Christmas window decor ideas get seen twice, once from the sofa or the kitchen sink and again from the street after dark. A wreath on red ribbon, a box of cedar and fir under the sill or a strand of paper snowflakes changes both views at once.
These 14 windows come from the makers who dressed them, each with what it was made from, how it was hung and, where she said, what it cost.
1. Wreaths On Red Ribbon In Every Living Room Window
Best for: Windows and French doors that do not slide open
Materials: A suction cup hook, wired 2.5-inch ribbon, a push pin, one wreath per window
Size: 22-inch wreaths on 30-inch windows
Difficulty: Beginner, with only a pin hole in the trim
Lauren has hung wreaths on her windows every Christmas since 2017, and here a wall of black-framed windows and French doors gets one each. The artificial cedar and hemlock wreaths hang from suction hooks near the top of each pane, with ribbon looped behind the hanger.
The ribbon ends fold over the trim and pin underneath, out of sight. A wreath at least two thirds the width of the window keeps it from looking lost, and the ribbon color changes every year.
2. Outdoor Wreaths With Red Bows On A Snowy White Farmhouse
Best for: Double-hung windows seen from the road
Materials: 24-inch wreaths, pre-wired red outdoor bows, wide red or gingham ribbon
Time: About an hour for 10 windows
Difficulty: Beginner, with no ladder, wreath hanger or fishing line
Kierste Wade hangs these from inside the house. The ribbon loops through the top of the wreath, the wreath slides outside through the open top window, and the window shuts on the ribbon, with a knot inside so nothing slips.
Her 24-inch wreaths read clearly from the road, and none fell through wind, storms and snow. She has always used real pine from a local tree farm, and she is moving to faux wreaths bought at end-of-season sales.
3. Lamb’s Ear Wreaths Hung On Striped Ribbon Indoors
Best for: Windows whose top sash does not slide down
Materials: Lamb’s ear wreaths, red-and-white striped ribbon, a suction hook or one staple
Size: 58 inches of ribbon for a 36 x 60-inch window
Time: About 30 minutes per wreath
Soft gray-green lamb’s ear against red-and-white stripes repeats the ribbon on Linda McDonald’s front door. The wreaths came from The Whimsical Door, her friend Debra’s shop.
She gives two damage-free ways to hang them. A suction hook on the glass holds the wreath while the ribbon runs straight up and tapes to the frame, or a single staple goes into the trim and wiggles out later with a screwdriver. A sailor’s knot 12 inches down the ribbon sits against the wreath’s core.
4. Five-Dollar Wreaths With Bows On Every Front Window
Best for: Windows that open from inside, with a screen that pops out
Materials: 24-inch wreaths, red bows, 2.5-inch ribbon, green felt and glue
Cost: $5 per wreath and $1.50 per bow, on sale
Difficulty: Beginner, depending on the window
Abby Lawson’s gray two-story house has a wreath and red bow in every front window, plus one on the black door. The wreaths were half price at Hobby Lobby and the bows came from Michaels.
Her lower sash hinges down, so the wreath goes outside and the window latches shut on the ribbon, knotted inside. The green felt glued to the back is there because a wreath once wore a hole in her screen during a wind storm.
5. A Cypress Garland Swag Over An Arched Kitchen Window
Best for: An arched window over the kitchen sink
Materials: Fresh cypress, a plain faux pine garland from Walmart, red-and-white ribbon
Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate, working above the sink
A full cypress garland follows the arch over Leslie’s farmhouse sink, with long red-and-white ribbon tails against white cabinets and patterned tile.
Behind the fresh greens sits a simple faux pine garland. The cypress was too heavy to hang around the arch on its own, so she took it apart and tucked it into the faux garland’s wires, which left extra cypress for the rest of the house.
6. An Outdoor Cedar Swag On A Dowel With A Plaid Bow
Best for: Windows that swing open, on walls that cannot be drilled
Materials: A 1-inch dowel or a branch, old faux garland, fresh cedar, floral wire, two eye hooks, a plaid bow
Hung with: Two Command Outdoor Medium Clear Window Hooks on the glass
Difficulty: Beginner
Lucy’s swag starts as a dowel cut to the width of the window and wrapped in old faux garland. Small bunches of real greenery wire on from the center out, so both sides match, and a red tartan bow sits in the middle.
Her windows swing open and the wall is stone, so wire through the eye hooks at each end loops over two clear outdoor hooks on the glass. The cedar hangs full and green against the pale stone.
7. A Kitchen Window With Garland, A Wreath And Fairy Lights
Best for: The window over the kitchen sink
Materials: Garland, a faux orange garland, a green wreath, a battery-operated fairy light strand
Hung with: Two small Command hooks on top of the trim and one on the center pane
Difficulty: Beginner
Garland drapes around Lauren’s sink window with a wreath in the center pane, against dark green lower cabinets and brass pulls. A faux orange garland runs through the greens.
