New Year and the smell of citrus fruits are a favorite association with childhood!
This year my Christmas tree is dressed up in country style. In general, we decorated the Christmas tree with everything that came to hand. And, although oranges and tangerines were not even close to the village (at least in our latitudes), they are also a “harvest”. As my child joked, looking at the result: “it only lacks sausage, everything else is already there” :))
But there’s no way without handmade items, so I decided to make jewelry from citrus fruits:
Cut the orange, lemon and lime (it would be nice to also have grapefruit, but I didn’t have any) into thin slices. I cut the first batch 0.5 cm and threw the result in the trash. You need to cut into 2-3 mm slices, then when dried they do not lose color and turn out translucent. Place on baking paper, top with chili peppers and place in the oven overnight (temperature 60 degrees).
We got completely dry slices.
I painted the clothespins with acrylic and “aged” them with potassium permanganate:
The peppers turned out translucent :). We tie them to clothespins:
And here is the result:
For such a tree and balls you need villagers. To do this, I replaced the tinsel in the transparent balls with straw (I think it could be replaced with thick yarn, it should also turn out interesting).
And now it’s all for the Christmas tree!
Perhaps one of the most beautiful ways to decorate your home for the winter holidays is to bring natural beauty and coziness into it. The aroma of pine branches and cinnamon sticks, the citrus scent of oranges, a wreath of refreshing eucalyptus greeting you as you enter the house...
So today we're sharing an incredibly easy way to add a "natural" touch to your holiday decor by creating dried citrus garlands that exude a delicious, spicy aroma. And if you hang them on the windows, then dried oranges, letting in sunlight, will fill the room with warmth and bright orange light, serving as small “stained glass windows” - very beautiful.
How to do it?
Preparation: 5 minutes
Baking: 3 hours
We will need:
Oranges (we took 2 oranges for three garlands)
Sharp knife
Parchment paper or baking sheet
Baking tray
Twine
Preheat the oven to 150ºC. Place parchment paper or baking sheets on a baking sheet. While the oven is heating up, take a sharp knife and thinly slice the oranges: each piece should be no thicker than 3-4 mm. Then place the circles on a paper towel (it is also advisable to cover the top) to allow the excess juice to be absorbed.
Bake the oranges for approximately 3 hours until the slices are dry. Make sure nothing burns! To do this, do not forget to turn the oranges over during baking (that is, after about 1.5 hours).
Note: Another recipe recommends drying over low heat (140-160ºС) for 4-10 hours.
When our oranges are sufficiently dried, we begin to create a festive garland. To do this, you need to make two holes in the top of each circle. To avoid accidentally ruining the slice, you can take a sharp nail. Thread the thread through the holes, spacing the oranges evenly apart. When all the thread is full, make a knot at each end.
Ready! Now our garlands can be lovingly hung on windows or walls. If you use them as a decoration for a spruce tree, then these fragrant slices will play the same role as lanterns, absorbing the light of New Year's garlands. And they will look no less original on a chandelier.
Another option is to add dried apple rings, slices of lemon, grapefruit, lime (in fact, anyone has enough imagination here :)), pine cones, etc. on a string of oranges, then with such a garland you can surround a large beautiful candle on the holiday table. The view will be unique.
Orange candles and pomanders
On Yule you always want your home to smell delicious. This probably comes from childhood, when cookies were baked for the holidays, and from the street, having played enough snowballs, you could run into a warm cinnamon-ginger house.
ᅠᅠThere are a lot of options on how to bring the Yule spirit into your home, starting from, in fact, preparing cookies and aromatic oils and ending with the Christmas tree. Our favorite method for people who don’t have time to do anything is to find an orange and a clove at home in the chaos of work and preparation for the holiday and play fruit inquisitor.
Anyone who has cleaned citrus fruits in a room knows that households can come running from the corridors and kitchen to the smell. Orange, studded with cloves like in horror films, gives an equally strong aroma, and a little more tart.
ᅠᅠAll you need is the orange itself, a clove and a toothpick or knife (the skin of the orange will need to be pricked or cut, because sticking a dried bud into the thick side of the fruit is a tricky business).
