Hands up if you didn’t know that I was addicted to the Hallmark Channel! No one? Oh good! So it won’t come as much of a surprise then that when given the chance to go wreath making, I absolutely jumped at it!

For the last few years, Mum and I have been booking “experiences” as gifts. Whether I can go with her or not, it is a fun thing to do. You can always buy stuff for yourself after a certain age. What you cannot do though is buy memories. Instead, you can buy these fun experience things and make memories yourself.

This year, especially given the time of year, there was only one option – wreath making! I’d heard of a few places that were offering it in the UK so did a bit of a Google to find if there were any near by us. There certainly was and we had the BEST time!

I booked though Eventbrite which was super easy, and for the two of us to attend, it cost £76 which included all of the greenery and bits. You were asked to bring along your own secateurs and gloves, which I naturally didn’t read about until the last minute. They also said you could bring things along to personalise your wreath. That seemed like a very good idea so I bought everything I could find!

To start off, this was an event co-hosted by a charity and a gardener.

The gardener in question was the delightful Renée Canter AKA The Girl who Gardens. She is a whizz at all things plant and garden related, but also really lovely. She made everything look easy and fun, and I think that set the tone for the night! (You can read more about her incredible green thumbs on the link above!)

The charity was George and the Giant Pledge. It was set up by George’s Mum when he was diagnosed with a PNET soft tissue Ewing’s Sarcoma at 4 years old. I cannot imagine how you would cope with that news, let alone setting up a charity to raise over £1,000,000 to help beat childhood cancer. All of that with her humour and kindness in tact. The woman is officially a super hero. (You can read more about it on the link above.)

But back to the wreathes!

We were a little on the late side arriving due to the ridiculous traffic on the M23. We did an all around the countryside drive, and eventually got to Hartsfield Manor in Betchworth, Surrey. It’s an absolutely stunning Victorian style manor house which I imagine is even more incredible during the day when you can see the acres of grounds it is set in.

We waddled as fast as we could into the building and located the class. It was easy. It was the one with laughter! And champagne!

There were only two seats left and we scurried over to them muttering our apologies. We actually totally lucked out though as we were sat right next to the giant piles of supplies needed to create the wreathes! Every time Renee was saying what works best, I was plotting which sections of bits and bobs I needed to grab first. I needent have worried too much though. There was plenty available. More than enough for everyone, plus probably about another 20!!

All too soon the talk was over. It was time to start creating. We had been assured that you didn’t need a plan and it would just come to you as you started building your wreath. I was not that sure though. I like plans. I like ideas. I like to know what I’m doing. It was too late for that though. I just had to get on and go.

I started out cautiously and tried to make everything the same size and match, but naturally that didn’t last too long. Despite being a Virgo, I am not careful or exacting, nor am I a perfectionist. Chaos reigned down on my little ring of Oasis. It got bigger and bigger. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t thought out. It wasn’t controlled. It wasn’t neat. It was a giant mess and I totally loved every minute!!

Personalities really do emerge I think when you do things like this, for as much as mine was loud and wild, Mum’s was neat and perfect.

I don’t know what her plan was but I absolutely loved to see the concentration on her face as it was all coming together. Every sprig was held in multiple places before being pushed into the correct place. Every additional bit of decoration was treated the same. It was neat. It was well ordered. It was beautiful. It was very much my Mummy. I loved it so much.

Now, a little time has passed since the class so I can’t remember all the names of all the sticks and green bits. Well, any really. What I really enjoyed the most though was the smell of it all. Both on the night of making them, and then every time you opened the front door where they were hanging. I had never thought of a wreath as being more than just pretty, but actually the smell is divine and it’s so welcoming.

I know I won’t be able to do one every year, but I know for sure that Mum and I are going to have to do this every Christmas I am home again now! I highly reccomend you give it a try too!