How To Make A Traditional Holly Wreath Christmas Decoration

Hanging a wreath on your door during Advent is one of the most common yet stylish, festive decorations seen around Christmas time. With a bit of preparation and a few simple basic supplies you can easily put together your own holly wreath from scratch.

The first step in making a wreath is to cut enough 6 inch long holly branch trimmings to fill roughly a large shopping bag. If you do not have access to fresh holly, artificial trimmings can usually be bought from various craft stores and Christmas markets and fairs. (This also has the advantage of being reusable next year)

The second step is to create your own frame or purchase a pre made wire wreath frame. To create your own frame, use a simple metal wire coat hanger which can easily be fashioned into a circle by unbending it from its standard shape. The built-in hook of the coat hanger can also easily be used as a hanger for the finished wreath.

Now you need to attach a length of paddle wire,long enogh to wind all along the frame of the wreath - paddle wire is the same as #24 floral wiring. Then gather a few 6 inch holly branch stems and bundle them together with each stem positioned towards one particular end.

Make sure you include some stems that still have berries attached to them. Try to place them with the berries along the top of the bunched up bundles of holly so they will be visible on the finished wreath.

Next you need to position the first bundle along the top portion of the frame right where the paddle wire is attached. Now you will need to hold your bundle of holly in place while you begin to wrap the paddle wire around both your wreath frame and holly bundle in one single loop. If you find it difficult to hold both items and keep everything in place ask someone to hold together the frame and bundle for you while you do the wire wrapping.

As you begin to make a second pass around the bundle of holly and wire frame, start to pull the wire tightly in order to lock the frame and bundles in place and to ensure that everything is attached securely. Next gather another batch of holly and create a new bundle. Make sure when you place this new bundle along the frame that the leaves will cover the visible stems by overlapping the first bunch of holly. Also be sure to keep all stems from both batches facing in the same direction.

Continue this process with as many holly bundles as necessary, each time overlapping each bunch properly and then attaching it to the frame by wrapping with at least two passes of the florist wire. Keep doing this until you completely cover the circle frame. When you have reached the last bundle, gently lift the first batch of holly you wired into the frame and place the end of the last bundle underneath it. Now tightly twist the wire from the last bundle and create a knot into the base of the frame. Leave about an inch of wire so you can easily hang your completed wreath if you are not using the built in hook. Finally, cut off any excess wire with a pair of pruning shears or wire cutters.

Now for the finishing touches. Decide on a colour scheme.Traditional colour schemes usually include red, gold, silver or green. Tartan ribbon bows are always effective as are small bells and sprayed or natural berries and pine cones. These can be attached to the wreath using the florist wire or with a glue gun. Ribbon can also be intertwined with the wire.

All you need to do now is to hang your traditional Christmas holly wreath on the door and admire !