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Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens

Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens | Roots & Boots

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This year I was determined to create a homemade Advent wreath with foraged greens.

The entire project took less than an hour to complete, including foraging for greens.  Plus, I spent less than three dollars.  And now I have a beautiful wreath to grace our table for this year’s Advent season!

I’m teaming up with a few talented blogger friends to share ideas for Christmas DIY projects.  Scroll to the bottom of this post for links to their ideas!

Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens | Roots & Boots
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Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens

I’ve tried to incorporate Advent candles a few times over the years, but the tradition has never really stuck.  We love our Jesse tree Advent tradition, and have also experimented with a few other Advent ideas. 

This year, I was inspired to make my own Advent wreath using mostly things I already had on hand.  The only thing I purchased was a cute little decorative tart dish, which I found at a thrift store for about $2.50.

The candles were a gift from a friend, and the greens and other natural elements came from my yard. 

You could certainly use fake greenery, which would last from year to year.  But there’s something special about using fresh, real greenery.  

Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens | Roots & Boots
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More Advent ideas:

Where to find foraged greens

  • your yard
  • your neighborhood
  • a friend’s yard
  • nearby woods or park
  • local farm
  • Christmas tree farm
  • grocery store
  • floral shop

A few tips:

  • You won’t need much!  I filled a small basket with greens foraged from my yard, and used only about half of what I’d clipped.
  • Get creative!  Use all one type of greenery, or mix it up with a variety of greens.
  • Think outside the box! If evergreens are hard to come by, try eucalyptus, nandina, azalea, or basically any greens you can find.
  • Add some bling!  Consider adding berries, pinecones, or seed pods for visual interest.

Advent wreath ideas

The best part is that you can use what you have and customize your wreath according to the materials at hand.  Options abound! 

I’ve seen gorgeous homemade Advent wreaths nestled inside tea cups, vintage ring molds, old enamel bowls, and thrifted bundt cake pans.  A round shape is common, but you could also arrange candles in a line down the middle of your table.

What I used:

  • 1 small, decorative tart dish
  • 4 homemade beeswax candles
  • assorted greens, berries, and pinecones

Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens | Roots & Boots
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I actually started with shorter candles (pictured above), but then switched to taller taper candles (pictured below).

How to create an Advent wreath with foraged greens

It really is as simple as it looks. 

The basic concept: determine candle placement, arrange greenery, attach candles, add bling.

Candle placement

I used a lighter to melt the bottom end of each candle and stick it to the tart dish.  Later, I had to shift them a bit and re-melt and reattach, but it was helpful to have a working concept of where the candles would stand.

Greenery

I snipped greens into short segments that would lay nicely in a curved formation.  Some greens are more pliable than others, so I had to play around with the best way to use each type of greenery.  It’s not an exact science and there’s a bit of trial and error involved.

Attach candles

Once I had the greenery arranged to my liking, I reattached the candles more firmly.  It was tricky to make good contact with the dish after adding the greenery, but it all worked out.  Whew!

Note that if you’re working with a vessel larger than my decorative tart dish, you might consider securing the candles with small candle holders or floral foam.

Add bling

Finally, I added a little bling to my Advent wreath by way of a few holly berries and tiny pinecones.

Homemade Advent Wreath with Foraged Greens | Roots & Boots
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How to use Advent candles

Advent begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas.  Sometimes Advent season begins in November on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. 

On each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, you will light your Advent candles.  Start with one candle on the first Sunday.  Light two candles on the second Sunday.  And so on.

Along with the candle lighting, you’ll want to incorporate a simple devotional reading or a Scripture passage, or both.  I’ve provided several free, printable resources here: 4 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Advent with Kids.

The reason for the season

At my house, I love to focus on Advent because it helps to balance a potentially commercialized holiday season. 

With Advent candles, we have a weekly reminder of the true reason for the season.  We get a glimpse of the longing, waiting, and expectation that the Christmas season is all about.

What about you?  Do you celebrate Advent at your house?  Have you ever used Advent candles or an Advent wreath?  What do you think about creating a simple Advent wreath from foraged greens?

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Hearth and Vine / The Little by Little Home / the Gal Down the Road

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The Homemaking Momma / Emily’s Project List / Twelve on Main

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Recreated Designs / Roots and Boots / At Lane and High / Jenron Designs

 

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Kathleen | Roots & Boots

Let's get real! I’m Kathleen Henderson, your Natural Living Mentor. I’m on a mission to help families see the joy in real food, while finding natural remedies and creating a nontoxic home. Learn more about my story >>

15 Comments

  1. Stevie on 12/02/2020 at 8:31 am

    Hi Kathleen! I loved this idea, and your suggestions were perfect for creating our own small Advent wreath. It was fun foraging for greens in my yard. I went with some boxwood and holly leaves & berries. It is the perfect addition to our table to make each meal feel a bit more special at this time of the year.

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/03/2020 at 7:58 am

      I’m so happy to hear this, Stevie! Your wreath sounds perfect. 🙂

  2. Patti on 12/02/2020 at 9:01 am

    I love using foraged materials from the outdoors too. You advent wreath is so pretty! Great job. Merry Christmas!

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/03/2020 at 7:58 am

      Merry Christmas!

  3. Jen @ JENRON DESIGNS on 12/02/2020 at 12:55 pm

    This is such a great idea, I have not made Advent wreaths since I was a kid, it was always a tradition. Such a wonderful idea to collect the fresh greens and berries too!

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/03/2020 at 8:00 am

      I’m a total newbie at it, but I like the way it turned out. 🙂

  4. Wendy on 12/03/2020 at 10:38 am

    This is so pretty! There is so much I love about all of this. You can’t beat the cost plus the fun part of foraging for greens!

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/04/2020 at 4:51 pm

      Exactly!

  5. Lisa Silfwerbrand on 12/03/2020 at 12:03 pm

    Kathleen your Advent wreath is so beautiful! I love using cuttings at the holidays (they smell soo good!) and putting them in the beautiful dish with the candles is such a great idea. I love it!!

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/04/2020 at 7:57 pm

      You can’t beat free cuttings from your own yard!

  6. The Homemaking Momma on 12/03/2020 at 3:30 pm

    Your Advent centerpiece is so lovely!!

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/04/2020 at 7:56 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

  7. Leigh on 12/04/2020 at 4:34 pm

    Kathleen,
    I love this idea! It is so elegant looking, that I’d never guess it was so budget-friendly.

    • Kathleen Henderson on 12/04/2020 at 7:58 pm

      I did a little happy dance when I spotted the scalloped dish at the thrift store! 🙂

  8. Emily on 12/06/2020 at 5:52 pm

    So pretty! I also love using what you can find outdoors. Fresh greenery really adds to beauty and of course the wonderful smell.

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