Tis the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas Wreaths

Last night we added to our Christmas decorations.

We finally finished the fire place in the front room - our Buon Natale baubles are now up and the red Merry Christmas ribbon wrapped around the plinth. Guy also put the star on top of the tree. I'm too small to turn it on so that will be Guy's job for the reason of the festive season.

There's still a fair amount to do in the dinning room - I haven't really started in there at all. There'll be a lot of clearing away this weekend I think; I can't wait to dress the table and side unit. We have managed to hang our new silver twigged wreath above the fireplace - at last. I dragged Guy to get a new hook after work - one of those temporary adhesive ones - hopefully it will hold.

The Christmas wreath is one of my favourite decorations. One that really signifies the time of year.

Like the Christmas tree I think the modern one derives from Germany. I must confess, I'm not a religious person so the meaning of it, evergreens representing life/Jesus and the circular shape representing God, is some what lost on me. My mother often asks me why I bother celebrating Christmas when I don't believe in God - which is a fair point. My reply is always that I love the message delivered during this time of year. The coming together of family and friends. The realisation there are others much worse off than you. To be humble and kind. I don't think you need to be religious to appreciate and celebrate the best of humanity it brings about.

Up until this year we have opted for a real, fir based one with dried oranges, cinnamon and cranberries weaved into it. I love the smell of it, but it does require constant spritzing on a daily basis and leaves a lot of needles behind. This year we decide not to as it's fairly expensive - £40 - which is a lot for something that only lasts a few weeks. So we thought we'd try something different.

We've been looking for a more permanent version for a while, but wanted to stay away from the normal, plastic foliage ones. There are so many different ones out there: ones made of twigs, one of baubles, or pompoms, even ones of dried fruit. I was even tempted to try and make one... I have been watching a Christmas crafts programme on TV and one of the sections was on wreaths. There was a beautiful one covered is nuts and coffee beans. Another wired whole chestnuts into ivy and roses. I wish I was that talented. I may be brave and try and make one next year, thought it won't be as extravagant as the ones on TV.

In the end I found a lovely one in our local supermarket. It's fairly delicate and I can see some type of annual maintenance being needed on the twigs, but it should last us a few years. It lights up with a cool, almost blueish glow that lights up the room wonderfully, so definitely adds to the Christmassy feel.