EASY PEASY Advent Wreath!

I was determined to have a nice Advent Wreath this year, but had a late start (because I'm always disorganized like that) and if you have done this before, you know that when you finally go shopping for the purple and pink candles... can't find them.  I don't really like the "tapers" because they don't seem to last through the season, so I wanted to get nice thick pillar candles that would still be substantial after 4 weeks of lighting.

Shaun & I went on a "date" last night and since it was one of the first times I was out with my ankle, I asked while we were out if we could stop somewhere to get candles.  I couldn't walk a lot, so the first place had to do.

We went into TJMaxx and low and behold found FOUR beautiful Purple Glass candles!  (No pink).  ...on CLEARANCE!  Even better.  I knew they'd work and I'd be able to refill them with nice pillar candles next year, so I didn't mind spending a little more.  I liked that the glass would keep the flames away from the "wreath" as well... AND they smelled heavenly!

I pretty much had everything else I needed at home.

I took the four candles and placed them on a "Lazy Susan" we have in the center of our dining room table (but obviously they can be placed directly on the table or a nice place mat/large serving plate).

Then I took some holly garland I had hanging around with my Christmas decorations and wove it around and then through the candles, clipping it at the end with a binder clip (but you can use wire or a wire ornament hook to keep it all together).

I tied a pretty pink ribbon around the one purple candle that should be pink for "joy" and VOILA!  Our Advent Wreath!

The Circle is representative of God's "Eternal" or "Unending" love for us (because a circle goes around and around and never ends). 

The Green in the Holly or Evergreen leaves (it can be made from both) represent "Everlasting Life" because these are the trees that stay green all year and never die.

The Pointy leaves or prickly Evergreen represent the crown of thorns our Savior wore.

The Red berries represent the blood he shed for us.

The Purple candles represent the color of Royalty.  In Jesus' time they would fix all the roads filling in the valleys (potholes) and leveling the hills (bumps) to make way for a king if he were coming to the town.  They would also use purple to decorate the streets and town for His coming as this was a very expensive color to make and rare, so it was usually only used by royalty.  Each week we light a purple candle to remind us that we are getting closer to the time that the King is coming!  We sing songs about the King and read in scripture about the coming of the King.

Three weeks into the four week Advent Season we light a "Pink" candle.  This represents JOY!  He is coming VERY soon!  The color is also lighter and that as well as the light from the candles remind us of Christ, the light of the world coming into the darkness of our world with His Light.

The word Advent or Advenio means "To come To" and we are truly anticipating His coming to us. 

SEE why I LOVE this Season!  The symbolism is rich and the traditions can be brought right into our homes!  Hope you enjoy it with your families and find this little "tutorial" helpful for a super easy Advent wreath that's easy to store and make each year!