This weekend Nick and I purchased our first Christmas tree together. It was a spontaneous decision – we just pulled into the parking lot and decided to look around…45 minutes we left with an 8 foot tree. Good thing we drove the pick-up. We also ran across the highway to get hot cocoa. It seemed necessary.

I can’t wait to decorate the tree! We put lights up so far, but now we must collect/make ornaments since we don’t have any saved from years past. Doing this together will be one of my favorite memories years from now. My favorite parts so far have been watching Nick carry the huge tree into the house, and holding the tree steady to put it in the stand. My face was nestled into the branches as I hugged it to stay upright and the scent of the tree brought to mind so many lovely childhood Christmas memories. I now lean in, very closely, to smell it each time I walk by.

But until we can share pictures of our tree, I’ve brought to you a small DIY Christmas project this evening. If you have been inspired by the amazing wreaths from Terrain like I have been, you may be itching to hang one of your own ( but hesitating on the price). It is very simple to make your own wreath and there are tons of varieties out there! I suggest going for a walk to find some ‘ingredients’ from nature. For my own wreath, I used a large branch from our Christmas tree that we had to remove to put the tree in the stand. For the ring you can use wire, embroidery hoops, or basically anything round you don’t mind hot glueing tree branches onto. Nick found an old lamp shade in the garage for me.

Working with small pieces, I glued the branches in a circular motion around the outer rim first. It took almost an hour to fill in the entire area, but I was quite happy with the final project. Especially happy that I can smell Christmas as soon as I’m home.