Who else is more crafty now than before quarantine? As we are staying at home more than ever it’s nice to keep things festive and cheerful to lift our spirits. I wanted to use as least amount of plastic as possible decorating this holiday season. Traditional tree ornaments are not compostable or recyclable and sadly will head straight to the landfill to pollute our planet. As consumers we hold the power to choose what we buy and how we express our holiday festivities. 

While shopping for Christmas tree ornaments I realized most of the plastic decorations came from China which also requires long distance travel causing more fossil fuel to be used. So literally our choice to shop local cuts these environmental concerns significantly. Plus, you’ll be supporting local businesses and farmers this holiday season. How powerful are we when we use our money in an eco-conscious way. 

I decided to make my own this year starting with dried citrus fruit. 

Citrus for Christmas Decor

• Preheat your oven to 170 degrees
• Slice the oranges into 1/4 inch slices.
• Lay the slices on an oven safe rack, then place that rack on to a cooking sheet.  This will allow air to flow around the oranges as they bake. I set mine on the oven rack with baking pans under to catch any citrus drip. 
• Bake for 6 hours.  Turn the citrus slices over every hour or so.  The citrus slices should be pliable and should easily bend without cracking when they’re done.  Start checking them often around the 5 hour mark.