Wreath Day : Yearly tradition

Making your own Christmas wreath.  It is definitely a tradition on the Pacific Northwest island where I live and surprisingly easy to do because the local nursery allows people to use their wreath making machines.  They even let you bring your own greens from home.  Just as long as you purchase their wire wreath forms. 

For my family and I, making a wreath is a two-day process.  Day 1 involves a hike into the woods near our home to find pine branches that have fallen to the ground.  Considering how many wind storms we have by December, there is always plenty to glean from the forest floor.  We quickly fill up our blue IKEA bags and head home. 

Day 2 involves a trip to the wreath making machine.  My son and I use clippers to fashion small little bouquets of varied greens, including pine and cedar and sometimes berries and rose hips.  This year, we had some eucalyptus to add a Southern Hemisphere touch to our holidays.  

Each bouquet gets placed carefully between the two prongs of the wreath form.  The prongs have already been aligned onto the sides of the machine.  There is a presser foot beneath the table.  The machine pinches the two prongs together when the foot is pressed down.  

Watch your fingers! 

As you can imagine, my 10-year-old and I do this job together! 

This year, we made a 20-inch one which, when finished, is almost too big for the door! 

And my son and I get to enjoy something that we created together for the rest of the holiday season.