ᅠᅠPrick an orange from pole to pole and insert cloves into the punctures. You can do it beautifully: cut strips in the sandpaper parallel to the lines and thread ribbons through them. Tie a loop and hang it on the Christmas tree, windows or any other place where your favorite cat’s paws cannot reach.
ᅠᅠWell, my favorite method is to make orange candles when you have 20 minutes free. You can dilute the action with warm socks, your favorite cat and a glass of mulled wine.
Let's take:
ᅠᅠ a couple of oranges,
ᅠᅠ cloves,
ᅠᅠ knife,
ᅠᅠ a round spoon (or just a tea spoon, but you’ll have to tinker)
ᅠᅠ a plate for the pulp,
ᅠᅠ paraffin (shards or a candle with a wick),
ᅠᅠ wick (if you take a candle for remelting, then use the one that is already inserted into it),
ᅠᅠ pencil.
ᅠᅠ1. We put on warm socks, turn on our favorite movie, pet the cat prophylactically (our hands will be covered in juice later) and cut off the top of the orange with a knife.
ᅠᅠ2. Scoop out the pulp with a spoon and you can eat it as you go. :3
ᅠᅠ3. We break the candle, take out the wick, it will come in handy.
ᅠᅠ4. We cut the wick into the required quantity/length, tie it to a pencil, place the pencil exactly in the middle of the opened orange, the tip of the wick should reach the bottom.
ᅠᅠ5. In a water bath, carefully (very carefully) melt the paraffin and no less carefully pour it into the orange.
ᅠᅠ6. Let it harden.
ᅠᅠ7. We decorate the edges of the orange with cloves.
ᅠᅠIf you are lazy about fiddling around, you can simply cut off the lid, “dig” a hole in the orange and put an ordinary tea candle there. As it flares up, it will heat the orange and cloves. The smell will linger wonderful.
Witch balls:: DIY homemade amulets
Traditionally, a shiny gold or silver ball should be hung above the windows so that, sparkling with its mirrored sides, it will drive away evil and negativity from you and your home. ᅠᅠJust remember to wipe it from dust so as not to get the opposite effect.
ᅠᅠHowever, colored or transparent witch balls were also popular, so don’t limit yourself.
:: MANUFACTURING::
ᅠᅠ
ᅠᅠTo make such a talisman, you will need:
- clear balls (best)/colored/gold or silver Christmas tree balls, not sealed and with a mount for hanging
- filling depending on your purpose: herbs, essential oils and stones
- acrylic gold or silver paint (optional if your balloon is clear but you want to paint it)
- wax candle
- Smudging: juniper, frankincense or wormwood
ᅠᅠIf you want to hide the contents of the ball from prying eyes (which is not necessary), then slightly dissolve (!) acrylic paint with water to dilute the thickness of the consistency, drop a few drops inside and shake well so that the paint is distributed throughout the entire ball. Let dry.
ᅠᅠFor the lazy: the same thing, just paint it with a brush.
:: FILLING::
ᅠᅠFill your balloon depending on what you are making it for.
- For love and well-being on this front, rose petals, rose quartz tumbling or pink tourmaline and a few drops of lavender or rose essential oil will do the trick.
- To protect against negativity, use salt and smoky quartz tumbling. Morion, wormwood, juniper or white sage are also suitable. Essential oils can be used the same as herbs: juniper, wormwood. Frankincense works well. Please note that essential oils must be natural.
- For prosperity and well-being, citrine and pyrite, sage and cinnamon (and/or their essential oils) are suitable. However, nutmeg will also be good
- For success in studying or learning new things, do not forget rosemary (and/or its essential oil) and amestist or rock crystal.
- To improve health, use jasper and mistletoe.
ᅠᅠWhen filling the witch ball, concentrate on what exactly you are doing and why. If you think it necessary, read the plot. But the main thing is to create a talisman with confidence and peace inside.
ᅠᅠWhen you finish filling it, put the “lid” on it, light a candle and drip wax into the joint, sealing the ball.
