These homemade garlands are a great way to decorate your home in an eco-friendly way. And the smell of soft citrus filling the room as they bake brings all the Christmas feels. This is such an easy little decoration that brings your tree, gifts and table styling a beautiful wholesome touch.

You’ll need

4 oranges

A sharp knife

A clean, thin dish towel to absorb the juice

baking sheet

parchment paper

toothpick or skewer

string or twine

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 95C.

2. Cut the oranges into 5 mm slices.

3. Lay the orange slices on a clean, thin tea towel and press out any extra juice. This will save you some time on the baking step because you’re already doing some of the work and getting out excess juice.

4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and arrange them in a single, even layer. You don’t want any overlapping otherwise they won’t dehydrate evenly.

5. Bake according to thickness. For 5mm inch thickness, bake for 4 hours, flipping halfway through.

6. Allow the orange slices to cool on the baking sheet.

7. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke two holes in either side of the dried orange slice.

8. Use a piece of string or twine to string up the orange slices in a line.

9. Tie a loop at each end so you can easily hang the garland by looping it on a nail or branch.

10. String up your garland on your tree, as a table decoration or over doors.