Make Your Own Holly Wreath

Whilst it can be tempting to buy a ready-made wreath to deck your bows this Christmas, making one yourself is twice as festive. What could be more enjoying than getting creative with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie?

Making a Christmas wreath is not only fun, it’s a really easy, simple way to indulge in homemade Christmas crafting, making it perfect for those lacking confidence in their own creativity. Plus, it’s a great way to drag the family away from the Christmas television schedule for an hour or two!

Not only is making a holly wreath yourself a great way to feel ever so slightly pleased with yourself, it’s also really cheap! You can find pretty twigs from your own garden, which allow you to really put your own stamp on your design. If there’s holly that you can pick as well, a great tip is to pick it in December and store it away indoors in a bucket of water – this will save the birds from eating all of the red berries. We also don’t recommend using mistletoe berries or yew in the wreath as they are poisonous, so it’s best not to risk it.

What you will need:

• A pair of secateurs

• Chicken wire or wicker wreath ring (you can buy one of these and it will last you for years to come)

• Christmas Moss 

• Green wire

• Holly (enough to jingle your bells)

• Other coloured berries (Crab apples and rosehips are good)

• Anything else you can forage yourself

• Optional gold or silver spray paint (you’ll need a face mask too if you choose this)

• Optional Christmas baubles/beads

What to do:

1) To get started, lay out your wreath ring down and separate your moss. Position your moss nice and thickly on your wreath for a nice, full look.

2) Get your wire and wrap it all around your wreath ring doing loops for the centre to the outside. You may need to thread it amongst the wreath ring to get a nice, secure starting point. This will secure the moss in place and give you a handy frame to start attaching your other decorations. You might need to keep positioning more moss in place so it’s as covered as possible.

3) Next, it’s time for your holly. Use your secateurs to cut it into evenly-sized branches. Thread the stems of individual bits of holly through the wire so that the holly is always facing the same direction (clockwise looks nice). This will ensure that you have a neat, professional looking finish. Don’t scrimp with this bit, keep on going until you have a nice full, holly look (you should hardly be able to see any of your moss left). The holly will also help to disguise your green wire.

4) Once you’re satisfied with the holly, it’s time to add any more foliage or berries that you’ve foraged. Spread your crabapples, rosehips and any other pretty ferns or berries out across the wreath. Add the rosemary or dried orange slices (which you can do by baking thin slices of orange at your oven’s lowest temperature overnight) if you like for a nice fragrant finish.

5) Now it’s time to make your hanging loop. Choose where you want the top of your wreath to be and wrap some green wire around the ring a few times, keeping it long enough to create a hanging hook, for a secure hold.

6) OPTIONAL: Wearing a face-mask and in a well-ventilated area, spray the very edges of your wreath with the gold or silver spray paint. Make sure that you allow the paint to dry completely before you hang your wreath to avoid any wet paint accidents.

7) Hang and enjoy! Step back and admire your work. To keep your wreath fresh, it’s a good idea to spray the moss with water to keep it moist. Your wreath should stay beautiful for several weeks.

Published November 20th, 2014 by Jordan. Article ref 3341

Tags: Christmas, holly, moss, wreath

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