Hej friends!
The time has come. The first Sunday of Advent is just around the corner, and for many, an Advent wreath is a must.
The idea of placing a wreath during Advent came to Johann Hinrich Wichern in 1839. The Protestant theologian ran the “Rauhe Haus,” a home for orphans and young people who have been orphaned in Hamburg to this day. At that time, it was a home for orphans and young people. Today, the Rauhe Haus cares for children and young people from families in difficult life situations, as well as for the disabled, the mentally ill, and the elderly.
But now back to the Advent wreath. Wichern’s Advent wreath was designed to help children pass the time until Christmas Eve. It featured four large white candles, symbolizing the Sundays of Advent, and a small red candle for each subsequent day of Advent. This allowed one candle to be lit each day, and most of us can probably still remember that special and festive feeling as more and more candles gradually lit up.
Last year, however, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t make an Advent wreath out of any kind of pine branches. They’re pretty and smell wonderful, but the falling needles drive me crazy. So, here’s something different, and since this year I’m completely deviating from my red and green childhood Christmas decorations and going all out with pastels.
So today I’m showing you our pastel Advent wreath and if you like it, feel free to check out the tutorial.
Aside from the fact that I really like the Advent wreath, it’s also very quick to make and you can use it for many years!
You need:
Willow wreath
Spray paint in the desired color
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Wire cutters
Advent candle holder + matching candles
Decorations such as fabric flowers, small Christmas tree balls, etc.
1. If your willow wreath is not the color you want, you can simply color it with spray paint.
2. Before attaching the Advent candle holders with glue, check where you want them – at what distance – and whether they can stand upright in the desired location. Sometimes the willow branches can be positioned awkwardly.
3. Once you are happy with the placement of your candle holders, glue them in place.
4. Prepare the decoration – separate the flowers from the stem and cut off the leaves. Sometimes fabric flower stems are also made from wire. To prevent your scissors from becoming blunt, it pays to use wire cutters.
5. Before you start gluing, take a look at where you would like the flowers to be. This is very easy with the willow wreath as you can simply stick the flowers in between the willow branches. After gluing, it’s difficult to change it, even though you can often remove the hot glue after it has dried. I wasn’t sure which decoration I wanted to go with the roses, but then decided on the red berries – are they holly berries?
6. Once you have decided where you want the decoration to sit, attach everything with the hot glue gun.
7. Put the candles on top. By the way, you can fix them well to the underside with melted wax.
8. I decided to tie a bow around the wreath. Done! 😍
…or maybe a pink ribbon after all?
I wish you a wonderful Christmas season!
