Ask any wreath maker when Christmas starts and the answer is September. The workshop calendar runs a season ahead of the front door: fall designs are built in summer, Christmas is built in fall, and by the time the first cold morning arrives in Savannah the holiday pieces are already on the bench or already gone. If you want a specific kind of Christmas wreath on your door in December, the time to think about it is now.
Why holiday designs go first
Three reasons.
They take longest. A Christmas wreath is the fullest design of the year: greenery, berries, ornaments, ribbon, often a lighted element, often a focal character. The Santa Diva Christmas Wreath is a deluxe build with a whimsical Santa figure, furry accents and layers of ornament and ribbon. That is not an afternoon.
They sell first. Buyers who want a handmade Christmas wreath start looking in October, and because every wreath in the shop is one of a kind, the design you see in October may be gone in November.
They ship. A wreath that has to travel needs to leave the workshop with time to spare in December, which means being finished in November, which means being designed in the fall. How to ship a wreath so it arrives intact covers why that box matters.
What is in the Christmas and Winter collection
The Christmas and Winter collection runs from traditional to whimsical.
- The Cardinal Church Lighted Grapevine Wreath: a natural grapevine base, winter greenery, a cardinal, and a white church that softly lights up with battery-powered lights.
- The Winter Cardinal Grapevine Wreath and Arrangement: a coordinated set, wreath for the door and arrangement for the porch or table, with evergreen, snowy birch stems, eucalyptus and winter berries.
- The XL Whimsical Candy Land Nutcracker Wreath: 33 inches tall by 24 inches wide, pastel candy magic for a door that wants fun rather than tradition.
- The Santa Diva Christmas Wreath: the deluxe, full, playful one.
Some of these are available; some have sold and stay on the site so the link and the design remain visible. Newest first is the rule in the shop, so what is at the top is what is actually on the bench.
Christmas or winter?
The distinction is worth making before you buy. A Christmas wreath, with Santa, presents, candy or ornaments, comes down after New Year. A winter wreath, with cardinals, evergreen, birch and berries, can stay up until spring. If you want the door done once for the whole cold season, choose winter. If you want December to feel like December, choose Christmas and switch to something everyday in January. Cardinal wreaths and winter décor goes deeper on the winter option.
Planning your own build
If you make your own, the same calendar applies. Inside the Kreative Krew, Christmas designs are taught live through the fall, and Kerry Greenfield's sessions on mantels and Christmas trees, with her layered ribbon, florals and ornaments, run in the same window. The vault holds the holiday-specific tutorials year round, so a member can start a Christmas wreath in August if she wants to.
For a single design outside the membership, the Traditional Christmas Wreath with Sequin Presents tutorial is a digital download with the video and the supply list: rich reds, vibrant greens, sequins and wrapped presents. Buy the supplies for it in October and there is no December scramble.
Lights
Several holiday designs include battery-powered lights. They are built so the battery pack tucks out of sight and the lights sit inside the greenery rather than on top, and a timer on the pack means you set it once. Lighted wreaths: how battery lights work in a design has the details, including what to do with the batteries in storage.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Christmas wreaths go into the shop?
Through the fall, as each one is finished. Because every piece is made once, there is no restock date, only the next design.
Can I ask Kandi to build a Christmas wreath in a particular style?
You can always ask. Whether she can take it on depends on how full the fall bench already is, and she answers her own messages honestly.
How early is too early to hang a Christmas wreath?
A winter design can go up whenever fall comes down. A Christmas design usually waits for the day after Thanksgiving, but the door is yours.
Will a lighted wreath work on a covered porch?
Yes. Battery-powered, no cord, built for a front door under a porch roof.
