How to Make a Homemade Christmas Wreath from Scratch

Making your own Christmas wreath is a great way to save money this Christmas season. Another benefit is with a homemade Christmas wreath, you don't have to worry about buying a Christmas wreath that was assembled in September and stored for two months in a freezer. Making your own Christmas wreath also gives you something to brag about. Here is how to go about assembling your Christmas wreath from scratch.

Preparation:

For this project, you will need a ring or hoop of the desired size. Wreaths are sold in sizes as measured by the ring that the greens are wrapped around. Eight inch wreaths have 8" rings; 10" wreaths have a 10" rings, etc. Wreaths usually have a "wingspan" of between three and six inches on each side, depending on size and materials. Hence, the wreath will be between a half-foot and a foot wider than the ring size. You can procure a hoop from an old Christmas wreath, buy one in a craft store, make one from a coat hanger, or even weave one from a piece of bittersweet or grape vine.

You will need greens which to make the Christmas wreath out of. Although Fir greens are the most popular greens used in a Christmas wreath, there are several other greens that can be used. Bushy greens such as Fir or Boxwood greens generally do better than the flat branches of white pine because they take up more space, thus requiring less material. Fir, Boxwood, Yew, Arborvitae, and White Pine greens are easy to work with and hold up well. Spruce, Juniper, Scotch pine, and Hemlock greens can be used for outdoor wreaths, although Juniper and Spruce greens are more difficult to handle. Greens should be between nine to twelve inches long for smaller wreaths, twelve to eighteen inches long for wreaths 16" and greater. Wreaths used indoors can last up to two weeks; wreaths used outside will last through the season unless they get sandwiched between the door and the screen door. Such a situation will "cook" the wreath unless the door is on a north side of the house. You will also need a good pair of clippers to obtain the greens with. Greens can be obtained from the backyard, from friends, and from the wild.

To hold the greens onto the hoop, you will need a lot of florist wire. The florist wire does not need to be a thick gauge; wire about the thickness of the wire in a bread tie is commonly used in commercially manufactured wreaths on rings under 24 inches in diameter. How much wire you will need I am not exactly sure of. It is better to buy extra florist wire so you can have some left for next year as opposed to having to make a trip back to the store to get more florist wire.

Making the wreath:

To make the Christmas wreath, take the end of the florist wire and fasten it to the ring. Take a few branches and, while holding them against the frame, wrap the florist wire around the greens a couple times. Add a few more greens and wrap the florist wire again. As you repeat this process, keep the greens moving away from the previous greens so that the Christmas wreath doesn't get too thick. Take care to not space the greens too far apart as that will result in a wreath that is too thin. Continue this process until the Christmas wreath is complete. If desired, you can sprinkle in greens of a contrasting color or juniper berries at specific intervals to spice up the wreath. You now have a homemade Christmas wreath, for the price of a spool or two of florist wire.

Your Christmas wreath is now ready to be decorated. There is a multitude of different ways in which to decorate your Christmas wreath, ranging from the simple bow decoration to the elaborate decoration of cones, bows, ribbons, and miscellaneous Christmas materials. Do you have any extra or leftover decorations lying around the house? Cones can be gathered from outdoors and used in the Christmas wreath. Attaching the bows and cones is easy. Just wrap the florist wire around the bows and cones and fasten the decotration to the wreath.

After the holiday, recycle the Christmas wreath by removing and saving the decorations. Flatten the bow carefully and place it in storage. Then disassemble the Christmas wreath, winding the florist wire around either a spool or a stick as you unwind it from the wreath. The wire should still be in good condition and can be recycled for next year. Compost the greens and save the hoop for next Christmas and you are good to go!