DIY Christmas decoration!

 There is just something about the smell of oranges, can't explain it but it's just got a festive feel to it. Few years ago me and my mum attempted to make our own Christmas decoration piece for the centre of the table and orange and cinnamon just has that festive look and feel to it.

Naturally with it being me and my mum alone in the kitchen... we burned the oranges... however our further attempts went so much better and a few people have asked me how I do them, so why not share!

So you need, two large oranges (or more depending on how many bowls you're going to have)
Cinnamon sticks
Kitchen roll/towel
Oven on at 80C
Bowl and some form of Extra decoration

One of the baking trays ready to go!

Bowl prepped with candle and some festive decor!

They are super simple to make,  slice up the oranges into thin slices and lay them out on some kitchen towel to absorb any juice. I leave them to drain there for a while, and put an extra layer of towel on top to cover both sides.

Once most of the juices have drained, put them on a baking tray and put them in the oven on a low heat, around 80c, for around 2-3 hours. Keep checking around the end time to ensure they aren't still juicy and soft, if they are you just have to leave them in the oven a tad longer! They need to be dried out and firm.

Once they are ready you just take them out and leave them to cool before putting them in the bowl. So the house will now smell of oranges because of the baking and once in the bowl everyday you will get this great smell of oranges and cinnamon. Soooo good!

Nice and easy, once everything is baked properly I arrange them in the bowl, this changes most years, sometimes I have plain pine cones in the bowl or maybe some with "snow" or Glitter on them. This year Andi found this nice decoration on a rope with snowy logs, cranberries and teeny pine cones so that is the decor of choice for this year! 

You can also keep them in a plastic box or ziplock bag to keep them fresh for the next year, personally I love doing the baking every year because it's a little tradition to do that I get exited about.

Hope you enjoy and give it a try!

B x