A little fun (maybe somewhat unknown) fact about us is that we love to create our gift toppers anytime that we can. Some people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them that we hand-make our pom-pom toppers in our Glitter Pom-Pom gift wrap or that we make the dried oranges for our holiday Winter Citrus gift wrap. I get it. It's definitely time consuming especially as we are growing. And while it may not be sustainable forever, these little packaging details are the foundation of this business and bring me serious joy. I mean - how many people get to wake up every day and create?! I still pinch myself that I have a gifting business, but I'll save that for another post...
As we're approaching the holiday season, we would be remiss not to bring back everyone's favorite Winter Citrus gift wrap this year. Look at how beautiful this wrapping is! Hand-dried oranges, recycled green wrapping paper, and beautiful forest green velvet ribbon... We sold hundreds of this gift wrap last year and I think it's obvious why.
Hand-wrapped gifts are what make our gift boxes so special. The joyful experience of unwrapping a gift is un-matched especially when they look as good as this. We wanted to share our simple step-by-step guide to make these DIY dried oranges to top your holiday, Christmas, and Hanukkah gifts this year (or even to string up in your home decor)! They are so pretty, and so easy - just take a bit of patience.
- a 5 lb bag of clementines
- paper towels or plenty of tea towels (that you don't mind staining)
- parchment paper
- paring knife
- sheet pans
- baking cooling racks (optional)
Directions:
Step 1: Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees Farenheit
Step 2: Carefully slice your clementines about 1/4" thick. Set aside the ends so that you're keeping only the middle pieces (approximately 3 per orange)
Step 3: Place the oranges on paper towels in single layer and gently pat them dry.
Step 4: Using a paring knife, gently open up the natural hole in the center. It will shrink when they bake, so you want to make sure that you have room to thread your ribbon thru the center. (this is a crucial step!)
Step 5: Place in single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Flip every 20 min checking to make sure they don't start to brown. They will still glisten and look a bit wet when you pull them out. The second that you see any browning happening on the thinner slices is when you want to remove from the oven.
Step 5: Keeping on the parchment paper, remove from the pan to air dry for 48 hours. If you have baking racks, remove from parchment paper with tongs and allow to dry on the racks. Flip after 24 hours. Be patient! You want your oranges to be fully dried before putting into your storage container or attaching to packages to avoid any molding or moisture transfer.
That's it! It's very simple, and with a little bit of patience, you will elevate your holiday gifts! If you try these out, be sure to tag us on Instagram so that we can share.
Now, if you just simply don't have the time (or the patience to make your own orange toppers), we are your go-to. When you gift with us this holiday season, you now know how much attention to detail we put into each and every hand-wrapped gift that goes into your Bocu.
Click here to check out our holiday collection of ready-to-gift curated gift boxes and take holiday gifting (and wrapping) off of your plate!
