Yule Pomanders!

[Deerstep]

Despite the name, has absolutely nothing to do with pomegranates.

Pomanders are extremely simple decorations that can be adapted to any religion. I honestly have no idea where they came from, but they sure are fun to make. And all they take is a trip to the grocery store.

You need;
Oranges or Tangerines
LOTS of whole cloves
Sticks of cinnamon. Make sure these are wider than the orange/tangerine you're using!
A pencil
string
Somewhere in dire need of something that smells awesome.

1) Take your pencil and draw your design. Be creative. The only catch is that you have to put in a lot of linework. Make sure that there are no spaces wider than your pinky nail on any given part of the orange. Don't pierce anything, you don't want to break the orange skin yet.
2) Take the tip of your pencil and poke in the lines. Make the spaces nice and wide for now. These are just guide lines.
3) Take your whole cloves and insert them stem first into the holes you've made.
4) Start inserting cloves along the lines so that each clove touches one another. If you make a hole, fill it with a clove. Repeat steps two and three until all the lines you've drawn are studded with cloves.
5) Use your pencil to drill a hole through the orange. MAKE SURE IT'S STRAIGHT!
6) Insert your cinnamon stick through the hole.
7) Create a loop on each end of the string. Attach it to both ends of your cinnamon stick.
8) Hang it. Anywhere you want.

If you get really good at these (and have access to a lot of cloves) you can make an entire Yule/Xmas Tree ensemble made entirely out of pomanders! They smell amazing, and are biodegradable/compostable, so you don't have to feel bad about buying plastic ornaments that will end up in a landfill, or glass ornaments that will end up in someone's foot and then in a landfill.

The volatile oils in the cloves are the key to making these work. Ordinary oranges/tangerines aren't exactly famous for their long shelf life. But, the compounds in the cloves, combined with the drying process, can preserve these pomanders for YEARS (depending on your climate) if you use enough. The oranges will shrink and dry out as they cure, and eventually the cloves will start sticking out like tiny hedgehog quills. Personally, I think this is kind of cute. If you didn't do it right, you'll just end up with a fruit fly circus. But, they're still fun to make!

BB, and enjoy the aroma!

[lapislazuli16]

I love these! I used to make them when I was a little girl! I thought they were to celebrate the return of the sun and sun god, but I could be wrong. They are super fun though and smell really good!

[SnowCat]

I remember making those more than fifty years ago.

Snow