Dried Orange Wheel Christmas Decorations

Dried Orange Wheel Christmas Decorations

Ever wanted to make dried orange wheel Christmas decorations? I've wanted to create these little Christmas DIY decorations for a couple of years now and finally I've done it. It's been one of the pre-Christmas activities that I've enjoyed the most this year, so I wanted to share the process with you all. They look amazing, add a fresh citrus fragrance to your home and satisfy the creative urge that often hits around this time of the year. All in all, a perfect family activity and Christmas decor idea.

I'll explain how to make dried orange wheel decorations, what you can do with them and my own photos of the process including hanging them on our Christmas tree this year. 

Christmas Preparations

As you may know I made a semi-permanent move to France earlier this year. I've spent the last part of this year in our tiny farming village at our home overseeing some minor building works as well as settling in and making some changes to the interior. The kitchen make-over was started, and our children's rooms have been redecorated so that their bedrooms can be used as guest rooms. 

After spending some time alone at our French home, my family visited and we enjoyed spending time together again after being separated for months. We all then went to London to enjoy the lead up to Christmas with some shopping, Christmas light spotting across the city and nights spent iceskating and enjoying the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park (which you may have seen over on Instagram).

I'm now writing to you from Australia where I have returned to spend Christmas and some time into early 2023, to support my parents through the emotional transition of my father being placed in a dementia aged care nursing home. As well as helping my parents, our family will take a holiday cruising the coastline of Australia in early 2023 before I return to France.

My Christmas Themes This Year

This year I started decorating my French home with a simple red and green theme. I put garlands with pinecones and tiny fairy lights on the fireplace mantel and hung a cute red and white gingham advent calendar. Unfortunately, I did not finish decorating the house before I flew back to Australia. For our lake house in Australia I've decorated minimally in a white theme with ivy and orange wheels.

After wanting to make dried orange wheel decorations for some time, I eventually made them this year. I am truly hooked on this homemade and simple decorating idea. Fresh, environmentally low-impact and fun to make, I'll definitely make more next year.  As a bonus the house had a citrus fragrance that remained for a few days even after baking and hanging the wheels on the tree. 

How to Make Dried Orange Wheel Decorations

• Choose oranges depending on the size of the dried wheels you'd like. I chose small oranges as I think this size works better handing on the tree, in wreaths or on mantle displays. 
• Using a sharp knife slice the oranges crosswise into 8-10mm slices. 
• Line a baking tray with foil or baking paper and then place a wire rack on the baking tray over the foil or paper. This will ensure that any juices will not drip or burn on the baking tray.
• Arrange the orange slices in a single layer on the wire rack. This will ensure that the air can circulate around the slices.
• Bake at 100 degrees for around 4-5 hours.
• Let the slices cool.

To Use Dried Orange Wheels as Christmas Tree Decorations

To use as a Christmas tree decoration: 

• Poke a hole through a dried orange segment or in the centre of the wheel. I used the handle of a small watercolour paint brush that I had handy. A knitting needle, cake test skewer or bamboo kebab stick would work well too.
• Thread twine or ribbon through the hole and make a knot.
• Hang on your Christmas tree.

Other Uses for Dried Orange Wheels

• Use your slices to decorate a wreath for your front door.
• Make napkin rings with a dried orange wheel, twig of rosemary and cinnamon stick. Tie these together with twine or ribbon around a napkin.
• Add slices to your mantle display or staircase garlands.
• Use dried orange wheels to decorate cocktails.
• Add dried orange wheels to the top of frosted cakes or cupcakes.
• Decorate gifts with orange wheels. Thread ribbon or twine through the slice and tie to your gift ribbon.
• Use a strong all-purpose glue and stick a dried orange slice onto a handmade or purchased gift tag.  

So as you can see, these dried orange wheels are simple to create and a great homemade alternative for decorating your Christmas tree or using around your home. And why stop at orange wheels? I think limes or lemons would make great dried slices too.

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Save to read again and make your own Dried Orange Wheels