DIY Simple Christmas Wreath

Yes, it’s that time of the year again when Christmas is on my mind. It used to be a thing in our house that one wasn’t allowed to mention the ‘C’ word until after my birthday. That’s still the case. I, however, being the one who made the rule, am also the one who does not have to stick with it. My Christmas preparations have been on the table for some time. And they begin with this glorious natural Christmas Wreath.

And for an extra bit of fun, I decided to hold a Christmas Wreath making workshop this year, right here at the farm. So I guess I’d better get on and finish that checkerboard floor I started working on in the dairy, so we have a space to make in!

Materials for the Christmas Wreath

This wreath can be made with any evergreen stems, giving it your own unique flavour. I’ve chosen a mix of spruce and cedar as this is what we have in our garden. You’ll also need:

• 1m of wired ribbon in your colour choice
• a wreath form. A grapevine wreath works well for this type of wreath as it is fairly camoflauged and has a lot of points to secure bundles of stems to. My wreath in this intance is wicker. It worked well as wire can be threaded in and out of the strands but the colour was very light. This meant I had to be careful to cover all areas
• a pair of secateurs to trim any of the branches to shape that are too long or sticking out
• florist wire

To Make the Wreath

• Cut a bucket full of fresh cedar and spruce. Soak the greenery in water for around 12 hours to allow the branches to soak up as much water as possible. This will assist your wreath to last longer.
• take a handful of branches and make them into a bundle. Fan the bundle out and wrap the end with florist wire to secure. Repeat this step a number of times, making many little bunches of leaves.
• Lay the first bundle onto the wreath. Thread more wire through the wreath and secure the bundle to it.
• Lay the loose end of the second bundle over the wired end of the first to cover the wire. Repeat the securing process.
• Do this as many times as needed to fill the wreath.

Finishing the Christmas Wreath

Now your wreath is basically done there are a few important steps to make it look great.

Firstly, hold up your wreath and check that all the bundles are well secured. Trim any odd bits that are dangling or wire them into the wreath. This will depend on how informal or tight you want the wreath to look.

Second, look for any gaps. Make a few more bundles if necessary and wire them into the hole.

Next, turn your wreath over and spray the cut edges with some Drought Shield or similar to protect it from drying out and hold the moisture in. You will also need to spritz your wreath with water every couple of days to keep it fresh.

Last, make a wired bow with your ribbon. These are very easy. Simply make 4-6 large loops with the ribbon.

Want some other wreath ideas? Check out these posts

Door Wreath with Orange Slices

Informal Wreath from Branch Cuttings

Swag of Spruce