For the holidays, I decided that it would be fun for me and my kids to tackle the popcorn wreath (as seen on Martha Stewart’s site). The supplies were inexpensive, and the process sounded simple enough.

You just need popcorn (obviously), waxed dental floss, and Martha suggested cutting out the middle of a paper plate to create the wreath form.

I, however, decided that if I was going to make a wreath, I might as well make it big and decided to use something larger than a paper plate. I used a round mirror that I found in our garage to trace my wreath form on a piece of poster board. Looking back, this is where I went wrong. It’s never smart to try and be more ambitious than Martha.

For five straight nights, we formed a little assembly line. I would thread the popcorn with a needle, and my kids would slide it down the floss to the wreath, where the other end of the floss was tied off.

Once we had a pretty long strand of popcorn, I would wind it around the wreath form and tie it off. Then, we would keep stringing more popcorn. And, more popcorn.

When it was finished, we used a pretty ribbon to attach it to our green door:

The upside: I got to spend lots of time sitting at the table talking to my kids.

The downside: This project takes a long time, there was popcorn everywhere, and I’m pretty sure I still smell like butter.

So, would I recommend this holiday craft? Not unless you are one who likes to fiddle with something while you’re home watching a Christmas movie–or six. . .