Goodbye, Glass Bulbs: Ring In The New Year With This Fresh & Aromatic Holiday Trend

If you're a fan of classic holiday decor, glass bulb ornaments have likely played a big role in your winter holiday decorating efforts. On the one hand, they're exquisitely made, versatile, and often brightly painted. On the other hand, at least some of them have probably been scratched up, if not broken between last year's holidays and this one. For many decorating enthusiasts, such eventualities may inspire a decorating makeover — one that's more affordable and eco-friendly. This year's trend replaces the classic glass bulbs with something that's both nostalgic and sweet: decorations made from dried, sliced citrus.

Naturally sourced and handmade items are some of the best ways to enjoy holiday home decor that's both affordable and adorable. What makes decorating for the holidays with sliced citrus fruits so appealing is their flexibility as a raw material. Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, and blood oranges all lend unique colors. In their simplest form, sliced citrus can be dried and tied to the boughs of your holiday tree with small pieces of twine. More elaborate incarnations of this idea include garlands for a hallway or stair banister made from sliced oranges. And people who really want to give them a bit of a lift add other natural elements like pine cones or pine boughs, cloves, or dried berries to the mix.

Aside from this, dried orange ornaments are simple to make. They require enough fruit slices to fill the tree or make the garland. Keep in mind, the slices will shrink as they dry, so you may need more than you think. The fruits should be cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick, put on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and dehydrated in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit until they're firm and dry. Punch a hole in the top, and they're ready to hang on the tree or make easy and sustainable holiday garlands.

Replacing the glass bulb ornaments on a tree may be the first thing that comes to mind when you're adding sliced citrus to your holiday decorating scheme. They can catch the light in much the same way. However, this just scratches the surface of where you can use dried orange slices in your winter holiday decor. They're good for just about every decorating task you can imagine, and they have appeal as a decorative item beyond what a glass bulb might, which makes them suitable for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and beyond.

Let's start with the holiday wreath. At Thanksgiving, pumpkin wreaths maybe all the rage, but was you transition into Christmas or New Year's, replace the pumpkins with dried orange slices and other citrus fruits to make an impactful (and deliciously-scented) winter holiday wreath. It's a cheap decoration that can be made from a basic wreath or wreath frame, some dried citrus slices, ribbon, and other details to make the winter wreath as fancy or as simple as your tastes dictate.

Alternatively, bind together some evergreens and flowers and then add your dried orange or lemon slices to build miniature bouquets, which can be used as package toppers for your New Year's Eve party favors. They'd also look pretty as embellishments for a dinner party centerpiece made from fresh clementine oranges, eucalyptus leaves, and other natural details. Augment the citrus vibes at the table by burning some scented candles, and enjoy as light bounces off the little orange rings. Or ditch candles altogether with a few sustainable alternatives for a seasonal home aroma.