Christmas wreath & garland

In the previous article I wrote about how to make baubles and how to use candles when decorating for Christmas.

As I explained, first you should decide on your theme; then look around shops and stores for inspiration; then get out your previous decoration bits – utilize those that fit within your theme and alter those that don’t look suitable.

Beside baubles and candles, Christmas decoration is characterised by wreaths and garlands.
There are some beautiful ones in the stores – but why don’t you make your own unique pieces?.. 

Wreath

You can either buy a basic wreath or make one from scratch –  use twigs, pine tree branches, feathers or plastic together with some wire. If you buy a basic wreath  (either real or artificial)  spray it with frosted gold or silver spray then, depending on your  theme, decorate it with wired pearls, ribbons, bows, seed pods, pinecones, berries, acorns etc. You can hang your wreath on your front door, on interior doors or above a fireplace. You can also make small wreaths to surround candles or display bowls.

Garland

Traditional or woodland garlands can be made from twig bundles & dried leaves and decorated with seed-heads, berries, and acorns.  For a glamorous look, weave a few fairy lights together with strings of pearls, glass drops, beads or feathers pieces. You can use garlands to decorate balustrades, tables, fire-place mantels and doors. You can also make installations by hanging them in a window, along a wall or piling them into a big glass container.  A garland can also be a successful central piece across the dining table.

Stockings

You can easily make your own stockings! Just draw a boot shape onto a piece of card, cut it out and use this as a template on your chosen material. Choose a material appropriate to your decor theme  – for the elegant theme, use silk or velvet; for the white decor theme choose white fur; for the winter wonderland look, choose linen  or hessian; for the traditional look choose velvet or cotton and so on.  Cut the shape out twice, then sew them together either with a sewing machine or by hand – remember to leave the top open! Then turn it out and decorate  the outside with the appropriate details –  beads, pears, snowflakes, icicles, berries, Christmas tale characters etc. Use some trimmings to seal the top, allowing for a hanger. If you have kids, make lots of medium size stockings and fill them with surprise goodies. Hang these around your home – on door handles, on hooks, on the tree etc.  You can also make mini stockings for the Christmas tree or for the dining table – fill them with luxurious pieces of chocolate.

In the next article you can read about making displays and how to decorate the Christmas table.