Christmas Wreath Making At Home

There’s no better way to bring seasonal joy than with a homemade Christmas wreath. In fact, I rank Christmas wreath making at home right up there with one of my favourite Christmas rituals alongside laying the mince pies and carrots out for Father Christmas and listening to carols on Christmas morning. I’m here to help make this year’s Christmas wreaths and garlands your best creations yet by sharing some of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up over the years.

Shop Christmas wreaths and decor Unisex Balmoral Classic Side Adjustable Wellington Boots, £115 Hunter Red tartan scarf, £16 River Island

I’ve been lucky to attend a fair few Christmas wreath making workshops for work and have picked up skills and tips from the pros at McQueens, Jane Packer and Grace and Thorn, to name just a handful.

Flower arranging has forever been one of my most-loved hobbies and the festive season means I can really go wild with plenty of wreaths, garlands and table centrepieces dotted around our Chiltern Hills cottage in the Oxfordshire countryside.

Christmas breton tops, from £32, Boden Shop my holiday season home edit Baby clothing, from a selection, Alex and Alexa

I’m taking it back to our house in London and a piece I shot and wrote for my Alex and Alexa motherhood column a few years back. Hands up, at seven months pregnant I was 100% guilty of out-of-control nesting at the time. Anything to make a cosy home. So sharing my Christmas wreath making tips was such a fun piece to put together. There’s something so uplifting about holiday season and whether it’s baking mince pies or hitting Christmas markets with the kids, why not make this year the one to add another homemade tradition into the mix?

Wreath base and decorations picked up at The Tree Barn, Christmas Common, Oxfordshire Making a red berry and gold-toned wreath at McQueens Flowers Christmas wreath workshop in London Traditional wreath by The White Company, with pheasant feathers added in. ‘Slow’ artwork by sarahsmartdraws.com Pink tapered candles, £22 Cire Trudon at Matches Fashion. Making an advent centrepiece using a pink glass vintage dressing table dish, moss and snowberries from the garden. The concrete pinecone ornament is Neptune. Feathers and wooden disc decorations, from a selection at The Tree Barn, Oxfordshire

So if you fancy putting the wow into your Christmas décor this season then join me on a festive Christmas wreath making foray, step by step. It’s really all about having a play around with the decorations and trinkets you love the most and finding an easy way to fix them onto a wreath base.

Keep it simple by picking up a pre-made wreath and then tweak, add things on and make adjustments to create something unique. I tend to buy a ready made fresh base at our local Christmas tree farm, you can also pick them up in garden centres, florists and supermarkets, before going to town with pinecones, ribbons and decorations.

The few times I’ve made the actual wreath base from scratch, building up and filling out a wire base with spruce, fir, eucalyptus and other green delights from the garden, the finished result has looked truly special. But, it’s time consuming and with two children taking up my hours, this year is going to be all about finding the shortcuts!

Cake tins, Cath Kidston Tea light holders, from a selection, H&M Home

CHRISTMAS WREATH MAKING: GATHER WHAT YOU’LL NEED

– A fresh wreath. I love the colour and natural yuletide scent of traditional blue pine but keep your eyes peeled for all different kinds of seasonal fir, spruce, eucalyptus and rustic winter foliage too

– Scissors (Note: they can blunt when cutting wire so avoid using your best pair). Floristry scissors and secateurs are handy too.

– Floristry binding wire

– Lots of fancy festive ribbon for the bow

– Your decorations of choice. For me, it’s a medley of natural pinecones, cinnamon sticks, dried fruit and baubles. You can use any kind of tree trinket – these metal stars add a nice pop of red, and I’m a sucker for personalised everything too. Hello Henry’s Mama, Papa and Bebe ceramic pretties were a real find. I find a lot of my Christmas craft bits and bobs at Amazon  

– Festive merriment aplenty

– A stash of mince pies and tea for fuel

Shop my festive decorations edit

CHRISTMAS WREATH MAKING: HOW TO

Step 1: Create Your Theme

Play around with decorations and place each piece on the wreath until you’re happy with the look. Position larger trophy items first, and use smaller items to fill in any gaps. Use a big bow to anchor the whole theme. I’ve gone for copper here to mirror the cinnamon, pinecones and large metallic star at the top.

Holiday shop at Alex and Alexa

Step 2: Fix Your Decorations

Use generous lengths of floristry binding wire to attach your chosen decorations to the wreath. Start by wrapping and winding wire around the object, twisting to tighten each at the base. Then place on the wreath and loop the wire around to the back and twist again to fix in place.

Try creating interesting stacks and clusters by grouping cinnamon sticks, stars, bells and orange slices together. Once you’re finished, lift gently to double check everything is firmly in place and secured. A hot glue gun is handy for customising and grouping decorations together too. I’ve used one to fix succulents to a wreath in the past!

Step 3: Choose Your Spot

Hang on the front door or lay flat on a table with pillar candles standing in the middle for a unique centrepiece.

Step 4: Have A Joyful Christmas

Now you’ve prettied up the house, it’s time to get on with enjoying the other crafty Christmas traditions. I like to wrap my parcels with the log burner lit and Christmas songs playing.

To make things a little easier, I’ve edited a holiday season decor wish list at The Lucy Edit Shop.

Wishing you all a happy, bright and extra magical Christmas. Seasons greetings.

See the original DIY Christmas Wreath and for more from my motherhood series with Alex and Alexa, try my – Pregnancy Survival guide.

This way for tips on creating a cosy woodland retreat at home.