If you have time, what could be better than making your own decoration? Personally, I notice that every year, I want more and more to have responsible home decorations. If you are of the same opinion and in the same spirit, I suggest you discover the oranges which will be the protagonists in the manufacture of your future Christmas decoration.

Make beautiful, responsible decorations with orange slices

For your responsible decoration, you can use slices or whole oranges, which we will see at the end of our zero waste DIY article. We start with the most common technique and in particular dried orange slices which can be used to make garlands, to decorate your table or any other kind of decoration. To begin, we will familiarize ourselves with the drying methods that you can also use for grapefruit or lemons.

You don’t need to remove the seeds or skin for drying, it gives additional charm. Simply cut them into thin, uniform slices whenever possible.

You can even use this slice in your tea

In the oven

The thinner the slices, the quicker they will dry. So, preheat your oven to 100 degrees, you can place your slices on the rack without them touching each other. Before putting them in the oven, use absorbent paper to extract the moisture. The duration depends on the power of your oven, but approximately you need between 1 and 2 hours, or even 3. Don’t forget to turn them from time to time. Watch them, because if you leave them too long, there is a risk that they will turn black. If you have a food dehydrator, you can use that too. However, the process will take longer.

Remember to constantly monitor them

Outdoors

Dehydrating fruit can take a few days; it is important to let them dry in a room with dry, cool air. You can hang them or simply place them on a rack and place them near a heat source, such as air conditioning. The process can take a few days depending on the humidity level and the amount of water in each orange. To store them, once the slices have dried, put them in a tightly closed jar. FYI, you can keep them for between 6 and 8 months.

It is important to monitor the humidity of the place where you are drying them

In the microwave

Finally, for those who don’t have time, you can use your microwave for this delicate task. Place the slices on a plate covered with absorbent paper and cover them with more paper. Then activate the defrost mode for 6-7 minutes. Take them out by removing all the paper. Then put them back in the microwave without the paper for another 6 minutes.

In 12 minutes you can have dried oranges

How to make an orange garland?

Once you have your slices ready, you need to get creative, but we’re here to give you a helping hand. The easiest thing is to make a garland that can adorn your window. Make yourself a cup of tea or mulled wine and let’s go.

To do this, you will need a string that will pass either just through the water or through both ends of the washer. To internalize, you can use a few wooden beads. Fir branches, dried flowers or cinnamon sticks will be great for making a natural garland. And to avoid wasting anything with the remaining little slices that aren’t super pretty, you can make a potpourri. Or, if you like this natural spirit, you can make decorations for the tree.

The pine cones contrast wonderfully with the orange slices

Whole orange decoration for Christmas?

You can invite citrus fruits into your Christmas decoration even more easily. Prepare whole oranges by decorating them with cloves. You can put them in the center of your table to bring color and a pleasant smell that warms hearts. Instead of explaining to you, I preferred to create a photo gallery so that you have more inspiration. You can mix a few techniques very well.

You can use other natural elements for your decoration

Use the middle hole of the orange to avoid drilling them

Orange stands out very well when combined with green

Wreaths with dried orange slices