I don’t know exactly when it started but I remember we used to make Orange Clove Pommanders as kids and recently I got a bee in my bonnet to make some again. They take a little time but overall are one of the easiest, best-smelling projects ever and the resulting little orange balls are great for giving as office Christmas gifts or hanging around the house as holiday aromatherapy.

The ingredients are simple: oranges and cloves (whole)

An individual clove. Just stick it into the orange's skin, pre-poking with a toothpick if necessary.

Make whatever pattern, or not, that you like.

I'm making stripes.

What you’ll need:

• Orange(s)
• Whole cloves
• Ribbon (optional)
• Toothpick (optional)

What to do:

In its most basic form you simply stick the cloves, pointy end first, into the skin of the orange. You do that over and over until you’ve covered most or all of the orange’s surface. The orange oil and cloves smell great together, and thanks to the clove’s antibacterial/antifungal properties the orange won’t mold or rot — after a month or so it will just shrivel a little and get dry and hard and you can throw it away.

Stick as many cloves into the orange as you want, covering the entire surface or making a pattern, keeping in mind that the more cloves the merrier for both the aroma and the anti-mold properties.

You can add ribbon or not, your choice (FYI this one isn't finished).

Leave the orange as is (a clove covered ball) and display it like you would potpourri in a bowl or basket.

I also added a random jewel embellishment that fell off a keychain awhile back.

Or add a bow and ribbon to make a pretty hanging ornament.