Nothing welcomes guests to your home at Christmas quite like an elaborate homemade Christmas wreath on the door. Not only that, but you can make the creation of the wreath an event in itself. Why not invite family and friends over and make it into its own event. Cracking out the mince pies and mulled wine and turning up the Christmas tunes will be sure to inspire you.
The thought of creating your own Christmas wreath from scratch may seem like an overwhelming task at first. We assure you it is a lot easy than you think! Plus, making your own door decoration will be sure to put you in the mood for a great Christmas. To find out how to make your a Christmas wreath this festive season, read on…
Materials
The materials you can use for the creation of your Christmas wreath are endless, depending on the style you are going for. We are going for a traditional Christmas wreath to keep things simple. To make your Christmas wreath homegrown as well as homemade, why not venture into your garden and pick your materials straight from there? This will save you money, time and is kind to the planet as you are reusing and repurposing what you already have!
What You Will Need
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- A wreath ring – you can buy these from your local craft shop. They are available in different materials, such as metal, oasis floral foam, vine and polystyrene. You may even be able to find a moss wreath ring if you pop into your local florist. An oasis floral foam ring is the easiest to use as you will not have to wrap all your materials in florist wire.
- Florist wire – you will need some florist wire to tie around your wreath ring, and add any extra decorative accessories to your wreath.
- Foliage – the most traditional foliage for a Christmas wreath is spruce. You can take this out your back garden if you have a spruce tree, or when you buy your Christmas tree see if they have any stray branches you can take with you. Other alternatives are Pinus, birch, holly and eucalyptus.
- Fresh cut flowers – the choice of these is really up to you and depends on the colour scheme you want to go for.
- Decorative accessories – adding some extras to your Christmas wreath, such as berries, pine cones, twigs, cinnamon sticks and dried fruit such as oranges and limes, will be sure to give it the professional touch.
- Scissors – you will obviously need a good quality pair of scissors to trim down your foliage and cut your florist wire.
Making Your Wreath
First things first, arrange your workspace. Make sure you have enough space for all your foliage and flowers, plus accessories. Place a basket nearby so you can discard any unwanted leaves etc. to be put in the compost later.
If you are using an Oasis ring, soak it in water for about a minute. This should be long enough for the foam to absorb the water completely. Place the wreath in front of you on your work surface.
Next is to create a loop using florist wire and tie it around your wreath, ensuring it is secure. Remember that where you place the loop will be the top of your wreath design.
Following this, it’s time to arrange your foliage. Take pieces of your foliage and remove the needles or leaves from the bottom inch of each sprig. Place each sprig into the oasis at a slight angle, ensuring they all face in the same direction. Continue until no more oasis is visible. If you are using a metal, vine or foam ring, foliage and flowers will need to be secured with florist wire.
It’s now time to add your chosen flowers. Use your scissors to cut the stems at an angle. This increases their surface area allowing for greater water absorption. Place the flower stems in the oasis, making sure they are evenly spread around the wreath. Try clustering flowers together, as this creates more visual impact.
Next it is time to get your creative juices flowing and add your decorative accessories. Place twigs and berries still attached to their branches directly into the oasis. Wrap other decorative items, such as pine cones, cinnamon sticks and dried fruit, in florist wire first, then be place into the oasis.
Displaying Your Christmas Wreath
And you are done! It wasn’t nearly as hard as you thought, was it? All that is left to do now is display your homemade Christmas wreath on your front door or garden gate. To increase the longevity of your wreath, regularly mist it with water. If you are expecting an especially frosty night, place your wreath in your garden shed or garage.
If you have inspired to create even more Christmas displays after learning how to make a Christmas wreath, check out our tips on creating floral arrangements.
Megan works in the Primrose marketing team. When she is not at her desk you will find her half way up a hill in the Chilterns
or enjoying the latest thriller series on Netflix. Megan also enjoys cooking vegetarian feasts with veggies from her auntie’s vegetable garden.