Pro contractor guide: how to hang Christmas wreaths on any surface

May 25, 2026 Jason Geiman

How to Hang Christmas Wreaths: A Pro Contractor's Complete Guide

Hanging Christmas wreaths is one of the highest-margin upsells in the professional Christmas light business, and most contractors leave hundreds of dollars on the table per house because they treat wreaths like an afterthought. I'm Jason Geiman — firefighter, ASE/EVT certified technician, EMT, Hazmat responder, and the guy who runs the 43,000+ member professional Christmas light installer community. After more than a decade of installing wreaths on every surface you can imagine, here's the exact playbook my crews use to hang Christmas wreaths fast, safe, and at a profit.

Quick Answer: Pro installers hang Christmas wreaths with a single 3-inch deck screw through the back of the wreath frame into the wall — vinyl, brick, stucco, wood, or metal. Price the install the same across every surface ($75–$125 for a 24" standard wreath, $400–$800 for a 60" jumbo on the house itself). The wreath itself is a 5-minute install; the entire pitch happens at the kitchen table the moment you walk the customer's front yard.

This guide covers exact mounting hardware, the pricing tiers I use on every quote, the "sell the magic" upsell pitch that turns a $1,200 roofline package into a $2,100 ticket, and the takedown system that protects your wreaths so they last 5–7 seasons instead of one.

The One Mounting Method That Works on Every Surface

Forget the suction cups, the over-the-door hangers, the magnets, and the command strips. They all fail. A pro Christmas wreath install uses one fastener: a 3-inch deck screw driven through the back of the wreath frame directly into the wall. That's it. The wreath frame is a circular wire or metal ring — the screw goes through that ring at the 12 o'clock position and into solid material behind whatever surface you're working with.

What changes from surface to surface is not the install — it's just where the screw goes:

Vinyl siding: Screw goes into the J-channel or trim band above the wreath location. Never through the vinyl panel itself.
Brick or concrete: Hammer drill with a 3/16" masonry bit, plastic anchor, then the deck screw. The video below shows the exact technique.
Stucco: Same as brick — drill, anchor, screw. Stucco scratches if you skip the anchor.
Wood trim: Drive the screw straight in. No pilot hole needed for a 3-inch deck screw into pine or cedar.
Metal (steel siding or commercial buildings): Self-tapping metal screw, same 3" length, same install time.

Same install price across every one of these surfaces. Do not discount because it's "easy vinyl" and do not upcharge because it's "hard brick." The customer is paying for the magical look of that wreath glowing on the front of their house, not for which drill bit you used. Pricing the install based on surface confuses customers and erodes your margin.

Wreath Pricing Tiers — The Five Sizes That Cover Every Job

Pricing the Christmas wreath upsell across the five standard sizes

Pro installers stock five wreath sizes. That's it. Anything in between is custom and quoted separately. I price the install of each size installed — meaning the wreath itself plus the lights, the mounting hardware, the labor, and the takedown in January are all included. Materials are wholesale because we buy by the case; the customer never sees a line item that says "wreath: $30."

Wreath Size	Installed Price	Wholesale Material Cost	Where It Goes
24" standard	$75–$125	$18–$30	Above garage door, single front door
30"–36" oversized	$150–$225	$45–$80	Front gable, double-door entry
48" commercial	$250–$500	$100–$200	Office building entrances, HOA monuments
60" jumbo (on the house)	$400–$800	$180–$300	Big open gable, wide front wall — the centerpiece
Garland (per 9-ft section)	$125–$175	$30–$50	Wrapped around the front door, columns, mantels

That 60-inch jumbo wreath is the single biggest visual upsell in the business after tree wrapping. Pitch it on every house with a wide front gable or open wall. It transforms the home into the most magical house on the block — the kind of house where the grandkids stare out the car window and shout when you pull into the driveway on Christmas Eve. That's what your customer is buying.

Two more pricing rules every contractor needs to follow:

Bow upgrade: Offer an oversized premium bow on every wreath for $50–$125 extra. About 75% of customers say yes. It's pure margin.
Round every quote to a number ending in 7. $1,247 outperforms $1,250 every time. $1,847, $2,147, $2,747 — always 7. This isn't a gimmick, it's tested psychological pricing that lifts close rates without lifting price perception.

The Sales Pitch — How to Sell the Wreath at the Walkthrough

Don't talk about the wreath. Talk about the feeling of the wreath.

When you're walking the property beside the homeowner during the in-person walkthrough, look up at the front of the house and say something like: "A big 60-inch wreath right there on the front gable would be incredible. That's the piece your neighbors are going to drive past and stare at. That's the piece your grandkids are going to point at when they pull into the driveway on Christmas Eve."

Now you've sold the magic. The line item just confirms what they already feel. The customer doesn't want a $400 wreath. They want to feel like they live in the most magical house in the neighborhood. Lead with the feeling — every time.

If they say "wow, that sounds expensive" — never apologize, never discount. Reframe: "It's $487 installed, lit, hung, and taken down in January. You'll see it every night for six weeks. The grandkids will see it. The neighbors will see it. The Christmas Eve guests pulling in will see it." That's $11 a night for the look of the most magical house on the street. Almost nobody says no when you frame it that way.

Installation Process — The 7-Step Pro Workflow

This is the exact sequence my crew runs on every wreath install. Train every new installer on this list — it should take 5 to 8 minutes per wreath including positioning, screw, and final adjustment.

Pre-bulb and pre-light the wreath at the shop. Never light a wreath on the customer's lawn. Mini lights or C7 LEDs zip-tied to the frame, with the male plug exiting at the 6 o'clock position so it's hidden when hung.
Bring the right hardware to the truck. 3" deck screws, plastic masonry anchors (for brick/stucco), 3/16" masonry bit, an impact driver, and a ladder standoff. That's it.
Position the wreath. Hold it where the customer wants it — usually dead center on the gable or above the entry. Mark the screw point at 12 o'clock through the frame with a Sharpie.
Pre-drill if needed. Hammer drill with masonry bit for brick/stucco. Skip the drill for wood and vinyl trim.
Set the anchor, then drive the screw. Anchor first on masonry. Then drive the deck screw through the wreath frame, leaving about 1/4" of the screw head proud so the wreath hangs freely.
Plug into the nearest extension cord run. The wreath ties into the same SPT-1 zip wire run that powers the roofline above it. C9 LEDs draw under 1 amp per 100 bulbs, so a wreath adds almost no load.
Adjust the bow and step back. Walk to the curb. Look at it from where the customer pulls into the driveway. Adjust if the bow is off-center. This is the magic moment — get it perfect.

Total time on a single wreath: 5 to 8 minutes once you've done a hundred of them. New installers will take 12–15 minutes for the first week, then catch up to crew speed.

The 60-Inch Jumbo Wreath — Your Highest-Margin Upsell

The 60-inch jumbo Christmas wreath mounted directly on the house

This is the upsell that turns a $1,200 roofline package into a $2,000+ ticket. The 60" jumbo wreath mounted directly on the front of the house — usually centered on an open gable or large wall above the garage — is a magical, photo-worthy centerpiece. Every house with a wide front gable is a candidate. Every customer who tells you they want "wow factor" is a candidate.

The install on a 60" jumbo is the same one screw, but the wreath frame is heavier, so use a 4" lag bolt with an anchor on masonry. Mount it on a fully-extended ladder with a ladder standoff to keep the rails off the gutter. Two installers — one on the ladder, one on the ground holding the wreath up while the lead lines it up. Five minutes once you've done a dozen.

Wholesale cost on a 60" pre-lit wreath ring is $180–$300 depending on bulb count and bow upgrade. Installed price $400–$800. That's 50%+ margin after labor and materials. There is no faster way to add $400 to a ticket in this business.

Garland — The Companion Upsell to Every Wreath

If you're selling wreaths, you should be selling garland. Garland wraps the front door frame, runs across the top of a porch, drapes over a mantel-style railing, or wraps a column. It's a visual extension of the wreath — together they make the entry to the house feel like a Christmas card.

Price garland one of two ways:

Per linear foot: $15–$20 per foot for residential, $12–$15 per foot for commercial runs over 100 feet.
Per 9-ft section: $125–$175 per pre-lit garland section. This pricing is cleaner for the homeowner.

Use 9-foot pre-lit garland sections joined together — never try to add lights to a customer's old garland. Pre-lit garland with warm white mini lights matches the C9 roofline overhead and creates a continuous magical look from roof to entry. A typical front door frame plus across the top of a porch is about 18 linear feet — that's $250–$350 in garland alone, on top of the roofline package.

Wreath and Garland Takedown — Why It's Already in the Price

The wreath install includes takedown in January. That's part of the red-carpet service. We don't standalone-bill wreath takedown unless it's a wreath we didn't install — in that case, $75–$200 standalone takedown applies.

The takedown process for wreaths:

Unscrew, don't unhook. Back the deck screw out completely. Leaving anchor stubs in masonry is fine — they're invisible and the customer wants them there for next year.
Use the circle-wrap storage method. Coil the wreath's power cord around the frame in tight circles, secured with a single zip tie. Do not wrap figure-eight — it kinks the wire and shortens the life of the lights.
Label every wreath with the customer's address. Zip-tie a tag on the back of the frame. Number system per county. Stack in a numbered tote. Everything for a single house stays together so next year's install crew can re-deploy in under 15 minutes per house.

Done right, a wreath lasts 5–7 seasons. Done wrong, the lights kink and fail in year 2 and you eat the replacement cost.

The 5 Mistakes I See Newer Contractors Make on Wreaths

Using adhesive or suction hangers. They fail in cold weather, every time. The wreath ends up on the porch by mid-December. One screw. Always.
Pricing wreaths cheaper because "they're easy." Wreaths are high-margin because the install is fast, not because the price should be low. Hold your tier pricing — $125 for a 24", $487 for a 60". Customers don't compare wreath prices line-by-line; they buy the magic.
Skipping the bow upgrade conversation. 75% of customers say yes to a $50–$125 oversized bow when you offer it. Stop assuming for them.
Lighting wreaths on the customer's lawn. Pre-bulb, pre-light, and pre-test every wreath at the shop. A wreath that fails to light on the customer's porch is the kind of moment that costs you the next year's contract.
Forgetting to pitch the 60-inch jumbo. If the front of the house has an open gable, the jumbo is the upsell. Walk the property, look up, and put the words in the customer's mouth: "Imagine pulling in from the kids' Christmas Eve service and seeing that wreath glowing right there above the door."

Tools and Materials Every Wreath Pro Carries

The wreath kit lives in one bin on the truck:

Box of 3" exterior deck screws (200-count, gold/coated for brick/stucco)
4" lag bolts for jumbo wreaths (50-count)
Plastic masonry anchors (200-count)
3/16" masonry hammer drill bit (always carry a spare)
Impact driver — Milwaukee M18 or DeWalt 20V, your call
Ladder standoff — non-negotiable for any wreath above 8 feet
Pre-bulbed wreaths sized 24" / 30" / 36" / 48" / 60", boxed by address tag
Spare bows in red, plaid, gold, and burlap — customer preference at quote time

That's it. No nails, no command strips, no glue, no string. Pros use screws.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you hang a Christmas wreath without putting holes in the siding?

You don't, and pros don't try. Every "no-hole" hanging method — suction, adhesive, magnets, over-the-door brackets — fails in cold weather or wind. A single 3" deck screw is the only reliable answer. On vinyl, the screw goes into the J-channel or trim band above the wreath location, not through the vinyl panel itself. The hole is invisible from the curb and the customer will thank you when the wreath is still hanging on January 1st.

How much should a pro charge to hang a Christmas wreath?

$75–$125 for a 24" standard wreath installed, $150–$225 for a 30"–36" oversized, $250–$500 for a 48" commercial, and $400–$800 for a 60" jumbo mounted on the house. Pricing is the same across vinyl, brick, stucco, wood, and metal — the surface only changes where the screw goes, not the price the customer pays. Always quote installed (lights, hardware, labor, takedown) — never sell the wreath as a separate line item.

What's the best wreath size for above a garage door?

A 24" standard wreath above each single garage door, or a 30"–36" oversized wreath above a double garage. The wreath should be centered above the door at eye level when standing on the driveway — typically 12 to 18 inches above the top of the garage door trim. Two matching wreaths on a side-by-side double garage look better than one giant wreath, in my experience.

Can you mount a Christmas wreath on brick without a hammer drill?

No. A hammer drill with a 3/16" masonry bit and a plastic anchor is the only safe way to mount on brick or stucco. Trying to drive a screw into brick without an anchor will either snap the screw, crack the brick, or leave you with a loose mount that fails by mid-December. The hammer drill is non-negotiable for masonry work — every pro truck has one.

How long does a professionally installed wreath last?

5 to 7 seasons if you store it correctly. The wreath ring itself lasts a decade-plus; what fails is the mini-light or C7 string zip-tied to the frame. Pull damaged strings, replace with new LEDs at the shop in the off-season, and the wreath looks brand new for year 6. The biggest enemy of a wreath's lifespan is bad storage — circle-wrap the cord around the frame with a zip tie, never figure-eight, and stack flat in a labeled tote.