The Santa wreath

I wanted a decoration for the front door, but something different than a plain old evergreen wreath. Something that the kids would love.

I found just the thing here. It's a wreath, but it's Santa. I figured it would be a fun project to make with the kids. I could tell a lie here and talk about how great it was and how it brought us together as a family, but I won't. It was actually a bit of a nightmare; Cal whined that Matthew got to wear the Santa hat first, Matthew snapped that Cal kept getting in the way, and I got exasperated and yelled (just a little) for them both to stop complaining. It was just not as much fun as I had imagined it would be.

But back to the project - I used a 12"  wreath I picked up at the dollar store, an adult size santa hat, some white cotton fabric, and 30 meters of 4.5" wide white tulle ribbon. Add in two kids and the dog, and we were ready to roll.

I started out by wrapping the wreath in some white cotton to corral the green spiky branches. A foam wreath would work better, but I couldn't find one nearby, the good craft stores are all out in the 'burbs, and I didn't feel like driving anywhere. So I made do with what I could forage.

There's no need to be neat about it, as it will be all covered in tulle in the end. I didn't wrap the whole way around because the piece of fabric I used was only 45" long (I cut the piece about 3" wide) and didn't make it. That part got covered by the Santa hat anyway.

 Yes, that is the Chanukah menorah you see burning bright in the background while we work on a Christmas wreath. We're an equal opportunity family. 

I cut the tulle ribbon into 15" long pieces, and the boys started tying them onto the wreath.

This was when the fighting began in earnest. I should have known enough to buy two wreaths so that they each had one to work on. In the end, it got too difficult for them to tie the ribbons on without getting in each others way or tying down ones they had previously put on, so I had to finish it up after we got them into bed.

I attached the hat to the wreath with a couple of safety pins and used a little bit of leftover batt from upholstering the bench last week to fluff it up a bit. I just need to attach some wire to the back and then it's all set to hang on the front door.

 
 I think it turned out really cute. And the boys give it two thumbs up!