I’ve seen all the posts online and on Pinterest and daydreamed about being that crafty mom. I’ll be honest, I’m not very “handmade crafty”. I have no patience for creating beautiful, handmade pieces. If it has something to do with drawing, that’s second nature for me. But creating pieces by hand that take any form of
following instructions, that I am not very good at. I mean, when I first heard about drying fruit for Christmas decor I thought to myself, oh of course! I will just leave them out on a sheet to let them air dry overnight. But what about the fruit flies?! I don’t know why I didn’t realize I just needed to stick them in the oven. That’s my mom brain at its best, ladies and gentlemen.
This would be an easy craft for the kids too. Much easier than our annual “paint your own ornament” craft. We typically procrastinate this craft because the kids have too much “fun” while doing it. I am one of those parents that believes kids ought to have freedom of creative expression. Even if this involves
paint getting everywhere but the ornament.
To make the garlands, you need:
Three large oranges sliced thinly.
One roll of twine.
Cinnamon sticks.
Fresh cranberries.
So, all you need to do is slice your oranges but take note: the thicker you slice the oranges, the longer you have to leave them in the oven. Place the sliced oranges on a lined pan- trust me, you won’t be happy with yourself if you don’t line the pan. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pan
on top rack for one hour (or until firm and without juice), flipping halfway through. The smell of oranges drying in the oven lingers for hours after they’re made.
Once out of the oven, cut an X in the middle of each orange slice to make the middle hole bigger. Then slide the twine through. I used a large needle to get the twine through the cranberries and tied the twine around the cinnamon sticks. It turned out beautiful!
If you tried this, share your experience with us below, or send an email to publisher@maturingmama.com to be featured in the January issue of our print magazine!
