I've been wandering through other blogger's websites lately and I've noticed quite a few other beekeepers hang a wreath on their hive over the winter time.

The hives in our yard during the winter time when the vegetation and leaves fall from the trees and bushes are clearly visible from the nearby road.

What a fun way to decorate a hive (and make it appear more friendly to those who drive by) with a wreath.

One of the blogs I was reading at the time was by Holly over at the Simply Resourceful blog, and her topic on how to make your own Christmas wreath.

I won't go into detail on how to make them, because her site covers the materials list and even has a video tutorial.

However, I'll show you the pictures of my attempted wreath (and my little helpers) for your viewing pleasure.

For our second annual tradition, we cut down our own live Christmas tree and brought it home a few weeks ago, and not wanting to waste any of the limbs near the bottom that had to be trimmed to fit into the base, I used them to make this wreath.

In this picture, you can see Emmett, who just celebrated Christmas and Jesus' birthday today at preschool.


I bought the metal wreath hoop and 50' of green wire for .50 cents each at the craft store nearby.



Here is my other helper, Garrison, who is eating one of the leftover (very blue) cupcakes from his big brother's party today.



He has no problem posing for a camera!




Almost finished...once I made it all the way around the hoop, I went out into the yard and collected a couple of pinecones that had fallen from our pine trees.



With everything secured into place, it was time to hang it on the hive.



From our apiary (and family) to yours, Merry Christmas!