A battery-operated fairy light strand is woven through the garland, so the window glows after dark. It is the first of nine quick kitchen ideas in her post, alongside paperwhites by the sink and a countertop lamp.
8. A Florist-Built Window Box With Five Greens And Big Ornaments
Greens: Cedar, blue berried juniper, pine, cypress and noble fir
Greens from: A flower wholesaler, or the hardware store
Materials: Large pine cones, faux berries, big red, gold and sparkly ornaments on sticks
Difficulty: Beginner
Casey Finn built this one with Denise, her mom’s friend and a former florist, and it shows in the shape. Noble fir at the back makes three tall groupings, the other greens fill in, and cedar drapes over the front and sides of the white box against the brick.
The berries are faux because squirrels ate the real ones the year before.
9. A Fifteen-Dollar Foraged Window Box With A Mini Wreath
Cost: $15 in total
Materials: Foraged juniper, boxwood, pine and pinecones, topless ball ornaments, BBQ skewers
Bought: A 6-foot faux garland for $3.99, a mini faux tree for $4.99, a small wreath for $3.99 and a bow for $1.49
Difficulty: Beginner
Most of Gina Michele’s box was foraged. She fills it the way a summer container goes in, thriller, filler and spiller, with the mini tree and boxwood standing tall, juniper filling and pine spilling over the edge.
Ball ornaments that had lost their tops slide onto skewers and stand above the greens, and the little wreath with its orange-red bow hangs from the front of the gray box.
10. A Fresh Fir And Giant Pinecone Window Box From A $7 Swag Bundle
Greens: A $7 swag bundle from a farm stand, plus yard clippings and holly
Materials: Cheap faux greenery for the base, large pine cones, red and juniper berries
Box: Self-watering vinyl on removable brackets, up all year
Difficulty: Beginner
A stiff fir branch stands at the top like the point of a tree, and two very large pine cones sit low in front of it. Cedar spills over the edge of Jenna Shaughnessy’s white box, with red berries tucked in between.
Cheap faux greenery at the back bulks it out, so the fresh bundle goes further. Holly or magnolia leaves fill the gaps.
11. Flameless Window Candles In Vintage Brass Holders
Best for: Dining room or front window sills
Materials: Real-wax flameless candles, heavy vintage brass candle holders
Time: On a timer for 2 hours every evening
Difficulty: Beginner, with no wiring
Angela wanted the window candles of her childhood without a real flame or a plug-in light. Real-wax flameless candles with two flicker settings, a remote and an auto timer stand in heavy brass holders on the dining room sills.
At night a single candle glows beside cream cafe curtains on a brass rod, with the lit tree next to it. She suggests velvet ribbon or a small candle wreath around the base.
12. Turquoise Ornaments On A Tension Rod In The Kitchen Window
Best for: Renters, or any window where holes are not allowed
Materials: An inexpensive tension rod, plastic ornaments, silver thread
Difficulty: Beginner
Turquoise baubles hang at staggered heights in Tanya’s bright white kitchen window over the sink, with more piled in a cake stand on the counter. Each one has its own length of thread, looped over a tension rod set inside the frame and back through.
She started with glass ornaments, dropped several and switched to plastic, which also means the window can still open.
13. A Dried Orange Suncatcher Hung In Five Strands
Materials: Dried orange slices, thin or baker’s twine, a yarn needle
Hung with: Tape at the top of the window frame, or tied to a stick
Time: Under an hour once the slices are dry
Difficulty: Beginner
Linda McDonald made this one for fall, and she writes that the garland works “for fall, Christmas, and beyond.” Threading straight through the center of each slice lets it hang flat, so light comes through the amber rounds.
Five strands with a few inches between slices fill her tall white window against the garden outside. Oven-dried slices turn a deeper amber, a dehydrator keeps them brighter, and dried slices can also be bought on Etsy.
14. A Paper Snowflake Curtain For A Bare Kitchen Window
Best for: Windows with condensation, where nothing stays stuck to the glass
Materials: White paper, plates, saucers and cups to trace, a needle and thread
Time: “A winter evening or two”
Difficulty: Beginner, and good with kids
Laura of Lupin made this curtain for kitchen windows left bare between curtains and blinds, in a guest feature on Paper and Stitch. Her old single-glazed windows ran with condensation, so snowflakes stuck to the glass were out.
Circles traced around plates, saucers and cups make a random mix of sizes. Each snowflake is sewn into its strand with a few stitches, and the strands tie onto the old curtain rail hooks, filling the window from sill to top.
