That is a fantastic starburst, one should be able to make it out of a heavy paper, years ago, I had one of gold card board, looked a little like your photo, but I had no idea what the meaning of it was.
On the branches, yes, even in San Diego we did that, with Pussy Willows, have never had apple branches to play with.
If you don’t know the Pussy Willow, it is difficult to say what it is, a shrub, that when it blooms forms white furry things, that are about a half inch long...along the stem.
LOL, I am not sure if they were blooms or leaves, but oddly enough they have been on my mind for a week or more.
Any branch that is dormant, should work, ladies did that for hundreds of years, as a bouquet of pretty leaves or flowers was welcome in the middle of winter.
and it has started raining hard again with wind.
I thought you would enjoy that.
I hope you are warmer today!