Have you ever made orange
pomander balls? When I was younger, I had a wonderful elementary teacher who taught us the fine art of making them. Well, it’s not really a fine art. It’s actually pretty simple. All you need are whole cloves and citrus fruit (limes, oranges, or grapefruits work well).
If you Google orange pomander balls, there are tons of gorgeous designs! I wanted to sit in front of a fireplace and quietly make some beauties of my own. But we don’t have a fireplace. And it’s nearly 70 degrees today. And (on top of that), I have a toddler and infant. So sitting around crafting and creating beautiful art with oranges and cloves is NOT a likely scenario. I tried to get my son Cannon to take part in the process, but sticking cloves through the orange’s skin was too tough a task for a 19 month old. I was not deterred though and devised another way for him to help.
I cut an orange in half and let it sit out for just enough time to become slightly firm on top (you can skip this step, but I found it cuts down on juices squirting everywhere when stuck with the cloves). Then I just set out the cloves and let my son stick them in the soft fruity part of the orange. This was so much easier for him!
He kept smelling the cloves. Then smelling the orange. Then smelling the cloves after they were stuck in the orange. I have to admit, he tried to take a few bites out of the orange too! So I would recommend having oranges as a snack afterwards 🙂
Did this activity give me ample time to create pomander masterpieces? No. But I did manage to make a few simple designs. And it makes me happy to know my son enjoyed this sensory experience as much as I did. Maybe tomorrow we can try it again. One goal I have is for my son is to be more familiar with the properties of an orange. Right now he calls them apples. I’m hoping multiple exposures and varied experiences with this fruit will help him distinguish the two!
Have you ever made pomander balls? Do you hang them or set them in bowls? I’m considering tying festive ribbon around them to hang in closets (they are said to be great natural air fresheners once dried out). I’d love to hear your experiences with them in the comments below!

My great-aunt had them hanging in her closet when I was a kid – they’d dry out in there and she’d leave them there for the whole year.