I started decorating the apartment for Christmas this weekend, which I know is early for some people but I like the idea of taking my time over the next couple of weeks to do it. One evening I might put up my miniature village, while another afternoon I’ll clean the windows and string up our wreaths. It breaks up the work and lets me take the time to enjoy each step, instead of rushing through to get it all decorated in time. I’ll be sharing little bits and pieces over the next couple of weeks and then do the final holiday home tour on Monday December 1st, which I hope you’ll stop by and see! For now, here is a little preview of one of the simple handmade decorations I was working on this weekend.
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In an effort to try to be more positive this year, that’s what I wanted our Christmas tree to focus on too. We’re decorating it with all things that we already had or could make by hand using things from the kitchen or pantry. We started working on the tree last night and I can honestly say that it’s one of my favourite trees ever. I’ll be sharing more if it soon.


I started by carefully slicing some oranges into 1/4″ thick slices with a sharp knife.


If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can do this in the oven too. Arrange the slices on a baking rack on top of a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. By putting them on the rack, you allow the air to get under them too. Set your oven to the lowest temperature (about 150°F) and bake them for about four hours, check them every hour. You want them to be dry to the touch and still have some of their orange colour. They’ll continue to dry more at room temperature.




Hang them in front of the lights and you’ll get a lovely stained glass effect!

For more decorating and project ideas, check out the Holiday Guide.
Love this idea!! The tree looks beautiful!
Oh my gosh I love this! We have an orange tree in our backyard and I always do the cloves in them for Christmas, but I never thought of making ornaments! Thank you for sharing, what a terrific idea!
Love this idea!
I made the orange-slice ornaments for our tree this year and they turned out great! Thanks for the idea!
Can you reuse these every year?
It they’re complete dry and you put them in a sealed container, they should last for a couple years.