Holiday DIY: Tangerine Pomanders

Ooh, Thanksgiving is just around the corner! The holiday where we relish in what we’re grateful for and those we love. We will be spending the post-Thanksgiving weekend finding the perfect Christmas tree and trimming it and thinking fondly of what each ornament and holiday treasure means to us. From glittering snow-capped ceramic village houses to ornaments we’ve both cherished since our childhoods {and last year!}, to our ornaments collected on our travels, each piece of holiday represents a wonderful memory.

We also look forward to making memories each seasons to add to our fun-filled collection. Pomanders are a sweet and sentimental way to put your own spin on an ages-old tradition. The word pomander is actually derived from a French term: pomme d’ambre, or an amber-dotted apple, a method of warding of bad scents, since the 1400s or so. They date back to Arabic uses and have morphed into a ball of cloves studded into citrus, popularized in Europe and Great Britain. Making citrus pomanders is not only a joy, but it fills the room with a heavenly scent and pomanders make for delightful hostess gifts {believe it or not, they can last for months and months!}.

You’ll need: tangerines {you can also use large oranges} | whole cloves | ribbon | corsage pins | 8″ of satin ribbon for each pomander

Insert the pointed side of cloves into the tangerine in whatever pattern you like {you can use a glove as they tend to be hard on the fingers}. We go with monograms, stripes, diamonds, and a single line.

 Fill in the holes, and there you have it. It’s such a simple project that the whole family can participate in.

 You can go a step further and make your pomanders into ones that suspend from a beautiful satin ribbon {trim the edges at an angle} that hangs from a crystal doorknob by using corsage pins to secure the loop. Making a garland of sorts and hanging dozens from your Christmas tree would make for such a classically festive sight!

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