Rain or Shine Mamma

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes

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How to Make Pomander Christmas Oranges

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December 16, 2016 By Linda McGurk

Christmastime. So many things to do and so little time. Christmas cards to write, holiday parties to attend, cookies to bake, gingerbread houses to make, presents to wrap, feasts to cook and Elfs to move around the shelves. All in the name of giving our kids the BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER. And although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with creating a little bit of holiday magic for our kids (one of the highlights of our Christmas is building a troll house in the woods that we tend to daily), I’m also a big believer in keeping things simple – childhood and Christmas included. That’s why I’m going to share with you an old, simple craft that I used to make growing up in Scandinavia: pomander Christmas oranges. Among all the Christmas decorations to make with kids, I find that pomander oranges are by far the easiest and add the most holiday ambience to our home.


The first pomanders appeared in France during the Middle Ages and were made of gold or silver. Initially kept as religious keepsakes and worn around the neck to ward off disease, pomander balls were later used as air fresheners in closets and drawers to repel pests and keep clothing fresh. But the tradition of studding oranges with whole cloves and hanging them around the house at Christmastime only goes back to 17th century England, from where it eventually migrated to the American colonies. Pomander oranges are also used to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of light, as citrus fruits are symbols of the sun. Whatever holidays you choose to celebrate, a pomander orange will add an irresistible fragrance and cozy atmosphere to your home this time of the year. My kids loved making their oranges; chances are yours will too!

How to Make Pomander Christmas Oranges

Materials:

  • Oranges
  • Whole cloves
  • Ribbon
  • Piercing tool (toothpicks or a metal paper clip both work well)


Instructions:

1. Gather your supplies

Depending on your design, 1 oz of whole cloves is enough for 3-5 oranges. Obviously, the more cloves you use, the stronger the fragrance. Traditionally, fabric ribbon is tied around the pomander, but I’ve found that regular gift ribbon works just as well.

How to Make Pomander Christmas Oranges. Pomanders are a wonderful homemade Christmas craft that acts as a natural air freshener and gives your home that perfect holiday ambience. Rain or Shine Mamma.

2. Tie the ribbon around the orange

Ribbon is optional if you instead of hanging your pomander prefer to display it as a centerpiece, but if you do use ribbon it’s a good idea to tie it on first. If you wait until after you’ve added the cloves, you might find that some of them are in the way of the ribbon.

How to Make Pomander Christmas Oranges. Tie the ribbon on the orange first. Rain or Shine Mamma.

3. Make a pattern using the piercing tool

Although my girls and I ended up putting our cloves in randomly, this is your chance to be creative. Using the piercing tool, make a pattern in the skin of the orange. For example, you can make spirals or straight lines in a decorative pattern. Or, your kids may just want to make a smiley face, and that’s OK too!

4. Push the cloves into the orange

This step is much easier on your fingertips if you don’t skip step 3 (we learned this the hard way). Make sure you don’t push too hard on the cloves, since that will crush them.

How to Make Pomander Oranges. Push the cloves into the orange. Rain or Shine Mamma.

5. Cure the orange in a cool, dry place

Pomanders will eventually mold, but you can make them last longer by letting them hang dry in a cool place for a couple of weeks before putting them on display. In fact, a dry pomander orange is typically even more fragrant than a fresh one. Another trick to extend the life of your Christmas orange is to roll it in orrisroot powder, which acts as a preservative. For an even more fragrant pomander, try rolling it in this spice mixture.

6. Put it on display

Arrange the oranges with some pine cones and pine branches on a plate and use it as a centerpiece, or hang the pomanders in a window – the choice is yours. You can even hang a small pomander in the Christmas tree.

How to Make Pomander Oranges. Put it on display in a window or as a centerpiece on a table. Rain or Shine Mamma.

