Christmas crafts: Festive garlands

Here's how to make a natural and festive Christmas garland at home

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December 2nd, 2018 at 10:27 am

This simple homemade Christmas garland is easy to make but effective, and uses natural, sustainable materials. Here’s how you can make Karoline Jönsson’s festive garland

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I decorate the house for Christmas by making garlands out of everything, such as spruce cuttings, pine cones, dried orange slices and even fresh apple slices that are left to dry hanging from the ceiling, says Karoline.

If you eat a lot of citrus fruit in the winter, you can cut out stars or other shapes from the leftover peel, then use a needle and red thread to pierce through the peel and string them all together.

The dried orange slices almost look like old stained-glass church windows when the light shines through them.

You Will Need

Citrus fruit, oranges, lemons, limes or blood oranges look festive
A sharp knife
Decorative string

Step 1

You make them simply by slicing a citrus fruit of your choice into thin, round slices (orange is the most classic choice, but lemon, lime, blood orange or even grapes are also decorative).

Cut orange peel into shapes to thread on string to make a fragrant Christmas garland – Image © Getty Images

Step 2

Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and dry in the oven at 50°C/122°F for a couple of hours, or dry in a dehydrator.

Step 3

You should ideally turn the slices over a couple of times during drying so that they keep their flat shape.

Step 4

It’s also a good idea to open the oven door from time to time to release any steam. When dried, all you have to do is thread them on to a length of pretty string to make a festive garland.