Decorating Your Home For Christmas With Wreaths Outside

Greetings! Hope your week is going great!

The porch isn't decorated, yet.  This is an old pic from a past Christmas showing the wreaths across the front of the house.

Wreaths hung on windows across the front of a home has to be my most favorite Christmas decoration of all.  I've been hanging them on my home now for around 28 years, first at our old house and for the last 21 years on this home.  Each year when I hang them, I think back to the first time I saw them on the front of a house.  I marveled at the tremendous effort it must have taken to hang all those wreaths, envisioning long hours on a very tall ladder.  Then one day the proverbial light bulb went off and it hit me just how easy it would be to hang them.

You may already be hanging wreaths on your windows, but if not, this post is a little tutorial showing how I hang mine each year. I have wood windows but if you have metal windows, be sure to check out some pictures I've added to the end of this post.

I have 13 windows on the front of my home.  When you first decide to hang wreaths, there's a bit of an initial investment.  After that, they last almost forever.  I did purchase new wreaths about 10 years ago but that was just because the first ones I bought were pretty skimpy.  Wreaths have come a long way over the years–they are much more realistic and fuller-looking now.

Measure Your Windows
Measure your windows before purchasing your wreaths.  You don't want them to be too small or too big.  Apply the Goldilocks factor here.  For comparison, my windows are 32 inches wide and my wreaths are around 21-22 inches wide.

There are several ways to hang them.  You could buy those suction cup thingies that stick to windows.  I prefer hanging them from ribbons, I just love the look of a wreath hanging from a pretty ribbon.  If you do wish to hang them with ribbon, be sure to buy outdoor ribbon.  You'll need about 4-5 feet for each wreath depending on the size/height of your windows.

I prefer to use 2 1/2 inch wide ribbon for my hanging ribbons.  The ribbon I originally used to hang my wreaths was narrow.  (See first picture of the house above to see the narrow hanging ribbon.)  When that ribbon eventually began to shred after many years of use, I bought wider ribbon and I much prefer that look.  (See picture just above for wide ribbon look.)

Attaching the Ribbon
After you've purchased your wreaths and your ribbon, you'll need to cut the ribbon and wrap it around the top of your wreath.  Previously I stapled the ribbon together after wrapping it around the top of the wreath.  That lasted for many years but eventually, the staples began to cause the ribbon to shred.  That's when I changed the hanging ribbons out to the wider 2 1/2 inch ribbon.  I hot glued it together after wrapping it around the top of the wreath and it has held.  (see pic below)

Tip: Be careful if you use hot glue to hold the looped ribbon together because you can feel the heat through the ribbon, and it's definitely hot! You only need a little to hold, if you use too much, it will melt the ribbon.

I purchased ready-made bows at Michael's for half-price after Christmas one year.  I chose bows with long flowing tails.  They look so pretty swirling in the breezes all during the month of December.  Again, there's a little investment in the beginning for your bows, but if you purchase the velvet-like bows/ribbons meant for outdoors, they will last for many, many years.  My bows are around 8 years old now and as you can see, they still look new.  You can place your bows at the top of your wreath or at the bottom–whatever look you prefer.  I prefer them at the bottom, just love how that looks.

Update 2019: If you're looking for beautiful bows at a very affordable price, check out these: Red Christmas Bows.

That's the best price I've seen for gorgeous bows like the ones I use for my exterior wreaths. I purchased a dozen this year so I'll have them when my bows eventually need replacing. They look beautiful and the reviews are excellent!

Hanging the Wreaths
Once you have all the hanging ribbons attached to your wreaths and all the bows are wired on, it's time to hang them. If you have double sash windows like I do, lower the top sash about a foot and push your be-ribboned wreath out the top.  Hold fast to the end of the hanging ribbon or you'll get some extra exercise running down to the yard to fetch it back.  I speak from experience.

I used to use a push pin through the ribbon into the top of the window, always using the same tiny hole each year. Someone mentioned in the comments that they just tie a knot in the end of their ribbon instead of using a pin to hold the wreath in place.  I did that this year (2012) and it worked great! I've been using that method ever since and it makes the task of hanging the ribbons go super fast.

Three things to note if you do use the "knot" method as opposed to the "pin" method.

1.  It takes a little finagling to get the knot in the right place.  I had to tie and untie each one a few times to get the wreath hanging at the level I wanted, but next year I won't need to tie a knot since it will already be there.

2. Be sure and label somewhere on the ribbon, which wreath goes in which window. Since your windows will vary in height/length around your home or from one floor to the next, this will make it easier since you don't want to waste time tying and untying knots or trying to figure out which wreath goes where.

3.  Tying a knot would probably not be a good idea if you'll use candles in the windows some years but not every year.  I hang my wreaths at a different height when I use a candle in the window because I like to have the candle visible shining through the center of the wreath. If I don't use my candles, I normally let the wreaths hang a bit lower. If you have vinyl or metal windows, the knot way of hanging them may work best.

