12 Days of Christmas - Day 10 - Pomander of Spice

Do you have a house full of lanterns glowing their Christmas lights?! Hope you had fun making them. Did you decorate them with pencils or textas?

Today, I have something that I used to make with my mother to hang in the cupboard to keep the moths away and help the clothes to smell nice. They make a great little present, too! You could make them tag-team style – sometimes little fingers get sore!

Here’s how simple it is: tie ribbon around the orange and make a loop for it to hang from. Pin it in place. Poke the cloves into the skin of the orange – all over! You might find you need to pierce the skin with a skewer first.

Some people preserve these with more spices and orris root powder, but as a kid, we never did. Although it won't last for years, it will still be nice and fragrant for a couple of months! I wonder how long Mary kept the presents that the wise men gave Jesus?

These could make a quick and lovely gift, or place them in a bowl on the table to fill the room with its sweet scent! A bit like you, with all the Christmas joy you are bringing to your little corner of the world, sweetening with a beautiful aroma!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8 - Spicey Wise Men Gift

Seeing the star, the wise men, who had studied the prophecies, set out to find the newborn King. Among their belongings and supplies were gifts to give the King. These were gifts given to those of royal birth. Can you remember what they were? Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Some believe these gifts had special significance: gold for His kingship, frankincense for His priestly role and myrrh for His embalming when He died. The wise men must have been so excited to finally find the King they had searched for. Have you found The King? Are you excited about it? Don’t you want to share that joy with someone else?

We all know what gold is! Frankincense and myrrh are both resins from trees. You might not be able to give these as a gift to someone else, but you can give them a gift of spices!

Put together in a jar:

2 sticks of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of whole cloves

A few star anise

2 whole nutmeg

Some dried ginger

1 Tablespoon cardamom pods

Spices need to be heated to release their aroma, so to fill your house with the smell of Christmas, place the contents of the jar into a saucepan, cover with water and heat to a simmer.

This would make a great gift – simple and easy!

‘… they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:9-11