xmas and yule are my favourite times of the year to celebrate. my family has always had a lot of lovely rituals (mostly food, music, and movie related) around christmas time, and now that i practice yule as well, it’s the cheeriest time of year for me and the one in which i put the most effort into celebrating. as much as i love samhain, i have yet to bring myself to decorating for it properly! yule’s different though - i always have a tree, the same ornaments (family heirlooms, gifted, made by friends…) go on it, stockings get hung on my mantel (gotta love having an old house), pictures and hangings get replaced with festive holiday ones for the season…it’s a good time. it’s basically always the same stuff that gets pulled out though, and sometimes you want to add something fresh into the line-up.

i try to reduce the amount of waste generated during this time of year (my family is notorious for reusing wrapping paper and ribbons for years, gift bags are always saved for regifting, and my brother has picked up my older habit of wrapping gifts in newspaper before it hits the recycling bin or the fire pit). you may or may not know my obsession with pinterest (it’s where i organize all my plans and collections and dreams), and for years now i’ve been collecting images of low-waste holiday decor. one of my favourites that i finally got around to this year was making citrus garlands!

they’re so bright and cheery and feel very appropriate for this time of year - despite the fact that our climate is too cold for citrus, it is prime growing season in other regions of the world so citrus is plentiful at this time of year (useful for keeping up with vitamin c intake during cold and flu season, alongside rose hips and apples). and let’s face it, i never get around to eating 5 whole grapefruits or 12 oranges before they start to get a little…mushy. i could, but i don’t. and while willow and yarrow end up stealing half of my clementines every time, there’s still an excess of citrus fruits in the house this time of year. so, time for some low-waste and low-cost decorating!

i used a dehydrator for my slices, but you can use an oven if you don’t have one. thinner slices are probably going to be your friend in that case, and low heat for a few hours is a must, so do this when you plan to be sticking around the house if you’re opting for the oven.

the basic steps are as follows:

slice your citrus relatively thinly (1/4” is about as thick as you want to get, use a mandolin if you have one or a sharp knife and careful attention otherwise)
lay your slices out (skip the very end pieces) on your dehydrator trays or on a cookie sheet
dry in the dehydrator according to the recommended settings or in the oven at low heat (200 F) for several hours, checking on them every half hour and turning them over until they’re bone dry (any moisture left in them risks mold)
take a thin needle and some embroidery thread and string your slices to make the length of garland you desire, tying knots to secure them in place and leaving gaps between each slice
hang up your garland and enjoy!

you don’t need to stick solely to citrus slices for your low-waste garlands! add in some cinnamon sticks, pinecones, pine or fir branches, or whatever other natural material feels like the holiday spirit to you! to reuse next year, store them carefully in a cardboard box (just in case a tiny bit of moisture is remaining so it doesn’t get moldy over the year). that’s it! this is a great activity to do with the whole family and you don’t need to be particularly crafty or skilled to do it. just be careful with those sharps knives while you’re slicing!

making: dried citrus garlands