Episcopal
 

MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENT WREATH

YOU WILL NEED:

1 heavy-duty paper plate (such as Chinet) or plastic plate

4 five-inch flat-bottomed candles*

Artificial greenery (such as plastic or silk holly, ivy, pine roping...even green Christmas tree garlanding will work in a pinch! Or you can use paints or markers to draw "greenery" on your wreath)

School glue (such as Elmer's)


INSTRUCTIONS:

First, turn the paper plate upside-down.

Next, decorate the bottom outside edge of the plate with greenery.  Use the glue to fasten the greenery in place (if it wants to pop up out of the glue, you can use paper clips as "clamps" to
hold it down until the glue has set).  If you're using markers or paint instead of artificial greenery, draw leaves, berries, pine cones or whatever you like around the outside edge to make the plate look like a wreath.  Leave the elevated center circle of the plate clear.

After the decorations have set (give them at least an hour), glue the candles around the edge of the undecorated center circle.  Try to space them fairly evenly.  Allow the glue to dry for at least a full day before lighting the wreath.

Hit the "BACK" button on your browser and click on "A Simple Advent Wreath Service" to learn
how you and your family can use your Advent Wreath to observe this very special season of penance and preparation.

Please be very careful with fire!  Only an adult should light the candles, and they should never be left burning unless an adult is in the room.
* A note on candles:  You can buy white "Household" or "Emergency" candles in the supermarket...they are exactly the right size.  In church we use colored candles...three purple and one pink (the pink one is lit on the third Sunday in Advent).  If you want colored candles (or if you can't find candles of the proper size), you can buy regular tapered candles and have an adult cut them to fit with a very sharp kitchen knife.  The exact size isn't important, so long as the candles are long enough that one of them can be burned for a short while every Sunday for four weeks without getting so short that there is danger of setting the plate or greenery on fire, and short enough that they don't tip over from their own weight.

Copyright 1997 by Audrey Nickel for St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Durham, NC

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This page updated 17 Nov 2005