My Mom was a crafty homemaker. She had a knack for flower arranging and home decor. Remember ceramics? She created plenty of pieces and I fortunately inherited some. These retro decor accessories are my favorites! She sometimes involved us in some of her projects and I remember at Christmas we would help make our annual candy wreath.

As you may know, my Mom loved sweets, as did most kids, so it was the perfect craft for us. Dad would find a wire hanger from our louvered door coat closet, take pliers, and form it in a circle leaving the hook at the top.  

In the meantime, when Mom made a shopping trip to Hills or KMart, she would buy bags of individually wrapped candy that had twisted wrappers at both ends. We liked the butterscotch, cinnamon, Brach’s Christmas Tree Nougets, and Royals, as well as traditional peppermints. She also made sure she had spools of red and green curling ribbon on hand.

Our first job was to tie one end of a piece of candy with a piece of ribbon. At the start of the project, I remember contemplating which color of ribbon should be tied to each piece of candy to make it look pretty. For a young girl, they were tough choices! 

After we had a big pile of ribbon-tied candy, we went to work on attaching the end with the ribbon onto the formed hanger. It was so much fun to see our work transform into a beautiful Christmas candy wreath! Mom helped us squash the tied candy pieces into sections to make the wreath really full!

For the final touches, Mom tied a long piece of ribbon to a pair of small pair of scissors and a bow at the top. I remember her hanging on the inside of our front door and when friends or guests left our house, they used the scissors to snip off a couple pieces of candy to take with them. 

My sister, Barb, has made a couple through the years, and as you can see from the picture above, I decided to turn back time and make a small one for our home this year. Bring back the 70s and make one for yourself! If you choose to be crafty, please snap a picture and send it to me! I would love to see your creation. Have fun!

Through some research, I found out that Brach’s doesn’t make the hard cinnamon and butterscotch candies anymore. Who knew? It’s also difficult to find traditional wrapped candies that are twisted at both ends. My, how times have changed..even candy!