Thursday, December 15, 2011

CMC: Making Wreaths

This is part of my Christmas Memory Challenge, a goal I set for myself to recall 25 things I love about Christmas. You can also check out Shannon's memories here.

When your home is surrounded by a forest, it's only natural that tree boughs play a part in the Christmas decorations. We'd grab the laundry basket and fill it with cuttings of fir, cedar and spruce. (Then we'd go back out and fill it with holly and ivy cuttings... 'tis the season!) Table centrepieces and sprays of boughs hung on the wall would pop up through out the house until one year, we figured out we could make wreaths by using a bent coat hanger as the frame.

What started out as a friendly get-together to make wreaths that year, turned into an annual wreath making party. There was the same three families every year and then a rotation of two or three other families. It was an event we all looked forward to with the day usually being booked in late October so we could ensure everyone could make it.

As the years went by and we became more adept at making the wreaths, we were able to ditch the coat hanger frames and some of the wreaths looked like they were made by a professional. (Never mine, of course, but Alan and Jim's were incredible.) By the end of the day, each family went home with at least two wreaths, a full belly, and a smile on their faces.

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