How to Hang a Wreath on a Front Door Without Nails

Hangers, hooks and magnets are sold with a weight rating, so weigh the wreath first. Weigh an empty box, weigh it again with the wreath inside and subtract the first number from the second.

Then check what the door is made of: painted wood, fiberglass, steel or glass. Adhesive hooks are made for specific surfaces, a magnetic hook needs a steel door, and two-part wreath magnets work through single-pane glass.

Last, note the wreath's depth and compare it with any gap it has to fit into, such as the space behind a storm door. Our 24 in Norfolk pine wreath is 5.9 in deep; the pre-lit wreath with the 3D bow is 5.5, 7.1 or 7.9 in deep in its 36, 48 and 60 in sizes.

This is the quickest option. A wreath hanger is a metal hook that slides over the top edge of the door and hangs down the front. Slide it over the top where you want the wreath, then hang the top of the wreath frame on the hook.

Close the door with the hanger in place before you hang anything on it. If the door binds or the latch will not catch, the hanger is too thick for the gap at the top of your door: look for a slimmer or padded hanger, or use one of the methods below.

An adjustable hanger lets you raise or lower the wreath without moving the hook.

Ribbon works on a door with no room for a hanger. Cut a 3 in wide satin or grosgrain ribbon long enough to hang the wreath at the height you want. Loop it around the back of the wreath, join the ends, fold them over 1/2 in and fix them to the top edge of the door with thumbtacks, where the small holes stay out of sight.

On a steel door, swap the thumbtacks for a magnetic hook. Set the hook upside down on the inside of the door near the top, tie the ribbon through the wreath, loop the tied end under the hook and let the wreath hang over the top on the outside.

The ribbon shows above the wreath, so choose a color that goes with its bow or with the door.

Wipe the spot clean and let it dry completely before you stick anything on. On an exterior door, choose hooks made for outdoor use and rated for more than the wreath weighs.

Cold and swings in temperature affect adhesive, so check the hook regularly through the season.

When the season ends, remove the hook with its pull tab, as its instructions describe, so it comes off without damaging the surface.

First decide whether the wreath fits between the storm door and the main door. If it is slimmer than the gap, hang it on the main door with a hanger: the storm door shields it from the weather and it stays visible through the glass. Most decorative wreaths are too thick for that, and then the storm door itself is the place.

Suction cup hook: clean and dry the glass, wash the cup in warm soapy water, then press it on with the hook facing up. Wind and weather can loosen a suction cup, so check it often. For a larger wreath, several small cups placed around the frame share the weight.

Wreath magnets come in two parts: one goes on the inside of the glass and one on the outside. They suit light wreaths on single-pane glass; most are not strong enough for double-pane glass. Place them at the top center of the wreath, or use two sets at 10 and 2 o'clock for a heavier one.

Adhesive hooks hold better on the storm door's metal frame than on its glass. A small piece of felt on the back of the wreath keeps a rough frame from scratching the glass as the door opens and closes. In wind, two methods together hold better than one, such as a suction cup with an adhesive strip or with clear fishing line.

Center the wreath across the door. On a door with a window, center it on the solid panel below the glass: that panel, not the whole door, is often the real limit on size.

A common rule of thumb is a wreath about two-thirds as wide as the door: about 24 in for a 36 in door and 18 to 20 in for a 30 in door. A wreath as wide as the door covers it edge to edge, a look that suits a door you rarely open.

On double doors, a matched pair usually looks better than one very large wreath, and each door can still open on its own.

Our 24 in Norfolk pine wreath fits that rule on a 36 in door, but it is made for indoor use, so hang it on the inside of the entry door or on an indoor wall. The pre-lit wreath comes in 36, 48 and 60 in diameters: the 36 in size spans a 36 in door edge to edge, and the larger sizes suit a wide entry, a wall or the space above a mantel.

A plug-in wreath needs an outlet, and on a front door the nearest one is often inside, behind the door that has to close. Plan the route of the cord before you hang the wreath, and keep the cord clear of the hinges and the latch so it is not pinched each time the door closes. A battery-powered wreath avoids the cord altogether.

Our pre-lit wreath plugs in through an adapter with a 120 V input. It has 140 LEDs at 36 in, 200 at 48 in and 300 at 60 in, in warm white or multicolor, and the included remote switches among its 11 lighting modes without reaching up to the wreath.

A garland around the inside of the entry doorway goes well with a wreath on the door. To size it, measure up one side, across the top and down the other side: a frame 80 in tall and 36 in wide takes about 196 in for a full outline.

A pair of our garlands covers the top of a 36 in wide frame and part of each side. The two 76 in cedar garlands, 152 in in total, reach about 58 in down each side; the two 6 ft Norfolk pine garlands, 144 in, about 54 in; the two pine and cypress garlands, about 71 in each, about 53 in.

Tension-rod garland hangers fit inside the door frame without holes, and fluffed branches hide them. The pine and cypress garlands have a brown loop at each end to hang from. The cedar and the pine and cypress garlands are made for indoor use.

Sizes are the diameter of a wreath and the length of one garland strand.