Our Hopeful Home: How To Decorate a Christmas Swag

Learn how to decorate a Christmas swag in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. Festive and uniquely yours, decorating a Christmas swag is a super simple way to add a personal touch to your Christmas decor.

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Last year after the holidays I scored a Christmas swag on clearance at Michael's. It was super plain, but I knew I could transform it into a better version of itself. It's amazing what a few accessories can do to change the look of a swag.

WHAT ARE CHRISTMAS SWAGS?

Christmas swags, otherwise known as door swags or teardrop swags, are basically a vertical version of a Christmas wreath. While wreaths are round, Christmas swags are just a grouping of greens hung upside down and gathered at the top, usually with some type of ribbon.

Like Christmas wreaths, Christmas swags can be decorated in a million different ways based on your own style and decorating preferences.

Hearth & Hand Magnolia cedar swag with velvet ribbon

I recently came across a faux cedar Christmas swag with velvet ribbon by Hearth & Hand with Magnolia at Target that was giving off some French country Christmas vibes. While I didn't like the price tag, I did like the look!

faux cedar swag hanging on vintage shutter

Here's the plain swag I had to work with, hanging on my DIY Vintage Shutter Turned French-Inspired Candle Sconce. In addition to the Hearth & Hand idea, I had a few others up my sleeve. Check them out below, along with a list of potential supplies to get you started!

SUPPLY IDEAS FOR DECORATING A CHRISTMAS SWAG FOR LESS

collage of swag embellishments bells velvet bows berry picks

velvet (or any type) ribbon or pre-made velvet bows

(I got my pre-made velvet bows at Target -- run, don't walk, because I'm sure they'll sell out!)

pine cone picks

red berry picks

gold berry picks

white berry picks

bells in various forms, e.g., bells on red velvet rope

jute twine

faux greens filler (pine picks)

My personal style tends to be that of a "less is more" philosophy. In other words, I don't believe you need to tack on a whole bunch of Christmas decorations to make an attractive, elegant Christmas swag.

Christmas swag with pine cones, berries and velvet bow

To that end I believe the best swags are understated -- so I went with a copy cat velvet bow and berry floral picks (with vintage-inspired sleigh bells that are mostly hidden) to achieve that Hearth & Hand Christmas swag look. (It already had pine cones.) I also tossed in two pine picks for volume.

I love the texture created by the different types of greens used in this swag. The more types of greens used equals more visual interest!

gold velvet double bow on Christmas swag

Lastly, I added jute twine to the round hanger at the top of the swag for more of a rustic look.

Not only does the twine add texture, it also gives the swag more of a finished look.

pine cones and sleigh bells hanging on Christmas swag

And while I loved the Hearth & Hand look, I also wanted to experiment with creating my own French country Christmas style swag to go along with my French country Christmas tree.

Seems all it took to achieve that look was to add vintage-inspired sleigh bells on a red velvet rope! I think this look completely captures the French country Christmas vibe -- simple and elegant, yet rustic at the same time.

cedar Christmas swag with red velvet ribbon

Last but not least there's another style of Christmas swag that's super low maintenance -- one where you forgo all the embellishments and just keep it totally simple (but for a single red velvet ribbon). Sometimes the most beautiful decorations end up being the simplest.

I got this cedar swag at Wal-Mart last year, but I'm sorry to say that it's currently out of stock. You can go to their website (link provided) and request to be alerted when the hanging Christmas faux greenery swag garland with red bow comes back in stock, or you can find other relatively plain Christmas swags to use as your base below: