Use A Pool Noodle To DIY A Festive Patriotic Wreath For Your Front Porch

Decorating for the summertime can sometimes be trickier than adorning your home for other seasons. After all, there aren't as many clear holidays to break up the summer, and you can only incorporate so many fruity, sunny, or beach-themed motifs. Luckily, learning how to decorate for the Fourth of July can help to break your home out of a summer décor rut. According to Capital One, only just over 19% of Americans shopped for decorations to celebrate Independence Day in 2023. If you want to increase these numbers this year and make your home feel festive, find out how to bring flair to your front porch with a charming homemade wreath. To complete this DIY, you'll form a pool noodle into a circle for the base, wrap it in ribbon, and then adorn it with any decorative items you desire.

You don't need to spend the big bucks to make your home sparkle this July Fourth. Instead, this adorable and inexpensive patriotic wreath craft idea is perfect for welcoming guests to your home to celebrate the occasion. Plus, it's a brilliant way to upcycle an old pool noodle with results that are right on theme for hosting an Independence Day pool party bash. Here's how you can transform an ordinary pool noodle into a pretty patriotic wreath and some tips and tricks for enhancing the hack. 

To make this wreath, you'll need a pool noodle like the Foam Pool Noodle that's available for $1.25 from Dollar Tree. Thinner noodles tend to work best to form a good size wreath, but you could also try using a jumbo pool noodle if that's all you have on hand. You'll also need duct tape, hot glue, and some wide ribbon of your choice, such as the 2.5-inch Patriotic Red and White Stripe Linen Ribbon from Joann, currently on sale for under $3. Collect any other patriotic bows, bits, and bobbles as well to give your wreath a more unique look.  

Bend the pool noodle to form it into a circle, then use duct tape to secure the ends to each other and make your wreath form. If you want the wreath to be smaller, you could also cut it down to size before taping. Wrap the wide ribbon tightly around the noodle form, gluing it down as you work your way around. Create a large, full bow with your leftover ribbon (or purchase a premade bow) and glue it onto the top of your wreath form, then finish your wreath by adding any other cute accessories you'd like. For example, you could wrap metallic star tinsel around the wreath, glue on mini American flags or faux flowers, or tie on strips of fabric for a fun ruffled texture. Finally, follow a foolproof way to hang your wreath without making holes in your door. 

Simply securing both ends of the pool noodle together is the easiest way to form the base for this craft, but it might leave you with a slightly lopsided base. To help the wreath look more round, cut both ends of the noodle at about 45 degree angles before taping them together, then attach a large bow over the duct tape joint. Using lots of ribbons, bows, flowers, and other three-dimensional details can also help hide any warping and make your wreath look more uniform. Further, if you want to create another inexpensive decoration to pair with your wreath, consider following a July 4th pool noodle DIY that will add some spark to your yard.

Additionally, this pool noodle wreath idea isn't just a smart way to decorate for summer. Hang onto all your old pool noodles to transform them into fall, winter, and spring wreaths, too. All you'll need to do is swap out the ribbons and tinsel for something more seasonally appropriate. Because these wreaths will all be roughly the same size, you won't have as much difficulty when deciding how to best organize and store your holiday wreaths and garlands.