How to make Christmas twigs last longer

When you try to create durable, green Christmas decorations, the first and most important step is to select the appropriate coniferous twigs. Advent wreath making traditions do not give any strict rules, so in addition to the traditional spruce and fir twigs, you can use thuja or yew for example as they last a really long time.

If you made the base of a Christmas decoration from wreath or straws, you can place it in a bowl with water on the bottom for example . Twigs will absorb moisture and stay green for a long time. Change the water often and add a teaspoon of cinnamon to prevent a development of rot.

You can also use natural moss or polystyrene!

Moss will do the trick perfectly. Take the base made from straw or polystyrene (commercial name Styrofoam) and large moss pads. Use a hot melt gun to glue the pads to it and when it is all glued and dry spray water on it and let it rest overnight. You should only insert twigs, candles and other decorations into the corpus the next morning. Spray the wreath with water about twice during Christmas and it will stay beautiful for a really long time.

Photo: Pixabay

Other options

A good option is to use the spongy material often used to various decorations. Soak it in water before use. But few minutes is not enough. You should do it for 2-3 hours. The material may look wet on the surface, but the water reaches the centre very slowly and therefore may not be available for the twigs…

Please be careful when arranging twigs and make sure they cannot get close to candles of flame. A great idea is to use candle mats so that candles that burn all the way down will not accidentally light the bottom of the base.

Well, you see it is not complicated at all. Just few tricks and you can enjoy beautiful Advent decorations until February, maybe even longer.

Preview photo: Pixabay