How to Make a Decorated Christmas Wreath

Wreaths are a time-honored part of Christmas season decoration for a good reason since they make a beautiful, natural addition to the house during the holiday period. You can buy numerous fine wreaths, but making your own decorated Christmas wreath is simplicity in itself, especially if you enjoy doing handicrafts.

The key is to start with a solid wreath form, which can either be bought or made. Inexpensive wreath forms are available in Styrofoam, straw, wire and other materials. If you select one that is Styrofoam or straw, it will be easy to stick small pins into the wreath form. That provides something to string reeds or other material onto although other types work just as well. Making your own wreath form is not particularly difficult.

Begin with two wire hangers, formed into circles. There are several ways to form the large donut shape that you will need, and one of the easiest is to slide toilet paper or paper towel rolls down each wire. Glue the results together with strong glue and the cardboard-wire frame will provide a sturdy wreath form.

The wreath form can be decorated in a thousand ways and then some.

If you have the right type of trees and bushes nearby, you can gather up a couple dozen pine branches, holly bush leaves and branches, or even just ordinary small birch or apple sticks.

If the branches are too dry, soak them for a few hours before use. Then wind branch pieces about eight inches long around the wreath form, twisting as you go. The idea is to wrap the 'donut' in a spiral fashion, moving partly horizontal toward the hole as you work your way around the wreath form. A layer or two covers the form and provides the basic color.

Now for the truly fun part: design and color selection.

The truly fun part of making a decorated Christmas wreath is the design and color selection where you get to exercise your creativity to the maximum. You can choose flowers, colorful leaves, berries or other natural materials in a dozen different shapes and shades.

Lavender works very well for the outer layer of a Christmas wreath since it is both supple and produces a wonderful aroma. However, you could just as well use holly leaves and berries still on their branches. Many folks prefer the dryer tone of oregano while others may favor the vibrant colors of Vitex or Bee Balm flowers.

Whichever you decide on, you will require a lot of glue and floral wire to place them.

Now that you have the wreath form and branch base, just festoon the wreath with herbs or flowers wherever you want color. Depending on what you select it may be easier to attach with wire or glue.

At this stage, it is possible to use pins to attach some, but that often leaves the problem of disguising the pinheads. Glue dries invisibly and wire can be bought in a color that will disappear into the foliage. Gradually work your way around the wreath, bearing in mind that you will have to decorate both sides if you want to turn the wreath around.

If you used a Styrofoam or straw wreath form, it is easy to insert a wire hook to hang the wreath. On the other hand, if you used wire coat hangers, you can use the curved ends of the hanger remembering to trim them down and reform them so they do not stick up noticeably. That is how you make a decorated Christmas wreath and what good fun it was as well.