Every year I decide on my new Christmas ‘theme’ and hunt high and low for the right decorations, as well as try my hand at making a few.  And the next year, I don’t like them anymore and I generally give them to the op shop. So this year on my quest for a more thoughtful Christmas I decided enough was enough.

After reading this article again in Kinfolk

“Instead of buying a bunch of meaningless ornaments just for the sake of having something to hang, let them accumulate over time so they have real stories and significance attached to them. In the meantime, adorn your home with more temporary accoutrements such as leafy satsumas, or fragrant oranges “

It resonated with me, and so I decided to do just that.

I used two oranges, cutting them around half a centimeter thick, nice and even. I then took a baking tray, lined it with grease proof paper (otherwise they stick like no bodies business) and popped the oranges on. With the oven at 120 degrees celsius, I put them in and waited. Mine seemed to dehydrate in around 2 hours. Make sure to turn them a few times or they will stick a little. I then used cotton thread and made a loop to hang them from. And that was it! Unbelievably easy.

So this year our tree holds copper lights, wooden nut crackers I bought in America the first year we were married, and dehydrated oranges.   Simple, but quite pretty really.

Until next time,