How to Build Your Own Wreath

A few weeks ago, I received a call from my mother asking me if I would want to go to a wreath making workshop with her. I was hesitant about it since I had a lot of schoolwork to do, and why would I want to make a wreath? But I agreed to go, and I am very happy that I did, because being around all that festive joy and taking a break from the stress of school really helped me relax and enjoy myself.

According to psychologists, decorating for Christmas early makes people happier, because Christmas decorations evoke strong feelings of childhood. So if you are wondering why should I make a wreath or decorate my apartment for Christmas, this is why.

Making a Christmas wreath is not hard, as long as you have the right tools.

#1 – Finding a Wreath Ring:

There are many different wreath rings that you can use, including heart shaped ones or wire ones, but I recommend going the traditional way with a dried rattan ring – which is essentially just a dried wooden ring. This ring has many whole and slats in between the wooden pieces, which will allow you to tie on your floral quite easily and can be bought for relatively cheap from Walmart.

#2 – Finding your Floral:

You can use a variety of different florals to provide the look of different textures in your wreath. You can use moss and different textured foliage such as spruce, ivory and evergreen oak, or you can use any of the non-perishable greens that you can find at your local Dollar Store. You will also need green florist wire to tie the floral down to the wreath ring.

When you start tying the greens down to the floral ring, you need to start with the heaviest first and then move up to the lightest, making sure that all the greens are facing in the same directions. Make sure that when you tie the greens down you use the florist wire on each individual green to make sure that they don’t fall off. Just loop the florist wire through the wreath ring and twist it tightly at the back like a twist tie.

#3 – Choosing your Shape:

Before you start laying the greens down you will need to decide on your shape; there are a number of different ones that you can do. The first one is a full circle, with the greens going all the way around the ring, which is preferable if you are using a wire ring instead of a wooden one. If you are using a wooden ring, you can do either a half moon, a rainbow or a half semi-circle at the bottom.

I chose to do the half semi-circle which you can see below!

#4 – Find your Decorations:

Now to finish your wreath you need Christmas decorations to really make the wreath pop. Fir cones and some artificial holly berries will really bring the Christmas feel to your wreath. You can also attach a big bow to the middle of where you put your greens or tie together some cinnamon sticks for a Christmas smell. Really, the decorations are up to you, and you can put whatever you want on there to make it the Christmas wreath of your dreams. You can attach the decorations using the florist wire as well, doing exactly what you did with the greens.

Here was my finished Christmas wreath:

I hope that these steps with help you build your own wreath and give your home some Christmas joy as you head into exams and finals. Good luck everyone!