Make a clove orange pomander

Making these traditional Christmas decorations with cloves and oranges is a great rainy day activity. 

Orange and clove pomander

What you need

  • an orange (or other citrus fruit such as a clementine or mandarin)
  • thin coloured ribbon (enough to wrap around your orange twice plus a little bit more)
  • cloves

How to make a clove orange pomander

  1. Wrap the ribbon around the orange, twisting it at the base, to divide the orange into quarters.
  2. Feed the ends under the piece of ribbon at the top of the orange.
  3. Tie a knot to secure the ribbon in place.
  4. Now start pressing cloves into your orange. We like to outline the ribbon with cloves first, and then fill in the gaps. You can also make patterns on your orange with the cloves.

When you've finished, hang the clove orange on your tree by tying it on with the extra ribbon.

Alternatively, decorate several oranges with cloves and display them in bowls around the house. They'll smell great and look lovely.

When Christmas is over you could hang your pomander in your wardrobe, to deter moths.

Thanks to Aprile C for the lovely photo.