Aside from the snowy weather and bitterly cold temperatures, it is quite obvious that we are well into the winter season. Take a stroll through any store, and holiday decor, winter-themed items and Christmas treats are sure to catch your eye. As candy canes are a common staple of the holiday season, these red and white striped treats are surely not difficult to find anywhere you go. Adding a candy cane to any setting is sure to give off a much more Christmas themed flare. That’s why, for this do-it-yourself project, I chose to make a simple candy cane wreath that is sure bring on the holidays.

You will need:

• 22 candy canes (I used 2 boxes of 12, and ate the two extra)

• Hot glue sticks

• Hot glue gun

• Scissors

• Ribbon

• Sheet of construction paper

To make the wreath:

1.  Take out 22 candy canes, and pair them up into 11 pairs. Place the pair straight-edge to straight edge, in a sort of back-to-back way.

2. Next, place a pea-sized amount of hot glue onto the back of one candy cane, and quickly attach it to the back of its corresponding pair. Proceed to do this to all 11 pairs of candy canes.

3. Arrange the candy canes into a circular wreath. At this point, the entire wreath will start to look a bit like a flower, with the candy canes in themselves making heart shapes.

4. Carefully glue the tips of the candy canes that are beside each other, thus making a heart shape for each pair. Allow the entire wreath to cool for about 5 minutes so nothing moves out of place.

5. Cut a small circle of construction paper that is a bit bigger than the size of the circle in the middle of the wreath. Hot glue this circle to the back of the opening in the wreath to reinforce the wreath. If you feel that the wreath is sturdy enough, you may skip this step.

6. Lastly, wrap the ribbon around one or two candy canes, and tie the ends of the ribbon together. The only thing left to do is to hang your candy cane wreath anywhere you would like!

After completing this project, I can honestly say that it turned out to be much easier than I expected. All I needed were a few simple items that I was mostly able to find around my house. That said, I did have to go out and buy the candy canes, but since they are such a staple this time of year, doing so was also simple to do. This DIY wreath can be hung nearly anywhere, and will add a bit of holiday flare to any setting it is placed in. This project can also be personalized by using any candy cane and ribbon color combination, or even using mini candy canes to make a smaller version as a Christmas tree ornament.

By Manal Salim