How to Make a Tobacco Basket Christmas Wreath (Easy DIY Tutorial)

Thank you for sharing my content!

A DIY tobacco basket Christmas wreath tutorial with faux greenery, roses and pinecones. Step-by-step instructions for rustic farmhouse wall decor that lasts fall through winter.

Easy DIY tobacco basket Christmas decor. Decorate a tobacco basket for Christmas and turn it into beautiful wall decor. With these step-by-step instructions you can make a DIY tobacco basket wreath in an afternoon, no wreath form required. I show you two versions, one in warm browns and golds for late fall, and one in white and silver for Christmas and winter.

I was home alone this weekend. Blissfully alone, just me, myself, and two cats. My guy had packed up his guitars and gone off to play at a friend’s house, leaving me and my introvert self to enjoy the silence, the prospect of binge-watching a series, and maybe some chocolate. Possibly wine. Who’s checking.

I had all this glorious empty time in a quiet house that, for once, wasn’t in total chaos.

And then it happened. I started staring at the fall decorations. The same fall decorations I had been in love with just last week. All that burlap and those pinecones and wheat suddenly didn’t fit anymore. The quiet ended, the chaos set in, and the cats fled to the attic.

I wanted Christmas decor, even though it is technically still fall. So I decided to make something that starts as late fall decor and transforms into true Christmas decor later. A DIY tobacco basket wreath was what I came up with.

Here is the first version, the decorating-early-for-Christmas one.

Stick around to the end, because I also show you how to swap this wreath from fall to winter in about ten minutes, and I answer the question everyone asks about tobacco baskets (the answer for the one about how much they’re worth surprised me too).

So I decided to make some late fall – early Christmas decor that I can transform in true Christmas decor later.

I tobacco wreath wall decoration was what I came up with.

Here is the first decorating early for Christmas version:

Making this tobacco wreath was a bit of a process. I went about the whole thing in a roudabout way. But I got there.

I rummaged through my craft supplies for inspiration (causing chaos in my craft room); I ransacked the garage for my florist supplies (leaving chaos in the garage as a result), and I dumped it all on my living room table (turning it into a big heap of mess). 

Yep, the peace and quiet were over because creative inspiration had moved in.

How to Make a Tobacco Basket Christmas Wreath

Step 1. Find a Tobacco Basket (or a Stand-In)

I have been eyeing tobacco baskets for years. I love the open weave, the rustic farmhouse feel, and the way they look just as good in a centerpiece as they do as wall decor.

Real vintage tobacco baskets can get very expensive (or so I hear), but craft stores carry lovely knock-offs. Etsy is also a great place to find handmade sets of three, or an extra-large vintage-looking one. And if you feel up for it, you can even build one yourself. There are good homemade tobacco basket tutorials out there.

If all of that is too difficult or too expensive, do what I did. Use a simple round basket with a bit of a tobacco basket look. Mine came from IKEA, straight off my own bathroom wall where it was part of my faux concrete wall decor. A similar round basket with a slightly tighter weave works just as well.

The point is, you don’t need the real thing. You need the vibe.

Step 2. Prepare you Basket for Flower Arranging

This is the only technical step in making a tobacco basket wreath, and it takes two minutes. You have to make sure your flower arrangement is firmly attached to the basket so it won’t fall off.

I simply wrapped some floral wire around a small block of floral foam (some styrofoam would work too) and secured the wire at the back. Done.

Step 3. Turn Your Tobacco Basket Into Beautiful Wall Decor

That was the fussy part. Now comes the fun.

To make the floral piece in your wreath, start adding greenery and flowers. I went for all faux greenery and faux flowers, because this Christmas wreath has to last the whole season and stay good-looking for weeks.

Greenery first. It sets the outline and tells you how big the arrangement inside the basket can be.

Next I added roses and pinecones for volume, and to decide where I wanted the focal point to sit.

Can you believe that little twig of pinecones and needles is fake? I know. Faux greenery has gotten so good these days.

Tips for Making a Tobacco Basket Wreath

Construct Your Tobacco Wreath Vertically

Normally I make wreaths while they lie flat on the table. With this tobacco basket wreath, I changed that fast. I hung it on the wall and worked on it right there.