If you only have time to make one Christmas craft with the kids this year, pomanders are fun and easy. Conveniently, they also make wonderful kid-made gifts for grandparents and teachers, so by making a few and gifting them, you’re killing two birds with one stone. If that’s not a great hack to reduce that holiday stress, I don’t know what is!

How to Make Pomander Oranges. Put it on display in a window or as a centerpiece on a table. Rain or Shine Mamma.

P.S. Still way too many things on your to-do-list? Check out 5 Fool-Proof Ways to Beat Holiday Stress and Truly Enjoy the Season.

Happy Holidays!

How to Make Pomander Christmas Oranges. Pomanders are a wonderful homemade Christmas craft that acts as a natural air freshener and gives your home that perfect holiday ambience. Rain or Shine Mamma.

 

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A school in Sydney bans the children from using the playground before school, saying the decision was made to "support positive classroom behaviour and learning." But did anybody bother to actually look into the research on the benefits of outdoor play, both in terms of children's ability to focus and their academic performance...? The parents aren't happy about the decision and I understand why. ... See MoreSee Less

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Linda Åkeson McGurk
There are a lot of good things about tech, but exc There are a lot of good things about tech, but excessive screen time is taking a toll on children’s physical and mental health today. Many apps and games have built-in mechanisms designed to make them highly addictive and children are even more susceptible to them than adults, since their brains are not fully developed🧠Screens are so ubiquitous in our lives today that it takes conscious effort to balance them with experiences IRL. 

For the past few years, our family has experimented with screen free or screen reduced Sundays. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy. But if the goal is to increase quality family time outdoors and encourage the kind of creativity that arises from a healthy dose of boredom, it does work🌳

Some other tips to foster a healthy screen time culture in your family are:

✅ Learn how to use the parent controls on your kids’ devices and set age-appropriate limits.

✅ Have certain times or spaces that are always screen free, for example around the dinner table, in the bedrooms and so on, and be sure to be consistent. 

✅ Create a buy-in for the kids by letting them help plan screen free activities for the whole family.

What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to keeping screen time under control?
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That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This qu That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This quote is from Meet the Wild, a new picture book by Lindsay Kellar-Madsen of @the.madsen.littles. Inspired by the outdoor learning and play culture in Scandinavia, Lindsay wrote the book to invite children to explore nature all year round, regardless of the weather. 
I personally love the message and sweet illustrations in this book❤️ If you have a little one in your life, you can buy the book by backing Lindsay’s Kickstarter campaign. Check out her Instagram for details!
_________________________
#meetthewild #picturebook #outdoorplay
📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚 A few y 📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚

A few years ago, I did a poll in my social media channels to see what topic you’d like me to explore in my next book. One of them won by an overwhelming margin: the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv. Well, I heeded your call. I’m pleased to share that it’s now possible to pre-order The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day from just about any place that sells books! (Link in bio)

The Open-Air Life is for anybody who is longing to lead a simpler, happier and less hurried life. It shows you how to channel the power of nature connection to improve your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships with both other people and Mother Nature. Plus, you’ll learn a few party tricks, like lighting a campfire without matches and cleaning water on the go. At a time when more and more people are starting to appreciate why they should spend more time outside, this book will show you how, with a decidedly Nordic twist.

I must say that I LOVE this dreamy cover that the designers at @penguinrandomhouse created. What do you think? 

@tarcherperigee @penguinrandomhouse

#theopenairlife #rainorshinemamma #coverreveal #bookcover #friluftsliv #friluftslivbook
I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last weekend and it started out with sunshine and rainbows☀️🌈 Swipe to the last video to see how it ended➡️ 

We had set out to explore the northernmost island in our local lake and while we cruised up there with decent tailwinds, the wind picked up overnight. Going back the next day, we faced strong headwinds the entire time🌊 

For nearly three hours, we paddled in choppy waters, with waves sometimes so high that they splashed into the canoe. We had no choice but to paddle nonstop - if we stopped, we immediately started drifting backwards😩

The thing about being outdoors is that you’re never fully in control of all parameters - trips like these always involve a certain amount of risk. The weather can change quickly, and not always according to the forecast. What we can control is our reaction to the challenge, how we act on it and what we learn from it.

