Make a natural Christmas wreath for your front door

This natural Christmas wreath tutorial comes to you from my friend Louise Trevitt. Lou is a gifted artist and stylist who over many years of friendship has taught me to always make time for dabbling and tinkering.

We came together to create this natural Christmas wreath with our friend Jo. Between us we have six daughters, so together we had a very special girly creative tinkering kind of day.

Over the festive season it’s so important to honour our friendships. Being together, creating something together, is a very special way to connect with friends. If following this natural Christmas wreath tutorial isn’t for you, one of these ideas just might be:

•  Prepare a feast together and linger over the eating

•  Papercraft side by side, making flowers or decorations

•  Gather wood to make a bonfire together and share stories

•  Working bees are a simple way to collaborate at one another’s homes

•  Bring a ‘pot luck’ picnic dinner to a favourite beach or park

Here’s how to make the beautiful natural Christmas wreath (with or without your buddies).

What you need

•  Switches of a flexible, sturdy branch like willow or naked wisteria vines
•  Extra branches (can be green to aid in bending)
•  Evergreenery like gum, bay, banksia, citrus, herbs, lavender, etc.
•  Small flowers that dry well – Australian natives like pigface, gum flowers, banksia, grevillea, kangaroo paw, native daisies, etc.
•  String

What you need to do

1. Soak the willow and other branches in water for at least one hour. This will make them easier to bend and will result in a sturdier wreath once dry.

2. Weave the wet willow tightly into a circular shape. You may need to tie it together with some string.

3. Thread some of your extra branches around the willow frame to add bulk.

4. Leave the willow frame to dry for at least half an hour.

5. Once dry, thread a loop of string through the top of the frame to make a hanger.

6. Next thread some evergreen leaves through the willow. You can tie branches of leaves to the frame with string if you need to.

7. Once you are happy with your greenery, thread some flowers through. You can also tie these with string if you like.

Do you hang a Christmas wreath each year?