Make a Christmas Door Wreath

In my book, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a beautiful Christmas wreath. It sets the scene of holiday cheer at the door and gives a hint of what’s inside the house. I’m sticking with the natural, sustainable decorating theme I adopted last year but, this year, I’m adding more colour. I decided to make a new wreath from one I had by adding natural elements. Below you’ll find instructions to makeover an old wreath from scratch using what you have at home.

Why Not Buy a New Christmas Wreath?

Let’s face it. Christmas wreaths are a dime a dozen in the shops. You can purchase them very inexpensively and in all shapes and sizes. It would be hard not to find something you like if you want a new one. I like a wreath to reflect what’s going on inside my home and to me, the generic wreaths lack personality and individualism. Thus, it seems silly to buy something that isn’t me. They are not handmade and certainly not in styles I love and buying a new wreath is not necessary when the basic ones I own are perfectly fine. I’m happy to add new accessories to the wreath and personalise it to our decor. If I do this, I can add the natural and sustainable elements I want to add.

How I made my ‘new’ Christmas wreath

The bones of the wreath are not new. I’ve had it for years. You could make a wreath like this from a garland if you are crafty. I also saw a very similar one at Spotlight the other day for only $10! Whatever you decide to use for your wreath, make sure you fluff up the ‘leaves’ on your wreath first. This will create the fullness that makes your wreath look luxurious and generous.

The days of a fully-loaded wreath are over for the moment. Having plastic baubles and ribbons stuffed all over the wreath is not the rustic look I want. Therefore, I chose to only add items to the bottom of my wreath giving a more natural minimal look to the wreath.

To recreate a wreath like mine you’ll need

• a wreath
• dried orange slices. These are easy to make as long as you don’t rush and let them dry slowly in the oven. (learn from me, please!)
• pine cones. Mine are from the garden but you could raid your local park
• cinnamon sticks
• jute twine
• fishing line
• scissors

Adding Items to the Christmas Wreath

I start at the bottom middle and work my way out adding pieces to each side as I go. The pieces don’t need to be exactly symmetrical on each side or the same but you should aim for things that are the same visual weight. This will balance your wreath. Put the items that are the heaviest visually closest to the bottom. That way your wreath will not appear top heavy.

I tied all the pieces on to my wreath with twine and some fishing line for extra stability. I put the pinecones from the garden on first and then added single slices of orange and some cinnamon sticks. The wreath did not look full enough at that stage so I threaded double slices of orange and tied those on. Two slices tied with one knot give a very 3d effect to the wreath. I also tied a loop of string at the top so I could hang my wreath on the door knocker.

I love the colour this wreath brings to our front door. But I especially like that after Christmas all the elements can go into the compost bin. (Except the cinnamon! I’ll keep those for cooking)