The Easiest DIY Tinsel Wreath for Your Retro Christmas

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Mid-century modern silver tinsel wreath on turquoise front door with retro Christmas decorations

Let’s add mid-century style to your Christmas with this DIY tinsel wreath. It’s easy to make by gluing silver garland around a wreath form.

The shiny tinsel gives this wreath a classic mid-century look, and it’s affordable using Dollar Tree garland and glue!

Here are the details.

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DIY Tinsel Wreath

Materials

Glue Tinsel Garland to the Wreath

Squeeze a zig zag of glue onto the wreath form, and let the glue air dry for about 30 seconds.

Then attach the end of a piece of garland to the wreath form, wrap it around a couple times and hold it down while the glue dries.

Attaching silver tinsel garland to wreath form

Continue gluing this way, several inches at a time, wrapping and gluing the garland all the way around the wreath.

Make sure the garland is wrapped tight enough so that you can’t see the Styrofoam underneath.

About Styrofoam Glue

I used to make tinsel wreaths with hot glue, but you’re not really supposed to use hot glue on Styrofoam, because it can melt the foam and release toxins.

So for this wreath I tried out Aleene’s Tacky Glue, which is like a thicker version of Elmer’s. It’s nontoxic, approved for Styrofoam, and easy to get from the Dollar Tree, Michael’s, Jo-Ann Fabrics or Amazon.

Aleene's Tacky Glue

The trick with this glue is to let it air dry for about 30 seconds before you add the garland. This will help it set up and dry faster.

Of course it doesn’t dry as fast as hot glue, but it dries pretty quickly and holds the garland securely in place.

I only got a few little pieces of garland stuck to my fingers in the process. Definitely better than the multiple hot glue burns I usually get!

Finish Gluing the Garland

When you get to the end of a piece of garland, glue and hold it down to let it dry. Then attach a new piece of garland and continue around the wreath.

Gluing silver tinsel garland to DIY Christmas wreath

Once you make it to the end of the wreath, cut off whatever you don’t need from the garland, and glue the end piece down securely.

Add Ribbon

After the glue dries, you can tie up the wreath with any color of ribbon.

Adding pink ribbon to DIY tinsel garland wreath

I made this tinsel wreath with 1.5-inch pink satin ribbon for a mid-century Christmas, but it’s easy to swap out the ribbon for any holiday or occasion.

Hang Up Your Wreath!

Finally, hang your wreath on the door and add festive decor.

My husband Eric’s front porch coffee shelf is the perfect spot for some mini Christmas trees to complement this wreath. 😉

Holding up a silver tinsel wreath with a pink bow
Mid-century modern silver tinsel wreath on turquoise front door with retro Christmas decorations
Silver tinsel garland wreath with pink bow on turquoise front door

You can leave your wreath as plain tinsel, or use it as a base to add decorations like vintage Christmas ornaments.

Then keep the DIYs going with these Christmas decor ideas.

  • Mid-century modern DIY tinsel wreath
  • DIY tinsel wreath for a vintage Christmas

6 thoughts on “The Easiest DIY Tinsel Wreath for Your Retro Christmas”

  1. Very cool and clever DIY tinsel wreath! Easy to follow instructions. Loved the tutorial!! It looks great hanging on your front door! (Love the added “pretties” on the coffee shelf!) We all need some Christmas whimsy to get us in the spirit of the holidays. You always come up with great DIY ideas to add to your Mid-Century Modern holiday decorations. Another great H & H informative and interesting “how-to”. Go Tara!! (thumbs up!!)

    • Thanks Judy! I love making these tinsel wreaths. So easy, quick and festive for a mid-century Christmas. We are playing the Christmas music and ready to celebrate! 🙂

  2. Love the wreath! The pink ribbon is perfect against your door. I have a question that’s off the subject. Do you have any info on the dual sconce light that you have hanging about the little Christmas trees in this post? I was just looking for a light for our bedroom, and something like that would be perfect. Thanks!

  3. Love your tinsel wreath!

    Rather than waiting for the glue to set, why not use pins? Either plain heads, which would hide in the garland, or ones with MCM colored, larger heads to add small pops of colors…

    How about using a pink or teal (or other color) pool noodle for a base? Just turn it into a wreath form using similar color duct tape. Plus, if you didn’t wrap the tinsel as tight, your colorful base could peek through.

    Thanks for the terrific inspiration 😁

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