Christmas Wreaths

Last night my husband and I went shopping at Trader Joe’s. As we walked into the store, we passed their collection of fresh Christmas wreaths and my husband stopped … “What’s that smell?” he asked in awe.

“That’s the wreaths. They’re fresh evergreens,” I replied.

He went in to smell them. “Nah,” he said. “These are plastic.”

My husband was completely taken aback by the concept of wreaths made from fresh evergreen boughs. I guess that’s what I get for marrying a foreigner. But it was kind of sweet to watch his child-like admiration for them.

There is no holiday decoration more traditional and elegant than a Christmas wreath. This classic of holiday decor is available through retailers everywhere — in both fresh and synthetic form. You can find them in craft stores, supermarkets and in a variety of forms from the traditional evergreen to the more modern metals.

But, seeing those fresh wreaths last night brought me back to my childhood. We never had a fresh wreath, but we did use to go and chop down a fresh tree every year. To this day, I love the sweet and tangy smell of evergreens.

I have a synthetic evergreen wreath that I decorate someone differently each year … hanging it on the front door, the weather tends to be not so friendly to the decorations, especially here in Arizona.

My favorite decorations run along the lines of sleigh bels and poinsettia flowers. Sometimes, I ‘ll add a Santa or candy cane, too. But usually, I keep it simple with just the bells, flowers and a large bow.

No matter what you decide to do with your wreath, you can be sure that it will delight everyone to sees it.