DIY | Simple Orange Garland
Oranges are such a classic Christmas decoration - they're bright, festive, and smell so good! Drying oranges is one of my favorite holiday traditions because it's so simple and they can be used in so many ways!
You can use almost any kind of citrus for drying - I used oranges, grapefruit, and clementines. I love throwing in grapefruit with the oranges to give some color variation.
SUPPLIES:
- Oranges
- Paper Towels
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- String
- Needle
- Scissors
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 200 or as low as it goes.
- Cut the oranges into slices, approximately 1/4" thick.
- Pat oranges dry with paper towel.
- Arrange oranges on top of parchment paper in the baking sheet (you can squeeze them in fairly tight since they'll shrink when baked). If you drip some essential oils on them before baking, they smell HEAVENLY.
- Bake for 3 hours, flipping a few times throughout. Check oranges after three hours and if they still bend when you pick them up, give them more time. If they're crisp and seem thoroughly dried out, they're finished. If there's any moisture left in the oranges, there's a chance for mold to grow.
- Take them out of the oven and if you have the time and the patience (I didn't) you can let them dry a bit more thoroughly by placing them over a vent or leave them out on the table overnight.
- After they're dry, thread your needle and string them up! Take your needle in one side of the orange through the flesh and out the other edge. You can space the oranges however you like. You can make them go a long way by leaving pretty big spaces between the slices, but it also looks cute to place them right up against each other in a solid line.
- String them on your mantle, christmas tree, or with a pine garland on your stairs or over a doorway. You can simply hook an ornament hanger through the slice and use it as a christmas ornament. They also look super cute on packages, gift baskets, or hanging on stockings.
Have fun with them and let us know how you use them!
