Original Christmas wreaths

Christmas atmosphere and decorations

This year's Christmas and its bandwagon, seem to have arrived earlier than usual. Aided by a policy more or less shared by traders and shopkeepers, as soon as the Halloween decorations are off, tips and solutions related to Christmas are just around the corner.
The decorations go accordingly. And though for many people the tree is to be decorated and prepared on December 8th, the long weekend of the Immaculate, from some windows lights, baubles and decorations glimpse out.

Together with the tree and the traditional nativity scene, however, for some time, there have been Christmas wreaths and garlands, as a result of a tradition that comes from Northern Europe.
Below there are some advice on how to make an alternative wreath, to hang inside and outside the house, with the help, in some cases, of the cold winter.

External ice garland

We start the show with my favorite: the ice garland. This type of crown, although at first glance seems complicated, in fact, perhaps it is the simplest. It is enough just to pick berries, pine cones and twigs of your choice, and get a cake mold, like a ring-shaped cake. It is actually necessary to have a mold with a hole in order to perfectly recreate the shape of a crown.

If you do not have one available, you can recreate a similar shape, by entering into a classic cake mold an element such as a cup, a bowl or a glass in the center, so that the ice does not form at that point.
Then you have to put the twigs and leaves collected on the mold, arranging them as much as possible. Then you add the water, very slowly, avoiding a direct stream that would move the composition.

TWhen the mold is filled, it should be placed in the freezer for a few hours, before hanging it, perhaps with the addition of twigs of fresh pine and red ribbons.
It is clearly to be placed outdoors, not in the sun and in case of very cold days.

Garland of slices of orange and lemon

Another good way to get an alternative Christmas wreath is to use the dried slices of orange or tangerine. Here it takes a little more time, because the slices must be prepared and allowed to dry on a radiator or in the oven.

Once you find oranges and fruits needed, slice them with a sharp knife of a medium thickness, not too much but not too thin, because while cooking in the oven the slices lose water and shrink, with the risk of breaking at first handling.

Nice and variegated garlands are obtained with double fruit or lemon and orange alternating and arranged by color.

With dried and ready slices, you can proceed with a string or, even better, with a metal wire, to be placed in a circle, where to place the slices one by one. If you prefer not fill it too much, one can also proceed with glue, to be placed on the back of the slices, which then should be arranged around the wire, so as to cover it completely.

The same method can be used horizontally, to create centerpieces, that can be finished with pine branches, colored leaves or even rosemary or herbs.
To enhance the flavor and make the atmosphere really Christmas like, cinnamon is perfect. It can be arranged randomly, or between one slice and the other. Finally, it also becomes a decorative element perfect for packets and gifts, as an unusual gift tag.

Rosemary stars and Green Christmas

A few lines above, I spoke about rosemary, because I have seen just recently, a beautiful Christmas project on the blog Michelle's garden, in which Mirco, stylist - gardener, takes us, now for a few years, to discover the unexpected and fascinating sides of the garden.
The idea is simple but ingenious: cover of some Christmas stars and some typical molds with rosemary, in order to obtain mini wreaths to hang with a red ribbon.

The little project is part of a broader process that involves various bloggers throughout the month of December and that is based on the concept of Green Christmas. To see other mini projects to get inspiration from this Christmas initiative promoted by The Garden of Michelle, Aboutgarden and Giato Salo, you can take a look at the list of blogs here.