DIY Christmas Potpourri homemade gift and decorating ideas

Christmas is coming and it is time to decorate the house! Fir branches, fresh and dried citrus fruits and other treasures from nature are enough to create a Christmas atmosphere easily! Decorating with natural materials is not a new trend. However, every year more and more people prefer homemade decorations that are made from eco-friendly materials. There are hundreds of fresh and dried citrus fruit Christmas decoration ideas and we have selected some of the best ones for you. Just think about it – dried citrus slices - oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, clementines – can be used as material for almost any kind of festive decoration. Wreaths, garlands, window decor, fireplace and mantel decor, staircase decor, gift toppers – you name it! Fresh fruits are excellent for table centerpieces and they add their fresh aroma even if you simply pile them in a beautiful plate or bowl. The bright and vibrant color of fresh oranges, limes and lemons are beautifully complemented by other natural materials like pinecones, cinnamon sticks, twigs of evergreens, pieces of natural fabrics, etc. Fresh and Dried Citrus Fruit Christmas Decoration Adds Holiday Mood to the Home Winter is the season of citrus fruits. Once a luxury item found in a Christmas stocking, nowadays they are available all year round, but in most parts of the world they are associated with winter holidays. You can find mini mandarins, clementines, tangy tangerines, lemons, aromatic grapefruits, limes and as many say - winter is a cornucopia of citrus! Tangerines, clementines and oranges, like miniature suns, liven up cold winter days with their bright color. Citrus fruit Christmas decoration is not only fun to make. It is budget friendly and as we already said, environmentally friendly. There is no need to spend a fortune on festive decor. Nature offers enough materials that will allow us to create a warm and festive decoration. A sprig of pine, hazelnuts, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks and other spices will quickly give a Christmas air to your home. Here are some easy Christmas decorations ideas with fresh and dried citrus fruits! How to Dry Citrus Fruits for Christmas? Drying citrus fruits is not difficult at all. It does not require any knowledge, tools or special skills, but time. The drying process is quite long because the goal is to get even, beautiful pieces of fruit so that they do not shrink and do not look curled and darkened. To keep the structure of the slices and skin, moisture should be evaporated slowly. You need some fresh citrus fruits. Do not wash them before drying. You can wipe them off with a dry cloth if necessary. Then cut into slices. The thickness of the slices should be from 1/8 – 3/16 of an inch/0.3 to 0.6 cm. Thinner slices dry more quickly and their colors remain more vivid Lay out the slices apart on parchment paper and place them on a baking sheet. Turn on the oven on the lowest heat and leave to dry for 4.5 - 5 hours. It is necessary to open the oven door ajar from time to time to release moisture. Usually, it takes 2-3 hours for lemon and lime slices and up to 4 -5 hours for oranges and grapefruit. After 2 hours in the oven turn over the slices and return them into the oven until completely dry. Let your dried citrus slices cool, then store in an airtight container at room temperature. Make sure the slices are dry, otherwise they will grow mold in the container. Dried Citrus Fruit Christmas Decoration Ideas Once you dried and cooled your citrus slices you can use them to create fantastic Christmas decorations. You can fill a bowl with slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, pinecones, star anise, nuts, etc. You can thread ribbons or twine to make tree ornaments, you can make garlands for the banisters, windows or fireplace mantel. Quick and Easy DIY Dried Orange Slice Garland Materials: Dried Orange Slices Tqine Wood beads Needle Fresh greenery (eucalyptus, pine, rosemary sprigs), optional Instructions: Use a needle to put two holes at the top of each orange and thread twine through them, adding a wood bead between each. Add fresh greenery, if using. Cut string, make loops on the ends of each side and hang. DIY Cinnamon Himmeli and Dried Orange Garland Materials: Twisted twine jute Cinnamon sticks Dried orange slices Needle Directions: Make the himmeli: Thread a long piece of twine through your needle and pull the twine through three cinnamon sticks. Gather the first three sticks into a triangle and tie the twine tightly. Slide on two more cinnamon sticks. These will be the sides for your second triangle. Take your needle through the middle of the triangle you just made, pull and secure with another knot. Repeat until you’ve created five triangles, all tightly secured, then thread one more cinnamon stick on the end. Take the two ends of your string and tie them together. Secure with a firm knot. Repeat to make as many himmeli as you need. Assemble the garland: Make a small hole on either side of the dried orange slices and thread a piece of string in one hole and out the other side. Tie one end of the string to a himmeli and tie the other to the next himmeli in the garland. Repeat and finish with an orange slice and string on each end. How to Make Dried Citrus Slices Christmas Ornaments Materials: Dried orange slices Star anise (enough for all your slices) A sharp knife A needle Dark thread Instructions: Place star anise in the center of the oranges and use a brown or dark thread to attach them. Sew through the top of each orange to create a string to hang it with, and place it on your tree. DIY Christmas Citrus Wreath Materials: Dried orange slices 3 Mandarins Wood Sticks or Cinnamon sticks Twine Hot glue gun 14″ Grapewine Wreath 5 Pine Sprig Bushes Pine cones Instructions: Cut the mandarins in half and pull all the juicy mandarins out. Use an exacto knife and carefully cut slithers out making sure not to cut through each end. Dry mandarin rind the same way you dry oranges. Hot glue the wood sticks together and tie some twine around them. Either hot glue the pine sprigs on the wreath base or wrapthem around the wreath. Finally, hot glue all your orange slices and peels, wood stick ornaments and pine cones. Fresh and Dried Citrus Fruit Christmas Decoration - DIY Orange Peel Ornaments Materials: 1 large orange twine or ribbon 1-inch star (or other shape) cookie cutter metal pin Instructions: Peel the orange. Cut the peel into two to three pieces. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out shapes from the peel. With a metal pin or end of a knife, make holes in the top of each orange peel cutout. Cut twine or ribbon and thread it through the holes in the cutouts. Tie it to complete the ornament! DIY Christmas Potpourri Christmas potpourri are very easy to make. They will fill your home with amazing scents during the holidays and in addition, they are an excellent handmade gift for friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. You can make your potpourri in a jar or in a bag, whatever pleases you. You can combine a huge variety of ingredients and create a large number of combinations. Here is a short list: Dried citrus slices – orange, lemons, tangerines, etc. Dried apple or pear slices Dried cranberries Cinnamon sticks Cloves Star anise Bay leaves Cardamom pods Pinecones Pine twigs Candy canes All you need to do is get a clean jar or a cotton bag and fill it with fragrant spices, dried herbs and citrus or fruit slices. Tie a beautiful ribbon and a gift tag and you will have wonderful Christmas gifts! DIY Orange Pomander Balls Materials: Fresh Oranges Whole Cloves Black Marker Toothpick Decorative ribbon, optional Directions: Draw out your design or pattern with a marker. Poke holes with a toothpick and push the cloves into the orange. Tie a ribbon around the pomander and hang it on your Christmas tree. NB: Orange pomanders will last for a few days. If you want them to last loner, put them in the fridge at night. DIY Orange tea candle votives Materials: Fresh orange Cloves tea light Directions: Make a cut in the middle of the orange. Cut only through the peel. Widen the cut with a spoon. Take a spoon and pry the peel delicately. Always start taking of the peel from the half of the orange. Slide the spoon under the peel to separate it from the flesh. Twist the peel, it will easily go off the orange. Repeat with the other half. Take a cookie cutter and place it inside the peel. Push it slightly to fix its position. Turn the peel around, with a cookie cutter inside, and put it on a mug standing upside down. Push to cut the peel. Stick the cloves in the corners of the star. Place the tea light in the bottom part.