ᅠᅠ Light incense, juniper, white sage or wormwood on the incense burner and pass the finished ball through the smoke.
ᅠᅠThat's it, you can hang it.
:: Location on the Christmas tree or at home::
- The more desirable and priority the goal, the higher we hang the ball.
- Another distribution option: we hang balls of knowledge and love closer to the top of the tree, balls of protection and prosperity - in the middle.
- You can also hang love balls above the bed, prosperity - above the workplace, protection - above the windows or door, health - in the kitchen or in the room of someone who will need this health.
ᅠᅠIf you use them not for the Christmas tree, but for ritual purposes, then store the ball on the altar until the desired fulfillment, after which it must be buried away from crowded places and water.
Citrus fruits for preparing dried oranges for the Christmas tree must be without damage (there should be no marks from blows, cracks, or signs of frostbite on the peel). You can take not only oranges, but also other citrus fruits, for example, grapefruit, lemon, lime.
Citrus fruits need to be washed very well to get rid of dust, dirt and possible wax deposits. Wipe dry.
Using a sharp knife, cut the oranges into thin slices. The thickness should be approximately 0.3-0.4 cm, but not more than 0.5 cm, otherwise they will take a very long time to dry in the oven. Try to cut the oranges so that all the segments are the same throughout, because the thin edge will dry out and start to burn faster, while the thick edge will remain moist.
Now you need to blot the orange slices with paper towels or napkins to remove as much juice as possible. To do this, cover a cutting board with several layers of paper towels, lay out orange circles in an even layer, cover with another layer of towels and press lightly with your palm so that excess moisture is absorbed into them.
Place the baking sheet in an oven previously preheated to 70-80 degrees to dry for 4-6 hours. The drying time for oranges will depend on the thickness of the fruit itself and the characteristics of your oven. I dried my oranges for 4.5 hours in a gas oven. To achieve a temperature of 70-80 degrees, you can insert a wooden spatula with the oven door slightly open.
Every hour you need to turn the citrus slices over so that they dry evenly.
If the smaller circles on the baking sheet are already completely ready, they can be removed from the oven: carefully separate them from the paper and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Cool the finished dried oranges completely on a baking sheet or wire rack.
You can make fragrant decorations from these dried oranges by attaching a bay leaf and a cinnamon stick to them. This bunch will fill the room with spicy aromas.
If you want to preserve dried oranges longer and use them as an addition to dishes, then store them in a tightly closed jar. It is enough to grind dried oranges in a coffee grinder or blender and add them to fish and meat dishes, and also use them to make cocktails and add them to baked goods.
Moms and dads know that the New Year must certainly smell like oranges, tangerines and... cinnamon. Grandparents will definitely add Olivier with champagne to the list of New Year's scents, but we will not use this for New Year's decor. We will create beautiful Christmas decorations from citrus fruits and create pleasant aromatic memories of childhood.
Preparing for the New Year 2019 should not turn into an endless race with the goal of fulfilling all the points that are included in your child’s letter to Santa Claus. Is it true. There are many wonderful ways to make a child happy. A gift is just one of these ways.
When all, all wishes come true, it’s good, but gradually MIRACLES created by the hands of parents or Santa Claus still begin to be taken for granted, for granted. But if you teach your child to rejoice not only when he receives, but also when he creates and gives, then consider that you will give him more chances for happiness in the future.
So making wonderful New Year's decorations from citrus fruits can be such a step towards enjoying creativity and the opportunity to please your loved ones with a handmade gift! And also... this wonderful aroma!
Just imagine: it gives a child great pleasure to do something with his parents, this wonderful evening smells of oranges, tangerines, cloves and cinnamon - 20 years and 30 years pass, but every time, inhaling the aroma of citrus fruits, your child (already grown) will experience a rush positive emotions, return to childhood and draw strength from the source that FAMILY once opened for him!
Gift ideas
- A bag of assorted fruits and spices for decorating them
- Books about the New Year: Andreas H. Schmachtl “The Adventures of Julius Dandelion. Save the New Year”, Clement Clarke Moore “New Year’s Eve. A Mouse Tale”, E. T. Hoffman “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”.
