Make: Projects

Wreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas

Build a wreath on a wire ring using discarded twigs from a tree lot. Add lights, ribbon, and other decor of your choosing.

  • By Michelle Hlubinka
  • Category: Home
  • Time Required: 20 to 30 minutes
  • Difficulty: Easy
Wreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas

I demonstrate how I make a wreath using Xmas tree clippings and eucalyptus, and adding a string of storebought battery-powered LED lights. You can add other clippings and decor of your own, and you can probably make your own wreath ring as a base, but this is how I learned to do it on the day after Thanksgiving 2007 at Costanoa, a camp north of Santa Cruz, California.

Steps

Step #1:

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  • Place a small twig on the ring and then wrap a little bit of green florist's wire to keep it in place. I think I just did one or two wraps here. I got my twigs at our local Christmas tree lot. It seems they strip some of the lower branches to make the trees more attractive to buyers.

Step #2:

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Wreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas
  • Continue adding branches rotating around the ring in the same direction.

Step #3:

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  • Add other foliage. I had some eucalyptus branches left over from a bouquet a neighbor gave me which I recycled into the wreath. All sorts of evergreen needle-ful branches in your neighborhood can work, or anything that dries nicely.

Step #4:

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Wreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas
  • I had a string of mini LED lights that I got in a train store on sale last year after the holidays, so I thought it would be nice to add those. Since they are uni-directional, I was careful to distribute them so that the lights would be pointing out. I'm sure it'd be trivial to make a small string of battery-operated LEDs to add to the wreath.

Step #5:

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Wreath for Solstice / Yule / ChristmasWreath for Solstice / Yule / ChristmasWreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas
  • I tied a ribbon onto the wreath to keep the battery pack in place.

Step #6:

Wreath for Solstice / Yule / Christmas
  • Add to your front door. I also saw a super-magnet hanger online that you could DIY to hang the wreath through single-pane glass doors if you don't want to add a nail to your door. Happy holidays!

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