How to Make a Citrus Christmas Garland

And Decorate With it!

Today I want to show you how to make and decorate using my version of this easy and beautiful citrus Christmas garland. Nature can sometimes provide us with all we need for the prettiest decor. And not only that but nature will make your home smell so good! My take on this garland features items from your pantry and all the best Christmas smells from the garden.

This citrus garland is inexpensive to make and has the natural look I love in Christmas Decorations. The citrus garland gives my Christmas decor a vintage feel. The rustic handmade vibe is perfect for our farmhouse. It sits well with my desire to use less plastic and create a more natural, sustainable Christmas.

This garland, and variations of it, has been all over Instagram the last couple of Christmases. I’ve been keen to try it out for myself but didn’t have time last year and it seems like it’s been ‘done it to death.’ I love the look. So I’m adding a twist with cedar and cinnamon sticks. The house will smell divine!

What You Need to Make a Citrus Christmas Garland

To make this version of the Citrus Christmas Garland

oranges. I bought a 3kg bag as it was on special. You can use any type of citrus including grapefruit, lemons and limes. How cool would a lime garland look?
cinnamon sticks.
fresh cedar sprigs or fresh rosemary sprigs. I used cedar because we have a plethora in the garden.
twine
scissors
a skewer to poke holes in the orange slices and possibly a large eyed needle to thread the twine through

What to Do

slice the citrus
Place on an oven rack on a lined tray. The lined tray is important as the juice comes out of the oranges and is very messy.
Set the oven to around 120 degrees celcius. Bake on LOW heat for hours and hours. A minimum of two hours is best but you will need to bake longer if your slices are thick. Turn fan-forced off if you have that function. I found the slices burnt if I used this. DO NOT make the mistake of putting the oven on too high a heat. I read one post and followed the instructions regarding heat settings. My first batch burnt to charcoal in an hour.
Turn the slices intermittently as they are cooking and swap the oven rack around from front to back. This will stop the slices burning
When the slices are cool string them on the twine. You can do this by poking holes and threading the twine through or by threading the needle and poking a hole as you go. I tied a knot as I threaded to the pieced would stay evenly spaced. I also added some volume to my garland by tying some pieces onto string so that they hung lower.

Decorate with the Citrus

Anywhere you can use a garland you can use this one. If you are hanging it on a tree try to hang it in front of your twinkle lights. That way the light shines through and highlights the segments in the orange.