- A new set of children's dishes, cutlery or a bright sippy cup.
Assignment for parents
Organize an evening of scents. Show your child what cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg look like. Decide together what decorations you will make for the New Year. You can rehearse today: then, on the eve of the holiday, creating decorations for the New Year 2019 with your own hands will not take you much time.
Assignment for a child
Together with your mother, read the poem “Orange” by L.V. Zubkov. Isn't sharing great?
We shared an orange.
There are many of us
And he is alone.
This slice is for the hedgehog.
This slice is for the swift.
This slice is for ducklings.
This slice is for kittens.
This slice is for the beaver
And for the wolf - the peel.
He is angry with us - trouble;
Run away - in all directions!
Which neighbor would you like to treat to a delicious orange or chocolate Santa Claus? How about the lonely grandma on the second floor?
Christmas tree decorations made from citrus fruits
To make Christmas decorations from orange slices, you first need to dry them.
Cut the orange into slices 2 mm thick and place them in the oven on a baking sheet with a stainless mesh (not a regular one, otherwise they may burn). Dry the citruses in the oven for 3 hours at 120°C. Cool and use for New Year's decor!
For decoration you will need:
- dried orange slices
- carnation
- ribbon or rubber band
Source: ourlittlehouseinthecountry.com
After you have dried the orange slices, all that remains is little to do. Take a clove and decorate it in a circle around the middle of each citrus circle. Did you feel the aroma? Soon he will delight you right up to the New Year!
Now you just need to stretch the beautiful ribbon through the small hole in the slice and hang it on the Christmas tree!
Source: ourlittlehouseinthecountry.com
Citrus decorations made from peels will look no less beautiful on the Christmas tree!
To do this you will need:
- orange, lemon or tangerine
- iron cookie cutter
- stationery knife
- thread
Source: instagram @happy._.pappy
Process:
- Peel the citrus so that the peel remains as intact as possible. Straighten and trim it so that it lies flat on the table.
- Using a cookie cutter, press the shape of a Christmas tree, star, etc. into the peel.
- Trim the area around the hole from the cutout with a stationery knife so that it is several centimeters larger in diameter than the cut out figure.
- Insert the cut out shape into the picture with the reverse, soft side.
- Stretch a string on top of the toy and hang it on the Christmas tree!
Citrus garland
For such a garland you will need:
- dried orange slices
- whole dried oranges
- cinnamon sticks
- tapes
- thread
Source: saga.co.uk
We have already told you above how to dry citrus fruits for decoration (in circles), but in general, oranges are dried according to the same principle. Only on fresh fruit you need to make many longitudinal cuts, as shown in the picture, and put in the oven for 2-3 hours.
To create a garland, alternately string whole dried oranges and citrus slices, tie cinnamon sticks and ribbons in contrasting colors!
Source: saga.co.uk
You can also create a simple but cute orange peel garland. Using Christmas cookie cutters, squeeze out stars or Christmas trees, dry them in the oven and string them on a thread!
Source: instagram @mamavkurse
Together with your baby, make an eco-garland for your home from citrus flowers!
For it you will need:
- wooden stick
- rain
- thread
- beads
- bumps
- orange peels
Source: krokotak.com
Process:
Orange Christmas tree
A small Christmas tree made of orange circles can be a wonderful decoration for the New Year's table!
For it you will need:
- dried orange slices
- wooden rods
- orange peel
- small pot or bucket
Source: Instagram @all4mammy
Process:
- String the orange rings onto a stick, and place a star made of dried peel on top of it using a glue gun or super glue.
- How to strengthen a craft in a pot: there are many options - you can make salt dough or other modeling mass, compact it into the pot and insert sticks. You can pour sand and stick twigs in the same way. Well, the most durable way is to use alabaster (can be purchased at a hardware store).
- After you have strengthened the Christmas tree, put some wood shavings, cotton wool or sprinkle its base with artificial snow.
Another very beautiful decoration for the holiday table can be made from fresh oranges!
For the Christmas tree you will need:
- oranges
- gvorzika
- foam cone
- live spruce branches
- toothpicks
