Crafting a Living Advent Wreath

Waiting. A challenging concept. But the post-Thanksgiving period of waiting can be made magical with traditions. I like the tradition of noting the passage of the weeks with an advent wreath, and this year I have made one in a manner that is new to me. As I made my advent wreath featuring small succulents, I kept track of steps in the process… steps that might be of use to you. One thing is for sure: The resulting advent wreath is sure to add fresh beauty to the weeks before Christmas.

Many of us grew up with advent calendars at home. If you are like me, you still love those open-the-door creations that help us to count the days. The tradition of advent wreaths with candles to count the weeks may also have been yours.

The special period of waiting has long been marked in many European homes by advent wreaths. The wreaths take various forms, differing according to regional tastes and tradition. Add to this the fact that wreath-makers break tradition all the time and try new and different things, and you’ll find there are countless ways to build this special sort of time marker.

To give a rather broad-brush picture of some of the different styles of advent wreaths, I would say that Western European advent wreaths are most often created using cut boughs of greenery with four pillar or taper candles, typically all red or all white. These wreaths are then finished with some ribbon, pinecones, and specialty decorations. They are set directly on tables or can be (carefully) suspended from wide ribbons or other supports, chandelier-style.

Central European advent wreaths typically are built upon straw wreath forms. These wreath forms are meticulously covered in tiny “forest finds” such as the smallest pinecones, nutshells, seedpods, and other items that have been foraged. Four candles, all the same shade and very often pillar-style, illuminate the mosaic-type work that goes into crafting these wreaths.

Scandinavian advent wreaths tend to use simple wreath bases, sometimes of metal or ceramic, and simple and elegant displays that include sprigs of cut greenery, a few pinecones, and even twigs and bark to support four white or pale tapers. In the modern world at least, these advent wreaths are typically all-natural, creative, and minimalist.

So, with visions of these and other advent wreaths in my mind, I hardly knew where to begin. But I did know that I needed to start gathering my supplies to build my natural advent wreath if I wanted it ready for the first week in December… and I did want it ready for that first week when we will light one candle, waiting for the lighting of the second candle to join it when Week Two arrives.

For my advent wreath, I ordered some small succulents. You may already have some tiny plants on hand. I used the small succulents in place of evergreen boughs to create something a little different, all fresh and alive. The task was simple, and now, more than a week before Thanksgiving, the wreath is already assembled. Let me share what I did.

Creating an Advent Wreath of Small Succulents 

Here is what you will need:

• Small succulents with varied foliage in small containers
• One round saucer…  I used a clear plastic plant drip-catcher.
• Floral or crafting wire… to be used only if necessary
• Strip of chicken wire, about a half-foot wide and longer than that
• Gloves for working with the chicken wire
• Floral foam or clay
• Moss or other covering
• Scissors

And here is what I did and what you might want to do:

Select small succulents in the most compact form you can find. I happened to find plug-sized containers filled with small succulents, but if you have plants that are slightly bigger, just tease them apart and re-pot them in smaller form. What to re-pot them in? Well, I’d say that tiny soufflé cups wrapped in foil would work well. Equally fine might be something slightly larger, such as plastic pudding cups.

1. Place the saucer flat on a table, and mold a strip of thin and workable chicken wire into a cuff that will sit atop the rim of the saucer. Secure the ends by bending the chicken wire. You may want to use gloves for this.
   
2. Cut four cubes of floral foam. Position these at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 to hold your candles.
   
3. Snip into the chicken wire cuff to make space for one of the small succulents. Nestle the plant in its container into the opening in the chicken wire. Then, do this with all your plants, spacing them nicely. 
4. Press your candles into the floral foam. Be sure they are firmly positioned. Then "finesse" with sheet moss.
    
5. Your job is complete, except for misting your small succulents and moss to keep them healthy.
   

For the small succulents in my wreath, I chose tiny Goldfish Plants with shiny and dark green leaves, Creeping Inch plants in an unusual amber tone, and Echevaria which added a pale blue-gray to the mix.

I think you will find this living advent wreath made of small succulents fresh and pretty, as I do. I think it will make the waiting easier.