You can’t beat natural Christmas wreaths

There are some great handmade Christmas wreaths out there, with felt, buttons, ribbon and all sorts of fancies, but I prefer something a bit more natural, with fruit, foliage and spices. Here are some Christmas wreath ideas I have accumulated over the years from ones I have purchased.

Christmas wreath with orange slices

This wreath is simple but colourful with dried orange slices, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and mini pumpkins threaded onto raffia. It matches a garland from my last blog post, and after Christmas could be used to decorate the kitchen year-round.

Tip – other items that can easily be threaded are: dried fruit slices such as lemons, limes and apples; whole dried citrus (whole oranges, lemons and limes), and chillies.

natural christmas wreath orange slices

More natural wreaths with cinnamon sticks

The Christmas wreath on the left below consists of a doughnut-shaped polystyrene base, with Christmas spices glued on. This would be straightforward (if time-consuming) to do at home. The crafter used: chillies, star anise, walnuts, cinnamon sticks and cloves.

The natural Christmas wreath on the right is a simple arrangement of inch-long cinnamon sticks glued onto a base, with the occasional highlight of raffia tied on.

christmas wreath making cinnamon sticks

Twiggy wreaths

This type of wreath does not benefit from a base, but consists of twiggy material wired together at the centre. A walk in the woods might offer the opportunity to find suitable twigs. The one on the left has been sprayed with artificial snow, whereas the one on the right consists of untreated twigs interspersed with sprigs of artificial berries.

christmas wreath ideas with twigs

Fir cone wreath ideas

Both the wreaths below have been decorated with cones. They are both once again doughnut-shaped polystyrene formers with the items glued in place. The one on the right is simple but effective, the use of a single variety of cone lending architectural style to the decoration. The one on the left matches a garland shown in my previous blog post.

Tips

The use of fir cones which have been cut in half creates an unusual effect.
There is a variety of cones which might be collected on a walk in the woods.
Small bundles of sticks tied together with string or raffia might be a complementary addition.

natural wreaths with fir cones

Christmas wreaths – natural spices

I love the wreath below on the left – again using a d-shaped doughnut base, with whole star aniseed spices glued on. The one on the right is a more exotic mix of coloured wood shaving and fruit pods and seed heads – many of the items would have been imported from Africa or Asia as potpourri ingredients.

christmas wreaths with spices

I can’t wait until early December when we buy our Christmas tree and start decorating in earnest!

More Christmas wreath ideas & tips

Here are a few of my own tips and natural Christmas wreath making ideas:

Add Christmas fragrance to your home by bringing indoors a Christmas spice wreath with cinnamon sticks, cloves and/or star anise.
Enhance the Christmas fragrance of your wreath by using cinnamon bundles enhanced with fragrance oil, or cinnamon cones on your wreath.
Invest in a glue gun if you can for Christmas wreath making – the items dry in place quickly and are held strongly.
Enhance a dull wreath with bright dried orange slices or chillies.
For a simpler Christmas wreath, take a willow hoop and tie with a ribbon. Tie on a couple of pine cones and/or cinnamon sticks.