Best Way to Create the Christmas Window Wreath with Flowers

A small wreath in the window at Christmas is a welcoming seasonal touch for this special time of year

As an alternative to a Christmas door wreath, why not hang a wreath in the window, Scandinavian-style? It is simple enough for a child to make, and the slightly irregular shape adds to its charm. For this wreath, small ivy leaves were used to cover the wire circle and dried cranberries for the central star, but by all means experiment with any materials you have to hand. White snow-berries, plentiful at this time of year, would look delicate, while yellow pyracantha berries would make a splash of colour. The foliage can be any small-leaved twining evergreen, such as evergreen honeysuckle, for example.

Make a wire ring for the base. If you wrap the wire around a large circular object (which you remove afterwards) you can create a perfect circle, but a slightly less regular shape, judged by eye, looks just as effective.

To suspend the wreath, you will need to create a wire loop, which can be covered in ivy to disguise it, or you could hang the wreath from a length of matching silk ribbon, tied at the top with a neat bow.

Creating the Christmas Window Wreath

To make this simple wreath to adorn your window, you first need to construct a circular base for the ivy. Hang the star of dried cranberries, or whatever berries you choose, onto the ivy ring.

Avery simple circle, made of heavy-duty florist’s or garden wire, about l0in (25cm) in diameter, forms the base for this Swedish-inspired wreath. You will need some kind of evergreen twiner to wrap around the wire circle and some fine florist’s wire to bind it on to the base with. The dried cranberries can be obtained from any good supermarket in the weeks before Christmas, or you can use any other coloured berries that you might have in the garden – holly berries, for example.

• To make the star, first cut a long length of medium-gauge florist’s wire about two and a half times as long as the chosen diameter of the star from tip to tip. Thread the cranberries onto the wire.

• When you have enough cranberries threaded, shape the wire into a five-sided star; it does not have to be perfectly symmetrical. Clip off any surplus wire and bind the ends together with fine wire to close it.
• Form the heavy-duty wire into a circular shape, either by hand or by wrapping it round a circular object. Wind fine wire around the join.
• Prepare the stems of ivy and begin by laying one along the circular base. Holding it in place, wind fine florist’s wire around it to secure it.
• Continue in this way using several layers of ivy stems to hide the wire. Suspend the star from the base with a small wire hook.