Christmas Flower Arrangements

Christmas is the busiest time of the year. Sandwiched between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Christmas is a time when family and friends gather at each other’s homes for celebrations, meals, and gift-giving. Christmas also comes with a very specific set of decorations and ceremonies, many of which involve flowers and plants.

Typical Christmas colors are red and green: a tradition going back to the 14th century. Back then, Christian churches put on religious plays to teach an illiterate public about the church’s history. At Christmas time, the most popular play was the story of Adam and Eve. Since churches didn’t have access to apple trees during the winter, pine trees were substituted, and apples were hung on pine tree branches to simulate that tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden. 

That’s where we get our Christmas tree tradition and the red and green colors of Christmas. You learn something new every day.

Here are some Christmas flower arrangements and ideas for using flowers and plants to decorate your home for Christmas.

Basket of Light

Lights are a big part of Western Christmas tradition, representing the Christ child as the light of the world. Here’s a beautiful and easy Basket of Light decoration idea that’s perfect for the Christmas season.

You’ll need:

• a willow basket
• a dozen or so pine cones
• half a dozen fresh cedar branches or pine sprays
• LED string lights (use LED because they don’t get hot)
• poinsettia stems
• 1 1/2 yards of wire ribbon

To build your Basket of Light:

1. Fill half the basket with pine cones

2. String the LED lights in the basket. Hide the plug end behind or over the back of the basket so it isn’t lost among the pine cones.

3. Fill the rest of the basket with pine cones. Again, be sure to pull some of the lights upward as you fill so the lights don’t get covered up.

4. Add a few pine sprays to the basket. Try to use the pine sprays to hide the light strings.

5. Add your ribbon bow and decorate the rest of the basket to your liking.

Jute Twist Ornament

Country style Christmas ornaments using plants and flowers are a popular addition to any Christmas display. Using Jute twine to make Christmas ornaments will add a country touch to your Christmas tree.

You’ll need:

• 2 red berry sprays, 3-1/2 inches long each
• A hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Jute twine
• A tape measure
• Scissors

To build your Jute Twist ornament:

1. Bend both red berry sprays into the shape of a capital C.

2. Hot glue the stems of the jute sprays together, with the two C shapes facing each other.

3. Cut jute into the following lengths: 3 fet, two 10 inch, and one 8 inch. Make a loopy bow from the 3-foot length. Tie the center of the bow with both 10-inch lengths.

4. Glue your bow to the stems of the red berry sprays.

5. Fold the 8-inch length of jute in half and hot glue the open ends to the back of your stems for a tree hanger.

Evergreen Ornament

The evergreen wreath is the most common Christmas decoration, and it is easy enough to make on your own.

You’ll need:

• Ribbons
• A wire wreath frame (from the craft store)
• Floral wire
• Garden shears
• Gift bows
• Pine cones
• Scissors
• Wire clothes hangers

To make your Evergreen ornament:

1. Collect or purchase garden trimmings around six inches in length. The best trimmings are cedar, fir, pine, redwood, or oak. Pick up some holly or other red berries. When selecting trimmings, look for the ends of branches–the tip of a branch is the best part to use.

2. Attach #24 floral wire (also called paddle wire)  along the wire wreath frame. Tie the wire to the wreath frame and try to unspool it as you go, wrapping the wire around the frame along with your bundles of greenery.

3. Pick a handful of your best trimmings and place them together in a bunch with stems all at one end.

4. Put your bundle of trimmings on top of the frame where your floral wire is attached.

5. Holding that bundle in place, wrap your floral wire around both the bundle and the wreath frame.

6. Wrap more floral wire around the bundle a second time and pull the wreath tight. You’ll need to leave the floral wire attached to the frame.

7. Gather another bundle of greenage and place it so that it overlaps your first bunch, covering the stems. Make sure that the stems face the same way every time you attach a new bundle.

8. Continue doing this–overlapping greenery and wiring it to the frame–until you have completed a full circle.

9. Add pine cones to the wreath. You do this by tying a new section of paddle wire around the base of a pine cone leaving a piece behind between 8 and 10 inches. Tie this wired pine cone tail to the wreath frame.

10. Lift the first greenery bundle that you wired to the frame and tuck the last bundle of greenery underneath it.

11. Twist the floral wire tightly around your final greenery bundle. Knot the floral wire onto the wreath frame, leaving a one inch tail of wire you can use to hang your wreath.

12. Trim the hanging wire with scissors or a set of pruning shears afterwards.

Holiday Centerpieces

You can have centerpieces delivered from any of the big name online flower shops or even from your local florist. Some holidays are more difficult to find pre-fabricated centerpieces and arrangements for, but Christmas is not one of them.

A simple centerpiece to make at home if you don’t want to order one is to purchase or make a wreath, set it flat in the center of the table on a cream or white runner, and place a beautiful Christmas candle at the center.

The point of Christmas is to take time out of our busy lives, celebrate with friends, and take part in religious ceremonies as we choose. Decorating your home for Christmas should always include fresh plants and flowers, though you can buck the tradition of red and green if you want to break up the Christmas monotony.