With Thanksgiving behind us, the holidays are officially here. I like to wait to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving because I truly love Fall so much. But, thanks to Mother Nature it actually SNOWED in Austin last night. Snowy Christmases are what my dreams are made of, and I was like a little kid dancing in the drive way. I don't think there was a better way to kick off the start of this festive season.

I've been browsing all the online sales for Christmas decor - even though the best time to buy is after the season ends, of course!

These prices are crazy! Call me frugal, call me cheap. I just have such a hard time spending money on decorations. Partly because I have commitment issues when it comes to interior design. Especially outside of seasonal decor.

diy-ing my own holiday wreath seemed like the best option - because i could customize the look i wanted.

So, one Sunday afternoon I went to it. I was so impressed with the outcome I wanted to share it with all of you. A few of the items were purchased previously and not necessarily for this purpose intially, but I'll try to include the estimated cost from my memory. I really wanted this to be an affordable DIY because I think we've all spotted something on Etsy and hundreds of dollars worth of craft supplies later, it probably would've been better to just make the Etsy purchase. HAHA!

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WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Flocked boxwood garland (not pictured above) - I scored two flocked garlands. I spent $6. Thank you, Target dollar section. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with these when I bought them, but I'm so glad I picked them up now.
Rose gold fairy lights (not pictured above) - I think I got these on a Lightning Deal from Amazon Prime for $9.
Twigs - Free from the great outdoors.
Jute twine - You can get this at any craft store dollar bin. It's just naturally colored twine.
Hot glue gun + glue sticks - You may already have this. Don't hate - my glue gun is from the 5th grade. We've been through a lot together !

DIRECTIONS

I have some progression photos in the slider above - but if you have any questions, feel free to DM me on social media or comment below.

Gather some twigs from your front yard. The twigs should be skinny and a little flexible.
Group twigs into small bundles of 4-5 and tie the ends with jute twine.
Lay the bundles in the desired shape. If you used flexy twigs it makes it easier to get a more rounded wreath. However, I like that mine came out a bit uneven and not perfectly round.
Next, bind the bundles together with more jute twine and hot glue to secure the shape.
Add a loop of jute twine around the top of the wreath, so that it's easy to hang from your door or a hook.
Begin to wrap the flocked boxwood garland around the wreath.
Add the fairy lights - I wrapped mine around twice because the ones I have were pretty long.
To secure the battery box, I hot glued two magnets to the back of the pack. I have a metal door, so this worked perfectly because I can hide the box behind the wreath. If you don't have a metal door, I would suggest using some 3M poster hanging tabs.
Hit the switch on the battery box. And,....wah-lah! You have a custom wreath that easily could've cost you $50 or more!