Christmas Wreaths for the Birds

Christmas wreaths rival Christmas trees as the two most popular Christmas decorations. Most wreaths are hung as a holiday greeting and welcome to neighbors and friends on the main entry door of the house appearing soon after the pumpkins and corn stalks of the fall harvest season have been removed. Decorations for Christmas wreaths vary from the traditional – pinecones, red berries, deer moss to unique decorations like small handmade crafts made from fabric.

Bird lovers like to decorate their Christmas wreaths with their favorite small stuffed birds surrounded with holly berries that birds love. Christmas wreaths can be made just for the birds or you can recycle your Christmas wreath after the season and provide the birds with needed food during the cold winter months.

If you take your wreath down in January or February you can transform it into a wreath just for the birds. Roll the pinecones first in peanut butter and then in birdseed. Wrap some floral wire around the base of each pinecone and attach it to the wreath. If you have purchased a Christmas wreath from a company like, Acadia Wreath Company, the pinecones already have picks on the base to attach to the wreath.

String a few popped kernels of popcorn together then roll them in peanut butter and birdseed, a treat loved by blue jays. Take a large needle and string clusters of three or four whole, raw, unsalted peanuts in the shell and tie to the wreath. Make sure you use a natural thread like raffia. You can do the same thing with bundles of fresh grapes. Slice apples, pears or oranges and hang them on the wreath. It’s best to leave the strings of peanuts, or fruit short, a couple inches long at most, so they are easy for the birds to handle.

Transforming your Christmas wreath into a wonderful source of food for your birds also provides you with the wonderful pastime of watching the birds as you sit and enjoy your morning coffee. It’s a fun activity to share with the children in your life. Teach them the value of recycling, the wonders of nature right outside the door and the joy of watching birds.

Once the birds have eaten everything on the Christmas wreath you can always put more goodies on or if it’s a balsam fir Christmas wreath, you can recycle the balsam needles. Make a fragrant draft stopper by sewing the balsam needles into a long muslin bag or make a balsam sachet.