so think about it against the door rather than against your living room.

• Dark doors – black, navy, racing green, grey – make almost any wreath look expensive. Plain foliage with a velvet ribbon, white berries or frosted tips stand out beautifully.
• Red doors fight with red berries. Plain green, white berries, or gold and cone decorations look better.
• White and pale doors need the wreath to do the work: go a size larger, choose deeper greens, and don't be shy of red or burgundy.
• Natural wood and oak doors suit rustic styles – twig bases, cones, dried-look elements, eucalyptus.
• Modern grey and anthracite doors suit eucalyptus, white berries, simple foliage and cool-white lights.
• Match the ribbon to the door furniture. Brass handles and knocker: warm colours, gold, red, tartan. Chrome or black: white, silver, deep green, black.
• Coordinate, don't duplicate. If you have a garland on the porch or stairs and a tree in the window, keep them in the same family – all traditional, all Nordic, all eucalyptus – rather than identical.

Beyond the front door

Wreaths have moved indoors over the past few years, and a plain foliage wreath is one of the most useful Christmas decorations you can own.

• Above the mantelpiece, hung on a mirror or picture hook. Size it to about half to two-thirds the width of the mantel. Hang it from a wide ribbon fixed to the mirror frame or the picture rail for the full effect.
• In windows, hung from a ribbon on a small hook in the top of the frame or a suction cup on the glass. Visible from inside and out, so a wreath that's finished on both sides or a pair of small ones back to back works best. A row of small matching wreaths in each window of a frontage is a classic look.
• On interior doors – the bedroom doors, the loo, the kitchen cupboards. Small 30–40cm wreaths on ribbon hooks, no fixings needed.
• Stair newel posts and bannisters, tied on with ribbon.
• Above the bed, in place of a picture, for the month.
• As a table centrepiece, laid flat with candles inside the ring. Artificial foliage is flammable: use LED candles, or real candles in glass hurricanes or tall holders that keep the flame well clear of the tips. Never leave real flames in a wreath unattended.
• On the back of the front door, so you see it every time you come home.

Shaping it when it arrives

Artificial wreaths are packed flat and tight, and the most common one-star review – "sparse", "lots of gaps", "nothing like the photo" – is almost always a wreath that's been hung straight from the box. Five to ten minutes puts it right.

1. Lay the wreath on a table, front up. Lift out the hanging loop so you know which way is up.
2. Working round the ring, pull every tip forwards and outwards, away from the frame. Fan the inner tips towards the centre hole and the outer ones out past the edge, so the foliage covers the frame from both sides.
3. Angle tips in different directions – some up, some down, some straight out. Uniformity looks artificial.
4. Straighten any bent branches, and bend the wire inside the stems if the wreath has it so that cones and berries face forward and aren't buried.
5. Fluff the bow if there is one, opening the loops and arranging the tails. A steamer or a hairdryer on low will relax creased ribbon.
6. If it's pre-lit, put the batteries in and switch it on before you hang it, so you can spread any clumps of lights.
7. Hang it, step back to the pavement, and adjust. Gaps are much easier to see from a distance.

Care, cleaning and storage

During the season

An outdoor wreath needs no care beyond a glance after a storm to check it's still straight. If it gets dusty or splashed with mud, a soft brush or a damp cloth is enough. Don't use polish or cleaning sprays; they leave a sheen. Take the batteries out of a lit wreath before storing it.

Taking it down

Give it a shake outside to dislodge debris, then brush it off. A quick wipe of the door behind where it hung removes any marks before they set. Check any felt pads, suction cups and hooks are removed or stored with the wreath.

Storing it

• Don't crush it. The whole value of an artificial wreath is that it holds its shape. A wreath flattened under boxes for eleven months will never look quite right again.
• A wreath box or bag is the ideal: rigid or padded, with a hook or strap so you can store it flat or hang it. Buy one slightly larger than the wreath's stated size to allow for depth and decorations.
• Hang it on a hook on the back of a cupboard door or in the loft eaves, inside a bin bag against dust.
• Protect the bow by stuffing the loops with tissue paper, and keep berries and glitter away from other decorations – they rub off on things.
• Cool and dry. Lofts that get hot in summer can soften plastic foliage and yellow white and frosted finishes; damp garages rust frames.

Stored properly, a good artificial wreath lasts ten years or more. Fading is the only real limit, and only if it spends every December in direct sun.

What to expect to pay

For a 50–60cm wreath, as a rough guide to the UK market:

• Under £20 – basic PVC wreaths from supermarkets, DIY sheds and discount stores, usually plain or with simple glossy berries. Fine for an interior door or a child's room, and the right place to start if you're decorating a lot of doors or windows. Density and colour are where they fall short.
• £20–£50 – where most people should look. Mixed foliage, better berries and cones, decent frames, and most of the pre-lit battery wreaths with timers. The better high-street wreaths are here and several of them do well in group tests.
• £50–£100 – realistic mixed-foliage wreaths with a high proportion of PE tips, eucalyptus and natural-look designs, outdoor-rated pre-lit wreaths, and wreaths from the better interiors brands. The difference from the band below is foliage quality and how convincingly the decorations are done.
• £100 and over – large sizes (65cm+), designer and luxury brands, and heavily decorated pre-lit pieces. Lovely, but the step up from a good £70 wreath is in finish rather than anything you'd see from the pavement.

Spend according to where it's going. A front door wreath is seen by everyone who visits and from the street every day; it deserves more of the budget than the one on the loo door. And compared with a fresh wreath at £30–£60 every year, a good artificial one has paid for itself by its second Christmas.

Checklist before you buy

• Have I measured the door panel width, and is the wreath half to two-thirds of it?
• Is the size the finished diameter (it should be for an artificial wreath)?
• Is the wreath suitable for outdoors, if that's where it's going – and if pre-lit, is the battery box weatherproof?
• What's my door made of, and do I know how I'm going to hang it?
• Is there a hanging loop on the frame?
• How deep is it, and will the door still open fully?
• How heavy is it, and is my hook rated for that?
• Have I seen a close-up of the foliage and berries, not just the styled shot?
• Is the foliage mixed, matte and in more than one green?
• If snowy, frosted or glittered, am I prepared for shedding, and is it staying indoors?
• If pre-lit: how many lights, warm or cool, and is there a timer?
• If my door is glazed, will I mind seeing the back from inside?
• Where will I store it, and will it stay flat and uncrushed?