For Metal or Vinyl Windows:
Iris, a reader of BNOTP, sent this picture below showing how she hangs her wreaths. Iris wrote, " I followed your tutorial and did wreaths in my windows. The windows are metal so I wrapped the ribbon that actually hangs the wreath around a small block of wood (1x2x2) and stapled the hanging ribbon to the block of wood.

I lowered the top window, l put the wreath outside and closed the window with the block of wood on the inside. The wood serves as a "stop". This allows you to get a perfect length of ribbon on each wreath and will be all ready to hang again next year."

I love this idea! It would work with wood, metal or vinyl windows and you could write which room/window the wreath goes in on the block of wood.

Here's how Iris's wreath looks from the outside.

Normally I let the tail of the ribbon drape down, but this year I decided to pull out my ancient candles and use them in the windows along with the wreaths.  So I pinned the tail of the hanging ribbon up with the pushpin.

I haven't put the candles in the windows for many years.  In the past, I tried battery-operated candles but they were not nearly as bright as the electric ones.  So I donated those and stuck with the electric.  I just set the candle over the window lock and then run the cord through the side gap where the shutters close.  There's just enough space for it to fit.  I usually tape the cord in place on the window with a small piece of masking tape.  You could also place the candle on the window sill if you prefer.  My shutters won't close with it there, but that would work for curtained windows.  Just make sure the bulb isn't touching the fabric or anything else that could burn or catch fire.

Oh, this year I noticed the flickering bulbs in Walmart.  They were around .97 cents each.  I bought some but after trying just one, I think I'm going to return them.  They are really pretty, but not very bright.  I may give them another try.  They really were pretty flickering red and orange in the window.

I made another change since I'm using the electric candles in the windows again for the first time in many years.  It's a big improvement over what I've done in the past and was prompted by having a secretary in front of the outlet I would normally use.  I didn't want to unload everything out of the secretary to move it, so I decided to use the outlets on either side of the room.  One is behind the trunk on the left and the other one is behind the round bedside table on the right, barely visible in the photo below.

It was still a bit of a pain getting behind the trunk on the left and the table on the right to plug in the extension cords.  They would be easier to move or reach behind than the hutch, but still a pain.

So I headed over to Big Lots (Walmart has these, too) and purchased several of these extension cords with the foot-operated, on/off switch.   I bet you use these for your Christmas tree.  They are the best things!  You just step on it to turn your lights on or off—no fumbling behind furniture or trees to get to the outlet to unplug the lights on the tree, or in this case, the windows.

I definitely recommend this for window lights if you can hide it behind a table skirt or something nearby.  I put one downstairs in the living room and I can turn the candles in both windows on and off with just one step.  This is going to make turning the candles on and off a cinch this year.  Another great option would be timers for your candles.  I saw bunches of those at Walmart, as well.  I may try those next year.

A final daylight view–see what I mean about the long ribbon streamers hanging below. Love that look!  I hung the wreaths a tad higher than normal on the top windows so the candle would be right in the center of the wreath.  Normally they would be down just a bit lower and the tails of the bow would be almost touching the window sill.

A previous year's view of the dormer windows with the garage windows below.  This pic was taken with the skinnier hanging ribbons, before I changed them out for the 2 1/2 inch wide ribbon.  The wider ribbon just looks so much better than the skimpy narrow ribbon for hanging.  I see camellias about to flower out in this pic, too.  I guess the camellia does this every year around this time.

Outdoor wreaths look as pretty from inside as they do outside.

Additional tip: If you live in an area that gets a lot of wind during the month of December, you may want to tie some fishing line to the bottom of your wreath and anchor it with the lower window.  Or, you may wish to hang your wreaths from suction cups or some other method other than with a hanging ribbon.

We only get strong winds one or two days during the winter season so it's never a real problem at my home.  I've been having wreaths in this manner for 25+ years successfully.  However, if you live where it's super windy, you may find you need to attach your wreaths in a different manner or anchor the bottom half down.

An evening view:  I think I may need to dial down the wattage on those outside lanterns.  I never realized how bright they were until I took this picture.  You'll need to wear sunglasses if you visit my house at night!

Did you notice the "Blue Hour" was approaching as I took this pic?  Of course, I couldn't see that through the camera–that sneaky Blue Hour.  You can read all about it here: The Secret of the Blue Hour.

Here's how the wreaths looked for Christmas 2013…

And in 2017 after a big snowstorm hit Atlanta…

What's your favorite Christmas decorating idea each year?  Do you hang wreaths from your windows?   Do you also use candles in your windows?  Has anyone found any really bright battery-operated candles?  Love hearing your ideas!

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Decorating Your Home For Christmas With Wreaths Outside

Source: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/hang-wreaths-on-your-exterior-windows-a-tutorial/

Posted by: brownwifigh.blogspot.com

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