Whenever I think about Christmas decorations, wreaths are always one of the first images that come to mind. The smell of pine, the lush circle of green — perfectly paired with the season of giving.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the origins of the wreath actually go back 800 years before Christmas was celebrated. Hand made of twigs and flowers, they were worn as headdresses. Later, as a way of identifying winners in Olympic games, the Greeks placed crowns of laurel tree branches on the athletes’ heads. It is believed that the wreath as a wall decoration came from the athletes hanging their crowns when they returned home. Many cultures ultimately adopted wreaths for a variety of uses including head coverings, decoration, honors for the living, tributes to the dead and religious symbols, with Europe, the United States and Canada incorporating them into the Christmas tradition.

Today Christmas wreaths come in various sizes, and are most often embellished with bows, berries and pine cones. A cheerful holiday welcome on front doors everywhere, these adornments can be purchased at nurseries, grocery stores and greenhouses everywhere. But what if you want to make your own?

Verla Brooks, park ranger at Beaver Park in Lisbon, has been answering that question for 23 years, ever since Jack Arndt, former chairman of the town’s Volunteer Conservation Commission, saw that she could make wreaths. Arndt suggested she offer classes. Now, every year she holds them in the park lodge for a nominal fee and also makes wreaths for general sale. The proceeds from the classes go to the park for equipment and other necessities.

“I bought this wreath one year at a craft fair,” said Brooks. “I took it apart and said ‘I can do that,’ so the next year I made my own.”

There are several ways to make wreaths, but Brooks finds her way works best for her. Start with a 12-inch wire ring. Brooks then makes neat bundles of five to six tips and fastens the end of the bunch onto the ring by winding wire snugly around both; pulling tightly after each time. (Go to sunjournal.com/wreath to see Brooks make a wreath.)

“I usually tell the students to spiral it (wire) around like a candy cane stripe,” said Brooks. “That way it ties it onto the ring securely.”

That step is repeated, overlapping the bundles, until the ring is full. Then ribbon, pine cones and decorations like plastic berries are added to complete the wreath. Brooks only uses pine cones, lichen and moss that have all fallen off trees. Most of the pine cones have been collected from the park’s 337 acres; the balsam tips come from whole trees that Brooks cuts down in the park. The size of tips vary, and Brooks says mixing them creates great texture and color. The entire tree is utilized: Bows provide tree tips for the wreaths, trunks are used for signs and parking bumpers, and often the stumps become firewood.

“When I cut them (trees) this time of year, there is really no waste,” she said.

Brooks holds several wreath-making classes this time of year, and says she really enjoys it. A number of her students come back every year, and she says she looks forward to seeing their faces as well as new ones.

Traditionally made with balsam fir, this year Brooks offered other tree tips, including cedar, blue spruce and white pine, for those people who wanted to do something a little different with their wreaths.

“You can make a wreath out of pretty much anything. It’s really up to your imagination,” said Brooks.

Beaver Park Ranger Verla Brooks, holds up one of the large wreaths she made at the Lisbon park.

One of several varities of pine cones that Verla finds in the park that she uses to make Christmas wreaths.

Make your own bow

You will need:

• 3 1/2 yards of your choice of ribbon for each bow

• Thin wire to tie ribbon

• Start by looping ribbon in one direction, then pinch and twist in the middle before looping in the opposite direction.
• Each time a loop is made (five for small bows, 14 for larger) pinch and twist the ribbon to secure the bow in the middle. 
• Finish the bow by tying a piece of thin wire (the same type of wire used to fasten the tree tips on your wreath) tightly around the center; make sure to leave the ends of the wire long enough to secure the bow to the wreath.
• To see Verla Brooks make a bow, go to sunjournal.com/wreath.

Verla wraps wire around a wire ring three times with each “bouquet” of balsam fur bunches to make sure they stay in place on the wreath.

Tree facts

• Bows on a single balsam fir (or any tree) can vary; some have fuller, plumper needles, while others have flatter, more sparse needles. The reason? The sun doesn’t reach the bottom of most of these trees, so the needles won’t fill out the same as those on the uppermost branches. 

• All pine trees do not produce cones every year. The red pine cones every seven years, white pines every five years.

• For more natural decorations on your wreath try moss, lichen or pine cones. Wreath maker Verla Brooks says she likes to collect only those that are not still alive.

Copy the Story Link