Looking for a way to honor those who have passed this Christmas? Share the holiday season and honor your departed loved ones at the cemetery by hanging a cemetery Christmas wreath at their graves.
Choose greenery, flowers and ornaments that you and your loved one enjoyed at Christmas to decorate the wreath so it is an intimate and special tribute. A DIY Christmas cemetery wreath makes an excellent alternative to other floral arrangements or a grave blanket over the grave site. This wreath is a great way of honoring your loved ones this holiday season.
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Things You'll Need
Fresh evergreen clippings (fir, boxwood, pine, hemlock, spruce)
Garden clippers
12-in., flat, wooden wreath frame
Staple gun
Staples
Ribbon
Notions (silk flowers, ornaments, berries, fruit)
Wide ribbon
Hook with suction cup
Floral wire
Mini garden-flag stand
Assemble your wreath
1. Cut the evergreens for your cemetery Christmas wreath
Cut 8- to 18-in. pieces of evergreen. Mix the sizes and variety so that your wreath will vary in depth and color. You can also use alternatives like boxwood, eucalyptus or olive branches.
2. Position and staple
Gather two to three pieces of greenery in your hand. Lay them together, all facing the same direction. Place them flat on the frame. Staple the stems to the frame with the staple gun. Use three to four staples to ensure all of the pieces are secured to the frame.
Tip
Rather than a wood frame, you can use a grapevine wreath frame instead.
Select another group of greenery and layer over the stems of the first bunch. Overlap the stems but not the entire pieces of greenery. Staple down as you did the first bunch.
Finding greenery
Ask local Christmas tree lots for remnant clippings. They may give you the bottom branches they remove from the trees.
3. Layer and staple the remaining evergreens
Keep repeating the steps above, layering and stapling as you make your way around the frame. It's OK if pieces stick out at this stage. Slide the last pieces of greenery under the first ones you stapled down in order to create a solid circle with no gap. Lift the greenery and staple.
4. Trim up stray ends
Prop the wreath up against the wall. Trim any wild pieces with the clippers. Cut longer pieces so they are within an inch of the pieces around them. The wreath should have a circular shape but should still feel organic, not forced. Clip the pieces on the inside of the wreath so there is a circular opening. Step back to look at the wreath to evaluate your work; rotate the wreath as you go to ensure you cut all sides.
Tip
Fresh evergreens on lightweight wooden frames work in most areas for cemetery decorations, but wreaths that incorporate artificial greenery, ribbon or fabric can be used in warm-weather areas.
Decorate the wreath
1. Secure a bow in place
Tie a bow and secure with a piece of wire. The bow can be placed at the top or bottom of the wreath as well as in the four or five o'clock position. You can also weave a ribbon through the wreath.
2. Add desired decorations
Decorate with your preferred Christmas decoration notions including ribbon, pine cones, silk flowers like red poinsettia, ornaments, berries or fruit. This idea can be adapted to other holidays like Memorial Day or for any occasion using a simple memorial wreath with other decorations. Not limited to cemetery decorations, this type of wreath can also be made as a front door wreath or general x-mas decoration for your home.
Warning
Check the cemetery’s regulations for grave site decorations before making or placing your wreath.
Hang your wreath
Hang the cemetery Christmas wreath on the grave of your loved one. Use a wide piece of ribbon to hang on the tombstone. Stick a suction hook on the back and run the ribbon from the hook, through the middle of the wreath and back to the hook over the top of the headstone to create a hanger.
Run a U-shaped piece of wire through the frame of the wreath to stake it to the ground next to a grave marker with engraved plates. Wire the frame to a mini garden-flag stand and stick into the ground near the graveside. You can also use an easel to display your wreath for the Christmas holiday.
This Christmas wreath for a gravesite is a beautiful and fitting tribute for lost loved ones during this holiday season.