Advent begins on Sunday 29 November 2026, and with it comes the tradition of lighting one more candle every Sunday until Christmas. Making a homemade Advent wreath is easier than it looks: with a base, some green branches, wire and four candles, you have the essentials. In this guide we explain how to put it together step by step, what modern alternatives there are and what to bear in mind if you share your home with a dog or a cat.
Materials for your homemade Advent wreath
- A round base: a straw, foam or wicker ring 25 to 30 cm in diameter. That’s a good size for a table.
- Green branches: fir, pine or cedar. You’ll find them at florists and garden centres; if you’d rather the wreath lasted all season without drying out, artificial branches work too.
- Florist’s wire (green, on a reel) and a pair of secateurs.
- Four candles and spiked candle holders to push into the base.
- Decorations of your choice: pine cones, cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices or a ribbon.
How to make a homemade Advent wreath step by step
- Prepare the branches. Cut them into pieces 10 to 15 cm long. If they’re real, leave them in a bucket of water for a few hours so they stay fresh for longer.
- Secure the wire. Wrap the end two or three times around the base. Don’t cut it: you’ll work from the reel until the end.
- Tie the bunches. Gather three or four sprigs, lay them diagonally on the base and wrap the wire firmly around them two or three times. Cover the top and the inner and outer edges.
- Overlap them like scales. Place the next bunch so that it hides the wire on the previous one. Always work in the same direction until the whole ring is covered.
- Close the wreath. Carefully tuck the stems of the last bunch under the first one, wrap the wire round a few more times, cut it and hide the end in the base.
- Add the candles. Space the four candle holders evenly, in a cross, and push them in straight. The candles need to stand firm and upright.
- Decorate. Pine cones hold well with a piece of wire; light decorations, with a glue gun. Less is more: two or three materials look more elegant than ten.
If you make it a few days in advance, keep it somewhere cool, such as on the balcony or in an unheated room. Once it’s indoors, mist the real branches with a little water from time to time: the heating dries them out very quickly.
Modern ideas that skip the classic wreath
- Candle tray: a wooden or metal tray with four thick candles on saucers, a little moss, pine cones and a few sprigs. Ready in ten minutes.
- Minimalist hoop: a metal or wooden hoop with candle holders and just a few sprigs of eucalyptus.
- Four jars: glass jars in a row with small candles, a layer of sand or coarse salt in the bottom and the numbers 1 to 4.
- Natural tones: dried flowers, wheat ears and dried oranges in beige and brown. As they catch fire very easily, only use LED candles here.
An Advent wreath with a dog or cat in the house
Cats climb onto tables and shelves, and a happy dog can sweep something off the coffee table with its tail. To keep Advent calm:
- Choose the spot carefully: put the wreath where your pet can’t reach or doesn’t usually climb, rather than on the living-room coffee table.
- Use LED candles: with no flame, neither tails nor whiskers can catch fire.
- Avoid tinsel, angel hair and small loose decorations: threads, ribbons and small pieces are easily chewed or swallowed.
- Pick up fallen needles: vacuum up the needles and bits of branch often so your pet doesn’t chew them. If it has swallowed something or seems unwell, call the vet.
If you’d like your dog to count down the days too, there’s our guide to making a dog Advent calendar. And if the sofa and the throw fill up with hair over these weeks, that’s what our self-cleaning pet hair remover, a reusable roller, is for.
Candles on the wreath: basic safety rules
- Never leave candles burning unattended, not even for a moment.
- Replace them before they burn down to the branches.
- Stand the wreath on a non-flammable surface, away from curtains and draughts.
- By the end of Advent, real branches are usually very dry. If they crackle or shed needles, switch to LED candles.