Christmas wreath tradition
Every year we are getting excited with new decorations, trendy Christmas tree ornaments and accessories that bring the Christmas mood to our homes, to our families, to ourselves. This unique winter holidays allow to decorate not only interior but also exterior elements of the house, including the entry way.
The Christmas wreath hanging on the door or decorating the front porch is often the first accent when guests are entering our homes. If you hang it in November or early December it is also a reminder to you every time you come back home after a long day that the happy Christmas time is coming. It brings smile to your face and your family members.
Why making this Christmas wreath yourself?
You can buy an amazing Christmas floral artwork at the florist shops, you can buy a budget friendly option at regular shops but what a joy you will have making your own Christmas wreath to display on your front door or porch.
This idea of the Christmas wreath is about utilising and using the greenery you have around in your garden, in the neighbourhood, in the park where you walk every Sunday, in the forest where you go for the weekend bike ride. The greenery used are the cuttings from the evergreen shrubs and trees from their pruning in the garden in the autumn time: branches of thuja trees, yew-trees, juniper as well as small branches of larger trees from the nearby park or forest: spruce or pine. There are great varieties of each of these shrubs and trees with dark or light green, silvery blue or bright yellow leaves. Mix as many as you like.
This Christmas wreath is very eco friendly as you utilise the left overs from your garden work. Subsequently, after the holiday season you can add the greenery to your compost, cover more delicate flowers like roses in the garden to protect them from frost. The floral wire can be reused many times to make any fresh arrangement or a new wreath for the spring time.
I personally think that the best motivation for making the Christmas wreath by yourself is a great fun and satisfaction from the project. You can invite kids to help you with collecting the greenery. Own wreath can be a great topic to chat during the Christmas party.
As you see making your own Christmas wreath is also budget friendly, especially as the list of gifts to buy is long 😊
The supply list for the Christmas wreath project
The list is pretty short:
- - All sorts of evergreen shrubs and trees branches
- - Eucalyptus leaves is a nice option as they stay long
- - Virginia creeper stems, which you can find on many fences or walls as this plant is quite invasive and grows rapidly. Try to get the stems at least 2 meters long.
- - The floral wire for attaching green materials to your wreath's form
- - Pruning shears for cutting and shaping the greenery
Christmas wreath step by step
- 1. Cut and shape the greenery to approx. 15-20 cm / 6-8 inch length
- 2. Arrange the greenery and cluster them into small bunches and tie them with the floral wire. I had 11 bunches.
- 3. Take 4-5 Virginia creeper stems and arrange into a rounded form. Tie it with the floral wire to get a firm rounded base. I made mine with diameter of approx. 35 cm.
- 4. Attach each small bundle of greenery to the rounded base with the floral wire, one after another. Tie firmly at the end.
I hanged the Christmas wreath below the front porch sconce using the strong linen twine. Now I am waiting for December to add a few Christmas ornaments or a colourful ribbon to make it look more festive.
