Twelve Days of Christmas, Day 4-Advent Wreath

Twelve Days of Christmas Day 4…The advent wreath.

I’ve always admired Advent wreaths from afar…AKA the World Wide Web. :). But the candle lighting tradition just hasn’t been a thing in my family…til now. The clearance box of advent candles at JOANN ignited my desire to make an advent wreath for my dining room table.

I took a walk to the shopping center around the corner from my house where about 20 magnolia trees line the sidewalk along the parking lot and I quickly gave the trees a little pruning. The landscaping crew will thank me I’m sure. Then, I stopped at an empty lot on the way home and cut some red berries from a Brazilian pepper tree, also called Christmas berry or Florida Holly. It grows wild all over here.

I used this wreath as the base for the magnolia leaves. It’s extra decor that I haven’t used in a couple years but Joann has the wreath on clearance right now super cheap . I rotate my Christmas decor from year to year depending upon what I feel like putting up.

I squished down all the faux evergreen and then wrapped the entire wreath with floral wire so there’s a place to tuck the magnolia leaves. This step is the key to keeping the leaves secured. I worked my way around the the wreath tucking the leaves in the same direction all the way around covering the wire as I went.

The last step was to tuck the berries into the wreath.

I used dollar tree candle holders and then I piled on some fresh Florida citrus for added color and interest.

So now I have a beautiful centerpiece for my dining room table that cost me nearly nothing and a new Christmas tradition for my family that involves something meaningful. I’m excited to start this new tradition with the kids. I’ll have to find an advent plan to follow. So if you have one that you like let me know.