As we are reading the Little House in the Big Woods, we have come across many fun ideas that we have wanted to try. As a Christmas present in this book, Ma receives an apple pomander (clove apple) from her sister-in-law, Aunt Eliza.
“Aunt Eliza had brought Ma a large red apple stuck full of cloves. How good it smelled! And it would not spoil, for so many cloves would keep it sound and sweet.”
So, we thought we would give this a try. Just like Laura says, it does smell wonderful and has not spoiled as yet either and the stem provides a great place to tie a piece of string or ribbon on for you to hang your apple pomander from.
To make a clove apple, you will need:
- an apple with no bruises or cuts and with a stem attached
- plenty of cloves
- skewer or toothpick
- string
To make your clove apple last, you will need to stick the cloves all over the apple quite closely together. They do not need to be touching, just close to each other.
We found that just pushing the cloves into the apple can be very tiring and hurt your fingers over time. Some smaller children may lack the strength to do this as well, so we decided to use a metal skewer to poke a hole first before pushing the clove into it.
Instead of a metal skewer, you could also use a bamboo one or a toothpick. We found it easier and quicker to punch a few holes in and then follow this with the cloves. We completed one side of the apple at a time.
When you have finished covering your apple with cloves, tie a piece of string or ribbon to the apple’s stem. You could place a drop of glue onto the knot to make sure that it won’t come loose.
Egg Nog {Farmer Boy}