DIY – an Advent wreath

Advent is nigh, and you still haven’t got a lovingly adorned wreath to celebrate the occasion? Well, it’s actually quite easy do make one yourself, and it’s quite fun as well. The idea is to count down to Christmas with each Sunday preceding the big occasion, and to light a new candle for every new week of Advent. We’ve put together a nifty little manual to celebrate the advent season in a slightly different and somewhat more stylish way – with mugs. Here you can find out how!

You need:

4 mugs

4 candles

Decorative sand or pebbles (or any other non-inflammable filling material that you can think of)

Decorative moss (can be found in art supply shops or hardware stores)

Gift ribbon, or coloured cord/lace and Christmassy decoration (balls, stars, bells etc.)

This is how it goes:

Pick a few mugs, preferably in red or in white. Adorn them with wintery or Christmassy designs and you can be sure to add to a more seasonal feeling already. If you nick your nan’s old china from her cupboard, you need to be careful to choose candles matching their height. And now get down to tinkering!

1) Put the candles in the middle of the mugs and fill the bottom with decorative filling material (about 1 inch). In case the candle isn’t stable, add some more filling material.

2) Now comes the good bit. Put the moss on top of the sand (or other filling material) and adorn the mugs with ribbons and the like. Be creative, you can use Christmas balls, pine cones, candy and whatever you think will increase the Christmas feeling. All you need now are matches, and you can look forward to lighting a new candle on every new Sunday of Advent.

Safety note – be sure to use non-inflammable filling material. Do not leave the candles unattended, and do not leave young children alone with the candles.