How to Make a Miniature Christmas Present Wreath

The miniature Christmas present wreath is a great holiday craft for families, children, and classrooms. Collect small boxes in a different shapes and sizes and cover then with scraps of favorite Christmas wrapping paper. You could even give the wreath a theme by using a favorite sports team's colors or use wrapping paper for Hanukkah, Kwanza or other seasonal gift-giving holidays. Be creative and have fun with this Christmas craft.

Materials:

Assortment of small boxes (matchboxes, ring and jewelry boxes, Jell-O of pudding boxes, etc.)

Variety of wrapping paper scraps

Clear tape

Ribbons and colored wrapping cords

Hot glue gun

Cardboard

Picture hanging wire

Instructions:

Decide how large you want your Christmas present wreath and draw a circle base on the cardboard. Average door wreaths are about 15 inches in diameter. However, consider making a jumbo size wreath for large, empty wall spaces or a few miniature wreaths to decorate office cubicles or gifts. When you have a circle the right size, draw a smaller circle in the center. Cut out the wreath base outline.

Begin wrapping each of the small boxes in the wrapping paper. This is a great Christmas craft to use up leftovers of favorite wrapping paper designs or samples from fundraiser catalogues. Use a variety of colors and patterns. Smaller patterns of Christmas wrapping paper work better than large patterns. Also, include some solid colored wrapping paper too, like metallic gold, silver or blue.

After wrapping all the small boxes you will need to make your Christmas present wreath, use ribbon and colorful cords to wrap around all the little presents. First lay a length of ribbon on the table. Then, place a present upside down and centered on top of the ribbon. Bring the two sides of the ribbon up opposite sides of the box and cross them. Pull the ribbon ends back to the remaining sides of box, flip the box over, and tie the ends in a bow on top. Trim the tails to the length you want. Use a drop of hot glue under the bow to secure it and make sure it does not come undone.

You can also use miniature stick-on Christmas bow in complementing colors to change things up and add texture to your Christmas wreath.

On the back of the cardboard wreath base, hot glue a length of picture hanging wire. It should be long enough to hang the wreath, but not be seen above the wreath when it is hanging.

Now, begin hot-gluing miniature presents around the cardboard base. Layer them so they build up in a three dimensional wreath. Be sure to place the presents close enough to the edges to completely cover the cardboard base.

You may add silk holly berries, mistletoe, a larger bow or other decorative Christmas details to spruce up your present wreath. Allow the finished Christmas wreath to dry completely and then hang!