When my wife and I first got married, I was firmly rooted in the "No Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving" camp. Well, my wife was never and will never be in that camp. Decorating for the holidays gives her so much joy, and it didn't take long for me to come to the realization that her joy is more important than my notions of when a holiday "starts". At least it's not as early as Costco or Walmart 😅.

Have you ever walked into a craft supply store and thought, "Ooooh, I love that wreath!" but then noticed the outrageous price tag and said to yourself, "I'm not going to buy that even with the 50% off coupon!"

Well, here is a holiday wreath that looks fantastic, is way more budget friendly, and only takes a few materials and a hot glue gun to assemble. It can even be a fun craft for the whole family.

Supplies

Generic wreath (24" frosted pine wreath pictured)
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
2.5" wired ribbon
Pom pom maker (or pre-made pom-poms)

Yarn (if you plan on making your own pom-poms)

Holiday decorations (wreath picks)
Pipe cleaners
Scissors
Door to display your new wreath

Step 1: Make a Few Bows

1. Look up an instructional video on how to make a bow with wired ribbon.
2. Cut extra lengths of ribbon because you're going to screw it up.
3. Come to the conclusion that your bow just won't look as good as the bow in the video.
4. Strategically place the bows around the wreath.
5. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the frame of the wreath to hold the bow in place.
6. Add a dab of hot glue to prevent the bow from shifting out of position.

Step 2: Make Pom Poms

This step was the most fun. We used a pom-pom maker from the brand Clover. It came with two different sized templates for making the pom-poms and the process couldn't be easier. If you would rather not purchase a pom-pom maker, there are other ways to make them using a fork.

The instructions that came with the pom-pom maker left room for improvement, but the video linked HERE was super helpful.

Make a few big pom poms and a few smaller pom poms and place them where you think they look best. We tied the larger pom-poms on top of the bows and added some hot glue to keep them in place. The smaller pom-poms were used to fill empty space.

The roll of yarn was just enough for the pom-poms on this wreath.

Step 3: Add Wreath Picks

We used a couple of elves, a couple of R.V.s, and a couple of peppermint candies. If you have an extra set of hands around, borrow them. One person needs to hold the wreath while the other carefully uses the hot glue gun.

Space the wreath picks out evenly and add a dollop of hot glue to the pick behind the wreath to hold the decorations in place. It's best to glue the pick to the actual wreath frame. Be careful not to burn yourself with the hot glue!

Step 4: Admire Your Work

Find a place to show off your home-made holiday wreath. Don't be afraid to hang it before Thanksgiving and leave it up as long as you'd like! Don't let anyone steal your joy and keep doing you.

I love that this wreath could be used to celebrate any holiday in the winter solstice season. Add a mezuzah, a menorah, or a mensch on a bench. Add a Kwanzaa step candle holder or some honeycomb decorations. You could even add a green man, home-made paper snow flakes, or a Moravian star. Just have fun and enjoy the ride on this space ship we call Earth.