How to Make a Hanging Advent Wreath

When you squeeze four people, two of whom are super curious, into a teeny 750 sq. ft. apartment, you start to get creative with how you decorate. Mostly that means accepting that decorations are just like everything else from the toy bin, but there are some things that definitely need to remain separate.

The Advent wreath posed a particular problem this year for us, since the only surface out of reach from our very-grabby 17 month old is the designated craft area for the 2 1/2 year old. I didn’t want to put out my usual massive wreath so that craft space can remain free and clear.

So I decided – why don’t I make something that can go on the wall? Bingo!

If you’re in the same pickle I’m in, keep scrolling for a step by step of how to make your very own wall wreath!

What you’ll need:

sheets of felt in purple, pink, yellow and 2-3 colors of green
card stock
very sharp scissors (felt will dull them quickly)
green or brown colored pipe cleaners
wire cutters
tacky and hot glue
thumb tacks
bulletin board (or a wall you don’t care about putting holes in)

Full disclosure, this project took me several days to complete since I only worked on this in the evenings, or during nap time, and more than once I thought about giving up because my scissors were so. degum. dull!

1 Trace 1-2 sizes of leaves on the green felt and cut out. You should get a lot out of 3 sheets depending on the size leaves. Note: larger leaves will be floppy.

2 Cut pipe cleaners down to smaller sizes for stems using wire cutters. Assemble the leaves and stems using hot glue (scotch and chocolate are highly recommended accompaniments).

3 Using uncut pipe cleaners as a base, begin to twist the stems of each leaf around until you make a full branch (I was able to make 4).

4 Cut 6 rectangles out of the purple felt and 2 out of the pink. Cut 4 same-sized rectangles out of the card stock. Use tacky glue to assemble a felt and card stock sandwich to make 3 purple “candles” and 1 pink one. Cut 4 “flames” out of the yellow felt.

5 Arrange the pieces with thumb tacks (carefully concealed with leaves) on your bulletin board until you have a composition you like. Add the flames each Sunday of Advent.