Putting up Christmas decorations is one of the best ways to get in the festive spirit, and making your own wreath means that your holiday season can be affordable and sustainable. You could leave your wreath at this point and call it finished! Indeed, foliage wreaths without any additional decorations and accessories can look fantastic. Personalise! You can add beautiful Christmas decorations such as cute bows, tiny bells, colourful baubles and glitter. Wire short sections of pine branches onto the pre-formed twig ring or moss ring with a loop for hanging Willows and dogwoods grown for their winter stems make a great alternative wreath. No base is needed. Simply collect 12-15 young, flexible stems at least 1.5m (5ft) long.

If your fresh wreath has natural foliage and you water it regularly you can expect it to last for 6-8 and longer. Natural wreaths are seasonal though and will need to be replaced. With a beautiful ring of moss, you now have something stable to work with to bind your foliage/greenery to. The exact materials are varied and depend on the style of wreath, the look you want to achieve, and seasonal differences. However, there are three core components present in any wreath – the base, foliage, and decorative items. Neaten up any unruly ends with your shears. As you do this, gently test pieces of foliage to make sure they won’t easily come off. B&M Top Tip: You could even use B&M’s LED round wire garland as a base to make your wreath light up!Lay the prepared greenery on top of the moss, adding one piece at a time in the same direction and securing it with a single wrap of wire. Overlap the holly to ensure no moss is visible and continue until the whole ring is covered Take an open cone and wrap the stubbing wire around the base of the cone and twist the ends together

The frame is vital and this forms the core of your wreath – it’s what everything is attached to and what provides the rigidity. Wreath frames are usually made from copper or other metals but you can get natural frames made from twigs. If you really want to go all out and add an extra layer of depth, colour, and detail to your wreath, however, it’s time to start accessorising! Here are B&M’s DIY Christmas wreath making instructions that will help you make beautiful decorations to impress friends, family and neighbours. What you’ll need for homemade Christmas wreaths To secure it, take the wire you have previously attached and tightly wind it around the moss in one-inch intervals. Make sure that at each revolution you pull it tight for maximum stability. Once you have done this the entire way around, keep the wire attached to your reel as we will need this for the next step.Wreath making rings (1 ring per wreath) - these are available online and can be made of wire, cardboard or floral foam) Place the cone on the wreath and push the wire through the ring, twisting the ends to secure. Cones look good clustered in threes and can be sprayed with fake snow or covered with glitter In this article, we’ll explain how to make a Christmas wreath from scratch, step by step. The process involves:

Fasten one end of the reel of wire to the ring and start to wrap the wire around the moss in a circular fashion. Keep the wire taut and continue working the wire round the ring , adding more moss bundles until completely covered This is where the wreath wrap is used. Starting at the top, place a strip of wreath wrap from the outside to the inside with a diagonal slant and fix both ends with moss pins. Prepare your wreath making rings. If you’re making multiple wreaths, lay them out and place next to them the foliage you’ll be using for each. Make sure you have enough to go round! B&M Top Tip: If you can’t find natural foliage, why not use a pretty artificial garland? You can find pre-lit versions complete with sweet decorations or natural looking features. How to make your wreathFor a fuller wreath, supplement your stems with extras cut from your garden or forage some on winter walks in the countryside. Birch branches, holly and ivy make pretty additions.

Each bundle should contain a mix of foliage to add contrast and to spread out the different types evenly through the wreath. Take one stem and bend it into a circle about 30-40cm (12-16in) in diameter, twisting in the overlaps until it holds the circular shape You should now have a chunky circle of moss and this can actually create a beautiful wreath in its own right! If you don’t do anything else though, the moss will just drop off when you lift it up and we don’t want that!

Holly wreath ideas

You might like to use bunches of berries from holly, cotoneaster or ivy or even rose hips to add colour to the wreath Continue with the remaining stems, making sure that the stems start slightly further along each time