While none of us was happy about the situation, the girls did pull together and did an amazing job paddling💪🏻 And while they both vowed to never go paddling again, I told them that this will make a funny story later in life. They weren’t convinced at the time but I think they’ll come around eventually😅 

Do you have any stories of getting in over your head to share?😃
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #paddling #paddlingwithkids
Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know tha Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅) 

A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.

If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻
________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention
I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal me I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. 

I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. 

So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. An hour to myself to just be one with the lake, the light and the promise of the summer that still lies ahead☀️
__________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wiet This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wietinghannah, you’re our winner!🎊

📚📚📚GIVEAWAY📚📚📚

Have you heard the term "ecohappiness"? If not, this is your chance to learn more! 

Author Sandi Schwartz and I have teamed up to give away a copy of her book "Finding Ecohappiness," an inspirational manifesto and practical guidebook for families to get outside and enjoy nature together. Packed with ideas for outdoor activities like animal yoga, forest bathing, sit spotting, float therapy and nature art, this book is definitely one to add to your collection📕 

How to enter👇🏼
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Follow @rainorshinemamma and @getecohappiness 
✅ Comment by completing this sentence: "To me, being in nature is..."

This giveaway closes on June 4 and a winner will be selected shortly after that. You must be 18 and live in the US or Canada to enter. This giveaway is not associated with or sponsored by Instagram. 

Good luck!🙌🏽

#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #ecohappiness #findingecohappiness #naturebooks #goodreads #naturelovers #ecotherapy #getkidsoutside
Having scientific reasons and explanations for doi Having scientific reasons and explanations for doing things is good and there are any number of ways free climbing benefits our physical and mental health. But sometimes you’ve just got to trust your guts, feel all the feelings and enjoy the joyride🙌🏻🌳

What makes you feel joy in nature?
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I’m not going to lie - there are times when my c I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌

As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.

As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻
_____________________________
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Did you know that camping for as little as two nig Did you know that camping for as little as two nights straight can help you reset your circadian rhythms and improve your sleep for several weeks afterwards? That's because the natural light helps the body regulate melatonin, a hormone that tells the body when it's time to get up and go, and when it's time to rest and recuperate🌗 

My melatonin levels weren't top of mind when @jeanetteosterman and I started our challenge to sleep outside at least once a month for a year. But I must say, I rarely sleep as soundly and feel as energetic as I do when I sleep under the skies.

Have you ever tried sleeping in a camping hammock? I bought my first one a few years ago and I ❤️ it!
_________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #sleepingoutside #camping #campinglife #hammock #sleepingoutsidechallenge #freshaireveryday
Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and fe Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and feel like you're constantly negotiating/fighting/fretting over your child's screen time👋🏼 

Well, you're not alone😰 

Since 2011, when mobile internet had its breakthrough, teens' and tweens' screen time has increased dramatically. At the same time, physical activity has decreased significantly. The WHO recommends that teenagers get at least one hour of physical activity every day, but in reality 85% of the girls and 78% of the boys globally don't meet the target.

Making outdoor activity a normal part of your daily routine can help  your tween or teen get the exercise and fresh air they need  and lay the foundation for lifelong healthy habits. I'm the first to admit that it isn't easy, but then again, nobody said parenting would be a cakewalk🤪

Hang in there and check out a few of the strategies that help me balance screen time with 'green time'. Do you have any tips to share?
______________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #parenting #parentingteens #parentingtweens #getoutside
“I’m not thrilled about looking older. But wha “I’m not thrilled about looking older. But what unsettles me the most about the 40s is the implication that I’m now a grown-up myself.”
- Pamela Druckerman

Forty-four laps around the sun today and I still find that the passing of time is one of life’s greatest mysteries.
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