Make your own Christmas wreath

Not only are these Christmas wreaths easy to make – children love doing this – they also look lovely and cost nothing. Why not make a day of it with others in your community?

What you need:

• selection of leaves or sprays of greenery (this can be a satisfying way to take charge of any problem creepers like ivy)
• old ribbon or rags cut into strips or string
• scissors
• a little bit of time

How to get started:

Take yourself out for a walk armed with a basket and scissors, or secateurs, to collect your greenery. Bushy plants are good for these decorations, but creepers like ivy also look great in a festive festoon. Herbs and evergreens make a good addition, plus any pine cones, interesting twigs or colourful leaves that may have blown down in bad weather. Once you’ve collected your greenery, you can start to create your decoration using the foliage and the ribbons, rags or string.

To make a wreath:

1. Take the longest sprays you have and simply tie them together, end-to-end, so you get one long spray around 50cm long. It’s a bit like plant knitting and knotting. Don’t worry if you need to tie the sprays together in several places to keep them secure, the ribbons add to the colour of the finished wreath.
2. Once you’ve built your long base spray, bring the two ends together to form a circle and tie again. Now you can start to build up the decoration using lots more leaves, twigs and other interesting foraged finds. We tucked rosemary and lavender into ours, which added a lovely aromatic touch.
3. When you’re happy with the final look tie a little piece of ribbon to the top so you can hang it up.

Other ideas:

• Kids love to make these, so try making small wreaths that can be used to decorate door handles, Christmas trees or candles.
• If you don’t fancy a wreath just skip tying the length into a circle and go for a more linear look that works well on a shelf or bookcase.
• These make a lovely surprise gift if you’ve been invited to any Christmas parties – and last longer than a bunch of flowers or a bottle of wine.

Don’t forget:

• Some leaves and berries can be poisonous, so make sure kids wash their hands when they’ve finished this activity.
• If you’re collecting greenery from the hedgerows, use a sharp pair of secateurs to make a clean cut – and take only a little from each plant.