When the festive season is upon us there’s no better way to get in the Christmas spirit than to make a lovely wreath for your front door. You will need a wreath base pre-made with Christmas foliage such as holly and spruce. If you are feeling adventurous you could make the base yourself by mossing a wire frame and wiring each piece of foliage to it, but that can be a bit complicated (and messy) for beginners. So I’ll assume you have your foliage wreath, which can be bought from florist shops or garden centres etc.
On top of your decorations you will need some strong florist wires and one and a half metres of a nice fabric ribbon. Some florists sell loose cinnamon sticks and dried fruits like a pic and mix of Christmas goodies. Small packs of miniature baubles are perfect for grouping on Christmas wreaths.
As far as decorations go, it’s all down to personal taste. You might prefer the traditional look with orange slices and cinnamon sticks, or you might fancy something more modern and sparkly. You can use anything you like on your wreath from baubles to ribbons, fruits, silk flowers, wrapped sweets or even mini battery powered lights. I’ve included a few pictures to give you some inspiration.
Once you have decided what you are going to put on your wreath I find it helps to lay the items roughly where you intend to put them on the wreath. They will look most pleasing in odd numbers. Groups of three work well on Christmas wreaths. You will need to wire each item to attach it. I’ve used dried orange slices as an example below. Take the orange slice, I’ve used two together and push about half of the wire through the orange slice. Bend both wires down and wrap one piece tightly around the other twice and then wrap down the length of the wire.
Follow this step with all of your decorations. If you have baubles that can’t be wired through, wire them on the loops they have. For cinnamon sticks gather three into a bundle and wrap wire tightly around them. Then cover your wire with thin ribbon or raffia.
To make your bow take your ribbon and lie it in the shape shown in the first picture below. Then gather the ribbon together in the middle and twist one loose end under the bow so both ends hang down, these are the tails. You should now have four loops and two tails. Then wrap a wire around the centre of the bow where you are holding it and secure it tightly it as you did with the other decorations. Once the bow is wired you can fluff the loops out to make it fuller. It helps to add your bow to the wreath first as it is quite large.
Once you have your bow and enough decorations wired you can start to add them onto the wreath. Take the wire and push it through the foliage into the moss base. If you find the wire poking out through back of the wreath, bend it back on it self and push it into the moss so you are left with a small loop of wire showing, this will help anchor the decorations to the wreath base. You should add each group of decorations in turn so you can evenly space them, i.e. all the orange slices and then all the cinnamon. It’s usually easier to start with your biggest decorations first.
Holly and spruce will last well on a wreath as the foliage is quite hardy, but fresh flowers will wilt without a source of water. Whole fresh fruits such and Satsumas and small apples will last a couple of weeks but dried slices will last much longer.
Miniature lights can add extra wow factor to your wreath. Small battery powered lights are perfect for wreaths. If you decide to use lights, it is easier to wind them through your wreath before putting any other decorations on, just make sure you don’t push any wires through them. When you are happy with your finished wreath make a loop of wire or ribbon through your wreath, secure it, hang and admire!
