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I Made a Foraged Holiday Swag

December 10, 2020 By Talya Tate Boerner

foraged holiday swag

Oooh, I’m pretty happy with this foraged holiday swag I made, and I think my nature lovers will enjoy it too. With winter and Christmas only 11 and 15 days away (!), this simple project will bring a bit of natural beauty to your front door, your mailbox, anywhere you want to hang it.

Let me set the scene:

I’m spending five days at The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs. Yes, I’m writing. But I have a daily routine that includes a morning walk into town and an afternoon nature walk on one of the nearby trails. These walks clear my head and provide inspiration.

Monday on my town hike, I admired all the wreaths and tinsel and festively decorated porches and doors. Then later, on my nature hike, I noticed all the pine cones and red berries and vines wrapped branches in the woods. And bam, I thought I’ll make a holiday swag from some of these forest goodies.

During my next nature hike, I walked through the woods carrying a sack and scissors. I picked up sticks and pinecones, trimmed a few fir branches and snipped a dried seedpod or two. Now that autumn color has fallen away, what’s left in the woods provides perfect material for a foraged holiday swag.
nature

Rules of Foraging

I believe it’s important to respect nature. If you decide to become a forager, keep a few rules in mind…


tread lightly

  • Tread lightly and stay on the trail. You are a guest in the home of wildlife.
  • Take only what you plan to use. Seed pods provide meals for all sorts of critters. Dried twigs and branches are used to build homes.
  • Don’t trespass on private land.
  • Inspect your foraged goods for hitchhikers. Hitchhikers (i.e. insects) brought inside should be carefully removed and returned outdoors.
  • Some berries / leaves may be toxic. If you aren’t sure what you’ve foraged, keep away from your pets.
  • Wash your hands afterwards. You might be sensitive to something you’ve touched.
  • Check yourself for ticks. I bet a few rogue ones don’t go dormant in winter.

My Method: Make a Foraged Holiday Swag

With items gathered, spread everything out.

Trim away dead pieces or stems that are too long.

foraged nature

Form a base using the larger pine and fir greenery pieces.

greenery

Approximately two inches from the top of your swag, tie the base pieces together using twine or ribbon or rubber band. (It’s amazing the things I can forage from the bottom of my backpack…)

Weave other pieces in and among the greenery. If your base pieces are tied together tightly, other stem “decorations” will stay secure between the main greenery branches.

Some seed heads look like starbursts. Braid these into the top. Allow coralberry to hang.

Wrap with ivy or other vining greenery.

Let your imagination lead your design. There is no wrong or right way to swag.

Back to Nature

Yesterday on my walk through the woods, I took my foraged holiday swag with me, and left it behind on the Crescent Trail. Attached to a spindly tree, it’s my holiday decoration for nature. Maybe another hiker will see it and wonder how it came to be. Maybe a bird will pick it apart, using bits of it for her nest. Maybe a squirrel will inspect it during his morning scamper through the hollow.

foraged swag

While this holiday will likely be different from those of the past, I’m grateful for nature’s calming, steady presence. I hope you are able to go outside and breathe her in.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Filed Under: Crafts, Holiday, Nature & Seasons Tagged With: foraged, found things, holiday crafts, Mother Nature, nature

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Comments

  1. Julie says

    December 11, 2020 at 6:25 am

    Happy writing! I did quite a bit of foraging this winter….anything tied up with a sprig of pine or holly immediately looks Christmasy! I always wonder how you find all your music suggestions, many of them are not known to me so I always enjoy. Julie

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 11, 2020 at 9:08 am

      Thanks Julie! I’m glad you enjoy the music. I always wonder if anyone listens.

  2. Cathyv says

    December 11, 2020 at 10:41 am

    I think I will try a foraged swag. Sounds very calming.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 11, 2020 at 3:28 pm

      It is!

  3. Dorothy Johnson says

    December 26, 2020 at 10:19 am

    My creative friend, you’re at it again with words and works of nature. How like you! Love you.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      January 6, 2021 at 6:41 am

      Love you too.

  4. Ann Clemmer says

    January 6, 2021 at 7:29 am

    Talya, I knew every word of that song, knew the melody before it began. However, I listened to it afresh somehow (most certainly had never seen it with video). Thank you for sharing. If you want a little 70s melancholy, try “Wasted Time” by the Eagles. I don’t remember knowing it, before I picked up an Eagles CD in the 90s.


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 25, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025

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