That way I could see exactly how everything looks in real life, and I could double-check that nothing was too top-heavy and would droop once gravity got involved.

This matters even more if you want to use it as a front door wreath. The impact of opening and closing the door, plus wind and rain, makes an outdoor basket wreath more vulnerable.

How to hang a tobacco basket

Usually I like to hang wreaths with ribbon, especially door wreaths. But with the curved edge of the basket, ribbon just didn’t look good.

The easiest way to hang a tobacco basket wreath is to use the open weave of the basket itself. A small nail or hook is all it takes. The basket is very lightweight, and unless your flower decorations are unusually heavy, a single small nail supports the whole thing.

Hammer the nail in slightly above the center of where the wreath touches the wall. That way the rounded basket hangs straight. Then tuck a leaf or twig from your arrangement in front of the nail to hide it.

How to Quickly Change Your Tobacco Basket Christmas Wreath Into a New Style

This is my favorite part of the whole project.

The basic design of this wreath is endlessly versatile. With a nice mix of faux evergreen foliage, you can swap out the seasonal decorations whenever you feel like it.

A few weeks after making the first version in browns and golds, I turned it into a white and silver Christmas wreath. The lighter version fit better with the rest of the decorations I kept adding to the room.

All I did was take out a few elements (the copper leaves and some of the gold decorations) and add white painted pinecones and more stems of evergreen pine.

I loved the white version so much that I left it up through January for my winter decorating.

A tobacco basket wreath might be the most forgiving piece of farmhouse decor you own. But it fits into any style, really. I think it would look beautiful in a boho home or a coastal beach house too.

A tobacco basket wreath might be the most forgiving piece of farmhouse decor you own. But it fits into any style, really. I think it would look beautiful in a boho home or a coastal beach house too.

6 STUNNING DIY CHRISTMAS WREATH IDEAS

If you love a wreath or two as much as I do, you will love these creative Christmas wreaths made by my blog friends.

DIY Macrame Christmas Wreath Idea by HARBOUR BREEZE

Three Wreaths Christmas Wall Decor made by SOUTHERN HOME AND HOSPITALITY

Pastel Ornaments Christmas Wreath by OUR CRAFTY MOM

Simple Christmas Wreath with Vintage Ornaments by SONYA BURGESS

Front Door Christmas Wreath by A Loverly Life

Tobacco Basket Christmas Wreath FAQ

Are tobacco baskets still in style?

Yes, and honestly they have moved past “trend” into a staple of farmhouse decor. Craft stores like Michaels and Walmart now carry them year-round, and wreath makers use them for every season, from spring florals to fall leaves to Christmas greenery. They read as vintage rather than dated, which is why they keep working.

How do you display a tobacco basket?

The two most popular ways are on the wall as a base for a wreath or floral arrangement, or flat on a table as a centerpiece base with candles or decor inside. Hung on the wall, all you need is one small nail set slightly above center so the rounded basket hangs straight, plus a leaf from the arrangement to hide the nail.

What is a tobacco basket worth?

Original vintage tobacco baskets usually start around $100 to $150 at antique shops, with large ones in good condition running a few hundred dollars. On collector marketplaces like 1stDibs they can go much higher, anywhere from about $165 to over $9,000 depending on age, size, and origin. That is exactly why decorators often buy new reproduction baskets from craft stores instead. If you just want the look, an inexpensive round basket with a similar open weave does the job for a fraction of the price, which is exactly what I did with mine.

What are the wreath trends for this year?

Natural textures and nostalgic shapes are leading, which is exactly where the tobacco basket wreath fits in. Wreaths that aren’t traditional circles, like baskets and diamond shapes, plus faux greenery that looks real, neutral whites and greens, and designs you can keep up past Christmas into winter.

Your Turn

So, are you a decorate-early-for-Christmas person too, or do you hold out until after Thanksgiving? And would you go for the warm brown and gold version or the white and silver one? Tell me in the comments, I read every single one.

And if you’re saving this for your crafting weekend, don’t forget to pin this post so you can find it when the basket comes out. I’ll love you for it.

Thank you for sharing my content!