See what we did there? Ho, Ho, Ho! Faux, Faux, Faux for us here at Fetes de Fleurs! 

When I was young, my family would spend three hours in the car on the first Saturday of December. Driving from our South Shore home, to ”The Chop” in Stow.  We got in the Christmas spirit listening to Irish Christmas Carols on cassette tape.

“The Chop” was a party of my Father’s college buddies, turned family, who got together every year to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season, and to chop down their Christmas Trees. It was because of this party that I became a Christmas Tree Snob.

Only the best, only the freshest, only a Frasier Fir would do!

If you didn’t break a sweat hiking to the perfectly symmetrical, seven and a half foot, lush, fragrant, evergreen, symbol of Christ and everlasting life, were you really doing Christmas right? Probably not.

 The thing about a real Christmas tree though is, you need to water it, and you need to clean up all those little needles from your carpet just as the high from the Holidays turns into the frigid cold of January. And, you’re still finding those tiny, now dried, sharp needles of pain in the bottom of your foot as that cold weather turns to the grey sludge of February.

This wasn’t my problem when I was young. But it began to be my problem in January 2006 when my college roommates and I returned from the bar one night to a kitchen filled with the entire street’s dead, dried out, brittle Christmas trees. They had been left out on the curbside- and the boys who lived two houses down had decided we were in a “prank war” and collected all the trees and stuffed them in our, unfortunately unlocked, front door. We laughed then as we tossed the trees from our porch, the night at the bar and the cold of the air numbing the true feelings and scratches the branches left across our arms.

I had few more real Christmas trees following this disaster but I knew then that it was only time until I went faux.

And I LOVE my faux tree- it's a perfectly symmetrical, seven and half feet tall, lush, fragrant ( we use Frasir Fir Scentsciles that fill out home with that Christmas smell), evergreen symbol of Christ and everlasting life- who’s needles don’t drop and who folds up into a box and is stored in our basement.

So these days I am Pro-Faux- based on how easy it makes my life- but have you ever tried to create with faux greens? They can look plastic and fake and cheap.

Here at Fetes de Fleurs we love to help our guests at our holiday parties make wreaths and centerpieces for your holiday tablescapes. 

Here is my how to tips on avoiding a FAKE looking wreath and how to create a beautiful FAUX centerpiece that you will use year after year. 

1. Use a combination of greens. If you use just one type you end up with one texture- one color- one flat look. Take a look at this combination of Firs, evergreens and eucalyptus I chose for this project. Usually I don’t like fake snow but when combined with the other sprays this one looks soft and adds some dimension to the flat green colors. I loved this mix of greens and greys with a hint of pink!

2. Individually wire each spray or branch- this is the real pain. By threading floral wire in green or brown up into each branch and down the stem you are able to bend each spray and fluff your wreath exactly how you want it. You won’t end up with a crooked or uneven wreath because you can bend each branch individually.

3. Work around the wreath section by section. Think of a wreath as a floral arrangement- work around it adding pieces symmetrically- but do not fear the asymmetrical! Take time to stand back and look at the wreath as it hangs as you go.

4. Finally- ACCESSORIZE! Berries, apples, bows, and pine cones add some color and texture- you can even add a string of battery powered lights for a little flair! 

 If you are interesting in learning about our upcoming Boston and South Shore flower parties please make sure you subscribe to our blog and notifications below in the form where it says subscribe to email updates.  

We would love for you to consider joining us for our next festive party taking place on December 18th (right before Xmas) at the Galley in Scituate Harbor (where I am from). It is from 6-8 PM on Monday, December 18th. Hope to see you there. Click the image below to be taken to the Eventbrite page where you can sign up. Or you can sign up here for the Gold Hoop Wreath Making Class on December 18th. 

We also do custom parties for the holidays coming up. So if you get a group of friends together who want to create something festive from flowers and greenery we can help you out for a fun night in with your friends! We bring all the supplies, help figure out the kind of party you want to do and teach the class in your home, all over some wine of course! You can click the below image to learn more about our private parties in the home or go here to fill out the form.