Pomanders: Historical Holiday Decorations

After reading this article from a local newspaper, I became excited about starting a new holiday tradition in our family of making pomanders.

After doing some research, I discovered that there are many different techniques for making pomanders. We decided to take the simple route this year and look forward to our pomanders becoming more and more intricate with each passing holiday season.

Materials

• oranges
• whole cloves
• ribbon
• small pins
• large nail

I started by tying ribbon around the orange and securing it in place with small pins.  Next, I showed the girls some pictures of pomanders from the web to inspire their work.  They started by using a large nail to poke holes in the oranges where they wanted to place the cloves.  We found that using a large nail enabled them to successfully put the whole cloves in place themselves, without needing my assistance. The girls started with smiling faces and then evolved into more detailed designs of lines and spirals.

While we were creating our pomanders we talked about how people have been making them for many, many years (see below for historical facts).  The girls love hearing about life in, “the olden days” and this activity helped them to feel connected to the importance of traditions both past and present.  Now, when we walk into our living room, we experience the amazing smell of evergreens, oranges and cloves: a scent that will bring back warm family memories for years to come.

Resources

• Pomanders: Golden Apples of the Sun
• History of Pomanders
• Pomanders by Martha Stewart
• Pomander Recipe by Recipezaar