DIY Thanksgiving Wreath: Crafting with Fresh Greens, Flowers, and Dried Oranges

Here is the perfect wreath to make for that time in the late Fall when you are ready to move on from Halloween but not quite ready to switch over to holiday decor! This Thanksgiving wreath is very easy to craft and I bought everything right at my local Trader Joe’s!

In this blog post, I’ll teach you how to make a beautiful and festive Thanksgiving wreath using fresh greens, flowers, and dried oranges.

I’ll also provide tips and troubleshooting advice to help you make the perfect wreath. So get ready to get creative and start crafting your own Thanksgiving wreath!

How to Make a Large Thanksgiving Wreath: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Fall is the perfect time to decorate your home with fresh greens, flowers, and other natural elements. Instead of hanging an artificial wreath this year try this easy and affordable idea and use all real materials. I’m telling you that you will never go back to fake Fall wreaths again!

Also, I found all the main materials for this wreath at Trader Joe’s! They have the best selection and most affordable florals around! The greens, flowers, and dried wheat stalks were $3.99 a bunch. I also grabbed cinnamon sticks and oranges to use to embellish the Thanksgiving wreath. The only things not from Trader Joe’s are the wreath form, pheasant feathers, pine cones, and velvet ribbon.

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Gather Your Materials

If you can’t find the exact fresh greens and flowers that I am using, no worries! There are plenty of other flowers you can use that will look beautiful too.

When picking out botanicals to use for a wreath look for plants that dry well like the sea holly and yellow German statice that I picked for the florals for this wreath. Also, choose contrasting colors to add a pop to the wreath.

For the greenery, I wanted to layer in not only different shades of foliage but different textures to make the wreath look like it was professionally done.

In addition to the live materials, I am also adding natural elements that make this a perfect transition wreath from Fall to the holidays: cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices, pinecones, and pheasant feathers.

The base of this wreath is going to be a large 24″ grapevine wreath (Hobby Lobby has the best prices). Feel free to make a smaller size if that fits your home better!

Step 1. Start With The Greenery

For this wreath, I am using 3 different kinds of greenery: Evergreen, Seeded Eucalyptus, and Leucadendron.

Evergreen

I started by cutting the evergreen (not sure if it’s cedar or cypress) into smaller sections off of the main branch. This will make it easier to tuck the branches into the grapevine wreath. Use a pair of sharp garden snips or utility scissors.

Now here is where you have to make a decision! You need to choose which direction you want to build your wreath: clockwise or counterclockwise.

I picked counterclockwise so I started my wreath in the middle of the right side and worked my way upwards.

No hot glue is needed. Just tuck the ends of the greenery in between the grapevine branches.

If you feel you need more support then run a paddle of floral wire around the wreath to secure the branch.

Add the pieces of evergreen around the entire wreath to act as your base layer.

Eucaplyptus

Eucalyptus is the next addition to the wreath. Any type of eucalyptus will work, we just want to give our wreath layers of texture (easy way to make it look like it came from an expensive florist!)

Just as I did with the evergreen trim the eucalyptus into smaller pieces. Scatter the pieces of the eucalyptus around the wreath by tucking the ends into the grapevine.

Just try to evenly disperse it around the entire wreath but don’t get hung up on making it perfect because there will be other things layered on top of it.

Leucadendron

I did add a 3rd type of greenery called leucadendron (I had to do an image search for the name!!). For this one I ran it around the wreath close to the center opening. It has a reddish tinge to it.

Just using 2 types of greenery would look great for this wreath too but I did like the color and shape of the leaves on the leucadendron.

Step 2. Add The Flowers

Now that the base of greenery is all in place. It’s time to add the flowers to bring in some pops of color to the wreath. I went with yellow German statice and purple sea holly. Both of these flowers will naturally dry out and hold their shape and color.

German Statice

One flower that I always see at Trader Joe’s in a variety of colors is German statice. These small clustered stems dry out beautifully and I used them around my house to decorate.

Just break off clumps of the statice and tuck them in around the wreath. To make the wreath look full and luscious I took small clumps of the statice and added it around the center opening to fill in the grapevine that was showing.

Sea Holly (Eryngium)

This is one of my favorite flowers because I love the color and the cool shape and texture of it. I’ve grown them in my garden too! Just a fun addition to a wreath.

For this flower, I cut off the individual stems and added them to the wreath in places where they would be seen and not lost among the greenery.

Step 3. Adding Natural Elements

Could you stop the wreath with just the greenery and flowers? Of course! And it would look beautiful.

But by adding a few natural elements we are going to make it feel more seasonal.

I’m adding dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks, pinecones, dried wheat, and pheasant feathers.

If you want to keep the costs down on the wreath I would recommend doing just the orange slices because they add the most to it.

Dried Orange Slices

Have you made dried orange slices before? They are such a pretty touch to use from Fall through Winter. You can also store them in an airtight container to use again.

To attach the oranges to the wreath I ran a piece of floral wire through the orange (it will go right through the flesh) wrapped the wire around one of the grapevine branches and twisted it to secure it in place.

For this wreath, I used 6 orange slices but you could add more or even clump 3 of them together…I think that would look pretty!

Pinecones & Cinnamon Sticks

The pinecones and cinnamon sticks not only add a touch of brown to the wreath but they add a woody texture that makes it feel like it’s Thanksgiving time.

Wiring pinecones is super easy and a good skill to know for making your own wreaths!

Cut off a piece of floral wire that is long enough to wrap around your pinecone and still have enough on the end to tie it to the wreath.

Run the wire around the pinecone base through the scales, twist the two ends together to secure it to the pinecone, then tuck the wire around a branch of the wreath and twist the ends until it stays in place.

For the cinnamon sticks, you could either push the ends into the grapevine or wire the ends and secure them that way to the wreath.

I bundled 2 pieces of wheat together and added 12 stalks total.

Pheasant Feathers

The final touch was the addition of pheasant feathers. Feathers are such a fun addition to Fall wreaths.

I bought a bag of pheasant feathers last year and used them as decorative accents since them in different ways but I love how they look in a wreath! It’s an affordable way to elevate the look of your wreath.

If you happen to scroll the pricey home decor websites you will notice that they often add feathers to their Fall and Winter wreaths too.

Step 4. Add A Velvet Ribbon

Not necessary but I did add a simple velvet bow to the center of the wreath. Just a small piece of floral wire run through the knot in the back and then secured to the wreath on the underneath part of the top center.

Hobby Lobby has the best prices on rolls of velvet ribbon and a nice selection of colors. It’s located in the sewing section of the store with the other non-seasonal ribbons. Wait for the 50% sales weeks and it will only for a couple of dollars.

Finished Thanksgiving Wreath

The wreath came out gorgeous and is the perfect addition to my front door.

If you do want to hang the wreath on your front door it should be protected from the elements. Direct sun will also fade the flowers.

But this one is perfect for hanging in your kitchen or dining room to bring a festive seasonal touch to your home inside.

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