Do you enjoy using oranges during fall and especially Christmas? So today I’m sharing one of my favorite ways to add natural Christmas decor to the home with a simple dried orange garland.

It adds an old world look to our home, especially during Christmas time. It’s an easy project and a great activity and will be so much fun for the entire family.

Also, I will be sharing a lesson learned too so you will not have the same issue.

Last Christmas I made this DIY dried orange garland and plan on making a new garland this year as well. This is such a simple garland and drying oranges is especially the perfect Christmas decoration.

Lessons Learned About Adding Real Chestnuts

Mistake Using Real Chestnuts

Before I share how to make dried orange slice garland, I’d like to share one thing I learned not to do.  

Now, last year I did add whole chestnuts to this craft. I did this because I adore chestnuts, however, for some reason I forgot they wouldn’t last the entire season because of the heat in the house.

And this made them get fuzzy and it wasn’t pretty and it is an error I will never make again.

See bloggers even make mistakes too and this is slightly embarrassing since I have grown up having chestnuts around my entire life.

So, because they didn’t last on this holiday decoration I suggest using other natural elements. As whole walnuts in the shell, ribbon, wooden beads, sprigs of rosemary, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, whole dried navel oranges, or using these fake chestnuts will be a beautiful addition. 

How to Add Extra Embellishments to the Dried Fruit

Step 1: Adding Walnuts in the Shell

Now back to our project, using whole walnuts is an easy way to add a rustic element to citrus garlands. Drill a small hole through either end of the shell and string the walnut with the fishing line.

By the way, leave these natural or paint them silver or gold to add interest to the dried fruit, especially for the holidays.

Also, when making this, I also dried red and green apple slices. I particularly, like using red delicious apples because of their deep red color which is the easiest way to add a red accent to this Christmas craft.

Incidentally, to dry the apples use the same process I use for drying citrus slices. I share everything needed for this process, including how to slice oranges, large baking sheets, and line cookie sheets, doing this on low heat for the drying process.

I suggest buying the fruit in bags instead of individually, as it’s much more budget-friendly.

Putting the Dried Fruit Together to get the Spacing Correct

Step 2: Putting The Fruit Together

After drying all your fruit I suggest trying a dry run as we did for your dehydrated fruit. This is a great way to make sure the size is correct for the top of our cabinet. This is also the perfect way to see if you need to change the spacing of the dried citrus.

In the above picture, I also began getting my stacks and the number of slices I wanted in each section. This helps keep the fruit uniform as well as snug.

String the Dried Fruit and Nuts Together for This Easy Project

Step 3: String the Pieces Together for This Easy Idea

Next, thread a sewing needle with a clear fishing line and begin stringing the dried orange slices and apples to make your garland. Stringing doesn’t take a long time.

When you are finished tie a knot and hang it to enjoy the fragrance of your simple dried orange garland for the entire season.

Here’s another tip, after Christmas take the dried oranges and use them the following year. In fact, I have dried slices for a few years now and they’re perfect. I suggest storing the pieces in a brown bag in a cool place such as the basement.

The apples and the whole oranges unfortunately don’t last.

By the way, if you don’t want to take the time to make your own dried orange garland you can buy one inexpensively at this Etsy shop.

Displaying Finished Dried Orange Garland

Step 4: Displaying Finished the Garland

Finally, displaying your finished piece is the fun part. Add this to the top of a hutch as I did. Also, this will look pretty on a long shelf or laying on greens displayed on your mantel.

I’m already thinking about how I want our dried orange garland to look this holiday season.

Incidentally, I share a dried orange wreath with easy steps to follow in a tutorial you may enjoy making as well!

I hope this inspires you to make a dried orange garland for your Christmas. If you do I’d love to hear your plans.

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