Homemade dried orange garland 

Here’s an easy step-by-step tutorial on how to make this beautiful homemade dried orange garland.

Decorating with dried oranges seems to be such a trend this year.  I can see why, the beautiful color, and natural look are perfect for simple Christmas decorating.  So I decided to jump on the trend by creating a homemade dried orange garland.

I have always loved homemade decorations and these dried orange garlands were a super easy project to do for Christmas.  

This garland is really simple to make but it does require time.  You would have to do this on a day that you will be home at least for four hours.

What you would need to make this dried orange garland

Oranges– I used 5 navel oranges.  

Baking sheets – I used two large baking sheets to fit all the orange slices 

Paper towels– You can use a paper towel or dish towel to remove the excess juice. 

Sharp knife or Mandolin –  I used a sharp knife to slice the oranges. My mandolin would’ve worked perfectly.  

Parchment paper– I used parchment paper to line the baking sheets 

Ribbon, twine, or yarn– I used red ribbon to string the oranges but you can use whatever type of string will go with your decor.   

Skewer or needle –skewer or needle to make a hole to string the ribbon through.  

How to make a dried orange garland

Preheat oven–  turn on the oven to 175F.  You don’t want it to be too hot because they will brown too quickly and they won’t dry out properly.  Trust me I did it and they turned brown and they didn’t look very nice.  The juices will evaporate well at a low temperature for a longer time.  

Slice the orange– I cut the oranges in thin slices around 1/8 inch thick. Thinner oranges will be more translucent.  

Remove excess juice- I laid out the orange slices on a paper towel or you can use a kitchen towel. Press down and pat dry to remove excess juice from the slices.   

If you don’t remove the juices from the orange it will take so much longer for it to dehydrate.  This step helps to speed up the process.  

Place them on the baking sheet- first line the baking sheet with parchment paper.  Then lay the orange slices in an even layer making sure not to overlap. 

Bake– I baked the slices for 4 hours and flipped them over halfway through.  If your slices are thicker they may need longer baking time.  Make sure they are completely dry to prevent attracting bugs or rotting.  

Cool the orange slices-once they are well dehydrated, take them out of the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet.  

Once cooled, poke a hole at the top of the orange slice to make way for the string to go through.  

At this point, there’s so much you can do with these beautiful dried orange slices. 

Where to use orange garland

I strung the orange slices and attached them to our garland on the banister.  Space the slices to your desired distance. 

You can decorate your Christmas tree with strings of these homemade dried orange garlands. Make your gifts beautiful by decorating them with orange slices, also elevate your holiday wreath.

You can incorporate these dried orange slices in your table centerpiece.  

String it in a swag by itself or attach it to an evergreen garland on a mantle.  

You can see some of my other deocrations from past years here.

Thank you for stopping by!