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A Different Kind of Advent Wreath

The classics are of course good, but everything flows and changes and takes on a new form. So this time I offer ideas for a different, more individualised Advent wreath. In my view, the wreath should not only please the eye, but should have "a soul" - i.e., so you can touch it and feel the rough bark of wood, smell the bitterness of the forest, the sweetness of citrus and cinnamon, and so on.

The classics are of course good, but everything flows and changes and takes on a new form. So this time I offer ideas for a different, more individualised Advent wreath. Typically it has a base of spruce or pine branches, four plain or multicoloured candles, and a decoration of dried flowers. And yet, if this year we give free rein to our imagination and put in a little industrious effort, we can make a thoroughly original wreath that will adorn the table of our home or office right up to Christmas and fit beautifully into the existing interior.

Let's start with the base! The form is usually round, but perhaps this year a square could be used, or the candles placed in individual containers. Vertical or horizontal? Here it is customary to place the Advent wreath on the table, but in the Western world they hang them at the front door, tie them in wide ribbons and position them above the table or by the window. In the old days, the base was twisted from spruce branches and then decorated. Nowadays, ready-made bases in various materials can already be bought in shops.

Whatever the form of the wreath's base and however it is to be displayed, I still lean towards using natural materials in making the Advent wreath. In my view, the wreath should not only please the eye, but should have "a soul" - i.e., so you can touch it and feel the rough bark of wood, smell the bitterness of the forest, the sweetness of citrus and cinnamon, and so on.

So for the base we can use all manner of materials taken from nature:
• wicker and flexible branches,
• mosses and lichens,
• a straw ring,
• pine cones of various sizes,
• pieces of driftwood smoothed by water,
• cinnamon sticks,
• vine tendrils,
• grain ears,
• a slice of tree trunk,
• bark.

The base is fastened together with sturdy linen thread, fine wire, or a glue gun. While forming the base, various decorative elements can already be worked into it - for example, small branches with rosehip berries, rowan berries, and the like.

All elements to be fastened are tied with wire. I sometimes simply use paper clips, straightening them, heating them slightly over a flame, and then pushing them into the candle that I plan to insert into the wreath.

To make the Advent wreath smell of cosiness and the approaching festivities, you can attach:
• dried orange slices studded with cloves,
• cinnamon sticks,
• apple slices or even whole little red apples,
• walnuts,
• red, yellow, or orange berries - cranberries, rowan berries,
• gingerbread cookies,
• acorns, chestnuts,
• pine cones,
• poppy seed heads.

On a website I spotted an excellent idea for how to make original candles and later use them to decorate the wreath. Paraffin from old candle stubs is melted and used to fill hollowed-out halves of oranges or lemons.