Tips For Choosing A Fresh Christmas Wreath
Not sure which fresh Christmas wreath to choose? Our buying guide covers size, foliage, decoration style & budget to help you find the perfect wreath
Everything you need to know about dressing a fireplace with fresh noble fir foliage, from choosing between mantles, garlands and swags to step by step dressing tips and fire safety advice.
Learning how to decorate your fireplace for Christmas with fresh foliage is one of the most rewarding things you can do to transform a room for the festive season. A well-dressed fireplace becomes the natural centrepiece of a Christmas living room, and the addition of fresh noble fir foliage fills the space with a genuine pine scent that no artificial decoration can replicate.
This guide covers everything you need to know, from choosing the right foliage pieces to dressing the mantelpiece and surrounding areas.
There is a reason that the most beautifully dressed Christmas fireplaces you see in magazines and on social media almost always use real foliage rather than artificial garlands. Fresh foliage has a depth, texture and colour that synthetic materials simply cannot match. The natural variation between branches, the way noble fir needles catch the light, the gentle fragrance that drifts across the room: these are qualities that transform a fireplace from a piece of furniture into a seasonal focal point.
Fresh foliage also works naturally with the proportions of most fireplaces. A generous drape of noble fir along a mantelpiece looks abundant and considered without requiring precise arrangement. The natural form of the foliage does most of the work for you.
There are three main foliage products that work on and around a fireplace, and the best results often combine more than one.
Christmas Mantles
A Christmas mantle is a length of fresh noble fir foliage designed specifically to be draped along a mantelpiece. It is the most direct and impactful way to dress a fireplace, sitting flat along the shelf and trailing naturally over the edges at each end. Our decorated mantles come with berries, pine cones and a hand-tied ribbon bow already added. The plain Christmas mantle gives you a natural foliage base to dress with your own candles, baubles or decorations.
Christmas Garlands
A Christmas garland gives you more length and flexibility than a mantle. Available in 1m, 2m and 3m lengths, a garland can drape along the mantelpiece and then continue down one or both sides of the fireplace surround, creating a more enveloping effect. Garlands also work well woven through candlesticks, picture frames and mirrors above the fireplace.
Christmas Swags
A Christmas swag works particularly well on either side of a fireplace, hung on a wall or placed on a corbel or bracket. The cascading shape adds a different visual dimension from the horizontal line of a mantle or garland, and the combination of a mantle along the shelf with swags on either side creates a fully dressed fireplace that looks genuinely special.
The following approach works for most standard fireplace mantelpieces and produces a result that looks considered without requiring any specialist skill.
This is the most important section in this guide. Fresh foliage is significantly more resilient than dried foliage, but it is still a natural material that will dry out over time and must be kept at a safe distance from any open flame.
Fresh noble fir from Lower Hope Festive arrives well hydrated and stays resilient for several weeks with proper care. Misting the foliage lightly every couple of days helps maintain moisture and extends its life on an indoor mantelpiece.
Fresh foliage on a fireplace mantelpiece faces a greater challenge than foliage on a front door because of the warmth generated by both the fire and central heating. To keep it looking its best, lightly mist the back of the foliage with water every two to three days and keep the fire at a moderate level rather than blazing when the foliage is in close proximity. For full aftercare advice, visit our Christmas wreath aftercare guide.
Ready To Dress Your Fireplace?
Browse our full range of Christmas mantles, swags and garlands, all hand-crafted in Herefordshire using sustainably sourced noble fir foliage. Available plain or decorated, made to order and delivered across the UK on a date of your choice. We are proud members of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association.
A Christmas mantle is a shorter, denser piece of foliage designed specifically to lie flat along a mantelpiece. A garland is longer and more flowing, available in lengths up to 3m, and suited to draping along a mantelpiece and down the sides of a fireplace surround or along a staircase. Both are made from the same fresh noble fir foliage.
With good care and a fire that is not constantly blazing at maximum heat, fresh noble fir foliage will last three to four weeks on an indoor mantelpiece. Misting every two to three days and keeping the foliage away from direct heat significantly extends its life.
Yes, a wreath hung above a fireplace on a mirror or wall makes a beautiful centrepiece. Keep it well away from any open flame and check it regularly for drying. A wreath in this position is best combined with a mantle or garland along the shelf below for a fully dressed fireplace.
Order Your Fresh Christmas Wreath
Hand-crafted from sustainably sourced noble fir foliage in Herefordshire. Made to order and delivered on a date of your choosing.
Hand-crafted fresh wreaths delivered across the UK. Choose your date at checkout.
Not sure which fresh Christmas wreath to choose? Our buying guide covers size, foliage, decoration style & budget to help you find the perfect wreath
Order fresh Christmas wreaths delivered across the UK. Hand-crafted to order using sustainably sourced noble fir foliage
Learn how to care for a fresh Christmas wreath & keep it looking beautiful for 4-6 weeks with these simple aftercare tips.
Everything you need to know about fresh Christmas wreaths: foliage, sizes, styles, care & how to choose.