- Author: Yvonne Savio
Wreaths, garlands, valance hangings and table decorations, graced with velvet ribbons and fruits and leaves of the season, are easy-to-make glories during the holiday season.
In ancient Rome, circular wreaths were symbols of victory and celebration. In 16th century Germany, fir or spruce wreaths were laid flat on a table with a candle lit on the first Sunday of Advent. Today, the wreath symbolizes continuity and tradition.
Evergreen boughs brought indoors by Druids were honored as sacred plants that didn't die, allowing the house to survive the winter. Primitive tribes in Europe hung evergreens above their doors during the winter solstice to offer woodland spirits shelter. They hoped that this would bring good fortune and health. Today's garlands continue to brighten our door and window sills, mantels and tables.
Your creation can be as simple as a bunch of your favorite herb branches tied with a ribbon, or as complex as a large and intricate wreath embellished with many sentimental items from a person's lifetime. It can be fancy or plain and worked on for weeks or completed on the spur of the moment. It all depends on what you want and what materials you have collected.
Materials can encompass anything you have access to, such as grapevine trimmings off the back fence and herb sprigs from the kitchen garden to pine cones from an excursion in the foothills. A great way to find unexpected goodies is to wander the aisles in a craft store, trying different combinations of textures and colors and seeing what strikes your fancy. Matching ribbons and other bits and pieces to friends' personalities is always great fun.
Looking at "ordinary" items in a new way can also reveal many possibilities. Green and red bell peppers add holiday cheer to a wreath on the front door. An oddly curled Armenian cucumber or long-necked squash becomes decoration in a table arrangement. A tree ornament becomes special when it's the only one on a wreath hung on child's door. Anything and everything becomes fair game for decorating. It's all up to your cleverness and sense of humor.
Materials to consider for the wreath or garland base
- A whole sunflower head with the central stem portion removed, forming a "donut"
- Dried sphagnum moss (the long stringy kind, not milled)
- Eucalyptus foliage
- Evergreen clippings (pine, spruce, holly, redwood, cedar, osmanthus and juniper)
- Forsythia branches (young)
- Grapevines
- Hay
- Herb foliage (bay laurel, coriander, sage, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, basil, lavender and pennyroyal)
- Honeysuckle trimmings
- Magnolia leaves
- Olive branches (young)
- Pinecones
- Raffia
- Straw
- Styrofoam flat shapes or balls
- Willow branches (young, peeled to reveal blond-colored wood)
- Wisteria trimmings
Materials to consider for decorations
- Candy canes
- Chili peppers
- Cookies (cutouts and gingerbread men)
- Dried ferns and other greens
- Dried flowers
- Dried fruits
- Dried Indian corn ears with husks partially removed to reveal colored kernels
- Dried rosebuds splashed with rose oil
- Dried safflower pods
- Eucalyptus pods
- Fabrics in rich colors, patterns and textures
- Fall-colored leaves
- Florescent glow strips and stickers
- Fresh flowers
- Fresh fruits
- Garlic heads
- Herb blossoms and berries
- Magnolia seed cones
- Miniature tree lights
- Mistletoe
- Nuts (walnuts, almonds, filberts, brazils and chestnuts)
- Onion bulbs
- Oranges stuck with whole cloves
- Ornaments
- Pinecones
- Popcorn on a string
- Pretzels
- Pyracantha clippings of berries and leaves
- Raffia
- Ribbon candy
- Seed pods
- Shocks of wheat or sorghum
- Silk flowers
- Small statuary
- Tinsel
- Your child's artwork