It’s here again — the beloved Christmas season. With its lights, the songs and the scents of cookies and mulled wine. Here’s how you can easily bring festive Christmas scents into your home.
Many good reasons to make your own Christmas scents
The selection of fragrances is large. Especially with scents you should check the ingredients before buying. Making them yourself is simple and you likely already have most of the ingredients on hand to create a pleasant aroma.
Aromas from Christmas baking
The list of ingredients you can use to spread a Christmas scent in the house is long. The best part: especially in the run-up to Christmas you probably have most of them within reach.
- Fir branches
- Spruce resin
- Fir cones
- Oranges
- Mandarins
- Lemons
- Gingerbread spice
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Anise
- Allspice
- Nutmeg
- Rosemary
- Vanilla
Maybe a particular scent will transport you back to the Christmases of your childhood? Bring a little childhood joy home and quickly mix your own personal Christmas note. Use whatever you like.
Three methods for making Christmas scents yourself
There are three simple ways to conjure a pleasant scent in your home. You can prepare a liquid mixture for a fragrance lamp or decorate with scented fruits and spices. And third, we have a tip for those who are in a particular hurry.
Aromas for the fragrance lamp
Especially in the dark pre-Christmas period we appreciate the warm, flickering light of a candle. And when it also supplies us with a Christmas scent, all the better. The right mixture is prepared in at most three steps:
- Cut fruits and fresh spices into decorative pieces
- Place them in a preserving jar and cover with boiling water
- Finally, let the whole thing cool to room temperature and then store it sealed in the refrigerator for one week
If you like, you can filter or sieve the mixture before using it; it looks particularly nice that way. And if you don’t want to wait a week, you can use your fragrance mixture immediately. However, you should then let the whole thing cool to room temperature to avoid burns. If you make the scent, for example, with your children and prefer not to handle boiling water and candles, you can arrange all the ingredients attractively in a jar and warm it on the radiator. Or you can briefly heat the scent in the microwave and use it as a table decoration. It doesn’t get faster than that. In that case it doesn’t have to be a preserving jar. Where high heat is not applied, you can use any decorative bowl you like.
Having a choice can be a predicament. If the ingredient list makes choosing difficult, you can use the following ideas for guidance.
Christmas baking
To make your home always smell of freshly baked cookies without spending hours in the kitchen, choose Christmas spices for the fragrance mix. For a balanced harmony, add a fruity and a fresh note. A great combination, for example, is:
- Oranges
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Fir needles
Make sure to cut the ingredients to an appropriate size — not too small — and arrange them attractively in the jar. This way the mixture not only releases a great scent but also looks appealing.
O Christmas Tree
If you can’t get enough of the scent of the Christmas tree or you like to think of snow-covered forests, you can fill your jar largely with fir branches. Experiment with additional scent notes and colors such as orange and myrtle.
Festive meal
If you’re already looking forward to the Christmas meal, you can also use spices and aromas from the kitchen. Rosemary and lemon not only taste good but also form a great scent combination. If you prefer something sweeter, experiment with vanilla pods and cinnamon.
Arrange and the Christmas scents are ready
You can also do it with no preparation! Here are a few ideas on how to provide both festive decoration and fragrance in one.
Clove-studded oranges
The essential oils of the orange are in the peel. To release them, simply press cloves in by the stem. The spicy aroma of the cloves blends with the fruity scent of the orange into a festive delight. However, you will need quite a few cloves for this. Try arranging the cloves in a festive pattern, for example in the shape of a star. That way the fragrant fruit becomes part of the Christmas decoration.
Dried fruit slices
Orange and lemon slices don’t only smell when freshly cut. If you hang them up to dry or let them dry on the fireplace or in a dish on the radiator, they will release their aromatic scent for about two weeks. Over time they turn into nostalgic Christmas decorations that you can also hang on the tree.
Christmas tree in a jar
The tree not up yet? Then simply bring the scent of fresh fir into your home now. Arrange a bowl with fir branches and decorate it with pine cones, dried oranges and lemons or cranberries. A little resin on the branches ensures a long-lasting fragrance.
If time is especially short
And here’s our insider tip for anyone in a real hurry. A bowl of fresh cookies, gingerbread and nuts looks great. It also gives off a scent as Christmasy as it gets. Caution: calorie trap. Not everyone can resist the temptation. And how do you create a Christmas market atmosphere in the living room? It’s simple. Just make mulled wine—it not only tastes good, it also gives off a wonderful scent.
More Christmas scent ideas
Making natural Christmas scents yourself is no witchcraft. In fact, it’s child’s play and a nice seasonal activity to do with the little ones. Extra plus: it’s not only quick, but also requires no cleanup. If you can’t spend hours in the kitchen baking cookies, these homemade scents will quickly bring the feeling of Christmas into your home.
For those with more time and ambition, there are of course many more ways to create Christmas scents from natural ingredients. For example, when making scented candles. Or how about a festively scented soap? Whatever option you choose: as both fragrance and decoration, the homemade Christmas scent will enhance the festive period for several weeks. And all without chemical additives or health risks.
Have you caught the bug and made more scents than you can display? Nicely packaged as a liquid blend in a jar or as potpourri in a gift bag, the Christmas scent also makes a great gift with a personal touch. As a small gift for a Christmas party, a present made by a child, or a last-minute idea!
Many more recipes can be found here.