Holiday Wreaths for Your Cut Flower Business: Step-by-Step Guide to Boost Seasonal Sales

There’s nothing quite like a fresh wreath to signal the start of the holiday season and at Hidden Springs, creating handmade wreaths has been a part of the business since year one. From mid-November through the first weeks of December, my hands have a stubborn layer of pine and eucalyptus sap from cranking out fresh wreaths for my customers. 

In this post, I’ll walk you through the process of making your own holiday wreaths, from selecting greenery to adding those special touches that denotes your own unique style.

Step 1: Gather Your Holiday Wreath Materials

For a fresh holiday wreath, you’ll need a few basic supplies:

• Wreath form: You can use a metal, foam, or grapevine form as the base. I primarily use metal clamp rings from Mitchell, but I also love the look of a partially filled grapevine wreath. 
• Fresh greenery: Pine, cedar, arborvitae, fir, and eucalyptus are my go-to’s. They all hold up well and are easily accessible between my farm and local wholesaler. If you’re unsure of sourcing greenery, check with friends and neighbors, local greenhouses and tree farms, or locate your closest floral wholesaler.  
• Decorative accents: I love berries, pinecones, lotus pods and magnolia tips, but dried citrus, cinnamon sticks and ribbon are also classic options. 
• Florist wire, snips and pruners: Florist wire is essential for securing greenery and other elements to your wreath base (or use a clamp machine, like I do). Sharp snips and heavy-duty pruners are also important. They’ll get sticky quick, so make sure to clean them down after each wreath-making session. 

Step 2: Prepare Your Greenery for a Holiday Wreath

As you gather greens, be sure to keep them fresh! Your customers will not be happy with a wreath that’s already partially dried out. I store greens in my floral cooler and along a shaded side of our barn. The moisture from the ground and cold November air helps to keep the greens fresh until I use them. If it’s warm, consider misting the greens occasionally to maintain freshness.

When it’s time to assemble wreaths, first prepare your greens and create assembly-line style piles. Fresh greenery will be easier to work with if it’s trimmed to a manageable size. Cut branches into 6- to 8-inch pieces, removing excess needles or leaves from the bottom. I sort cut greens into boxes or tubs that I can easily pull from the cooler and put back when I’m done creating for the day. 

Step 3: Assemble the Wreath

1. Create small bundles of greenery by mixing two or three different types together. I aim for 8-10 stems per bunch. 
2. Attach the bundles to the wreath form with wire, overlapping each bundle slightly to cover the stems of the previous one. If you’re using a clamp machine, this process will be a bit easier!
3. Continue attaching bundles around the entire wreath, making sure to layer them in the same direction for a cohesive look.

Step 4: Add Decorative Accents to your Wreath

Now comes the fun part: adding your decorative elements! This step will set your wreaths apart and gives you the opportunity to create a signature look. 

There are plenty of options for decorating wreaths from ribbon to bells, but here are a few of my favorites:

• Pinecones and lotus pods. I love the rustic look that the browns bring to a green wreath. At Hidden Springs, I call this mix “Woodland Magic”. 
• Red winterberries or holly. Adding a classic pop of red, berries will dry as they age but last throughout the season. 
• Eucalyptus. Dusty blue eucalyptus adds some dimension to an otherwise forest-green wreath. I like to use a mix of seeded and baby blue eucalyptus which both hold up well and add texture. 

Remember to change up the placement of accents to avoid a completely uniform look. This will give your wreath a more organic and professional feel.

Step 5: Finish and Sell Your Wreath

Once your wreath is complete, step back and make any adjustments to balance the overall look. Trim any loose stems, adjust decorative elements, and secure any loose parts with extra wire if needed. I add a hook made from extra floral wire so it’s easy for my customers to hang the wreath at home. 

To keep the wreath fresh, mist it with water every few days and avoid placing it in direct sunlight. I make sure to provide customers with a little “Wreath Care” note including these instructions so that their wreaths last throughout the holiday season. 

I highly recommend taking pre-orders to sell holiday wreaths as they're a perishable and time consuming product. You can take pre-orders on your website (here's how I sell mine) or through a simple sign up form like Google Sheets. If you're taking pre-orders, be sure to collect payment at the time of order. 

If you have the opportunity, set up and sell wreaths at a holiday or farmer's market. Or plan a pop-up event and sell wreaths at a local business, boutique or coffee shop. 

Bonus Tips for Holiday Wreath-Making Success

• Use dried flowers or greenery that you’ve preserved from the growing season.
• Make it an event. Consider hosting a wreath-making workshop where customers can create their own wreaths. Wreath workshops have been really popular at Hidden Springs and are great for building brand awareness. 

Enhance Your Business with Holiday Wreaths

Adding wreaths to your holiday lineup is an easy, accessible way way to expand your flower business into the off-season and keeps your name top-of-mind with customers until your flowers are back in bloom. 

Want to dive a little deeper? I’ve compiled my strategies for holiday sales, including fresh wreaths, in a 2-hour virtual workshop available on demand! 

Throughout the workshop I cover real, tangible products and services that I offer at Hidden Springs, plus marketing strategies to attract and maintain a customer base during the holiday season and beyond. 

In addition to the workshop, you will receive a 16-page resource guide filled with my preferred suppliers and wholesalers, links to supplies and products, sample images and marketing templates that you can use to capture those holiday sales. 

It’s not too late to get a jump start on the holidays for your business. Click here to access the workshop RIGHT NOW!

More Holiday Resources...

• Blog Post: Holiday Sales Strategies
• Hidden Springs Holiday Wreaths 
• Holiday Floral Supplies
• Reel: Making a Holiday Wreath
• Behind the Scenes of a Wreath Workshop
• How to Create a Porch Pot