How to Make Your Own Christmas Wreath

handmade eco friendly Christmas wreath made from garden foliage on blue front door
sustainable DIY Christmas wreath using natural materials from garden
close-up of homemade Christmas wreath with berries, holly, allium seed heads and other garden materials

Why not save money and make a Christmas Wreath for free?

Nothing looks as festive as a lush Christmas wreath on the front door, but they are so expensive every year, more so.

You can make a wreath from what you have at hand in the garden. This gallery shows wreaths made over the last 6 years. Each is unique depending on what was in the garden. I made these wreaths over successive years, each from garden produce directed by what greenery and flowers were available. It is also eco-friendly, has no plastic, and when it's finished, you can compost it or put it in the green bin.(or keep the base for next year)

As you can probably tell, I moved house after the blue door three times until I made the last wreath!

Festive home made Christmas wreath made with fir braches, berries, orange slices, thistle heads and cinnamon sticks
Lovely home made Christmas wreath with fir, berries, pine cones and orange peel
Home made Christmas wreath made with brightly variegated Euonymus, fir, rosemary, berries, ivy and pine cones.

Step by step guide how to make a Christmas Wreath?

Here is your step-by-step guide, or you can watch the video below.

Materials- You will need

  1. Pliable stems to make a circular base, such as Cornus, winter flowering jasmine, or purchase a base.

  2. Foliage - a good mix of plain, such as Fir, excess branches from your Christmas tree, laurels, and variegated hollies, Euonymus, Ivy.

  3. Colour and decoration- berries, seed heads, pine cones, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, anything in flower such as viburnum, faded hydrangeas, thistle, and mistletoe.

  4. You may need florist's wire and raffia tape.

Steps-

  1. Start by making a round base the size you would like your wreath. I weave the pliable stems around each other to create a sturdy base. If it is not a completely round shape, I use raffia tape to bind the branches, which will force it into a round shape. (shown very clearly on the video)

  2. Cover the base with foliage so that you have a lovely green wreath full of winter foliage. You can secure the foliage either by poking it into the base, which generally works, or by tying in any stray pieces with florist wire.

  3. Add whatever decorations you would like to create festive colour. Again, secure by poking into the base or with wire.

  4. If it's not clear, or you get stuck, the video does show it step by step.

Materials need to make a Christmas Wreath?

A 6-minute step-by-step video guide about how to create your own fabulous Christmas wreath.

For the round base, I used Cornus stems when I lived in the house with a blue door. After moving, winter-flowering jasmine branches. It really is whatever you have, but for the round base, you do need flexible stems. If you have nothing to hand, shops such as Amazon and Hobbycraft sell wreath bases.

Ideal plants from the garden for wreath making are: sprays of conifer, fir, and pine to fill out the base. Add in hollies, variegated and with berries, Hypericum with berries, mistletoe, and any of the berry-bearing shrubs. You can also add seed heads such as teasel, allium, faded astilbe, ferns. Large flowers such as faded hydrangea heads, fresh flowers will be in supply from Viburnums and Pansey. Anything you have to make your own unique Christmas wreath.

This video is the short version, about 6 mins and check out the comments  how easy this wreath is to make.  You do not need any "crafty" skills to make this. Amaze yourself!

If anything is not clear, or you have more time, you could make a cuppa and watch the more detailed version, which is about 15 mins.