Get Your House To Smell Just Like Christmas
Decorating is a key part of Christmas, but do you ever think about making your home smell like Christmas? Many people don’t think about incorporating smell into their Christmas décor, but it can make a big impact with just a small and subtle addition.
Smell and Christmas are so exceptionally linked; Christmas is cinnamon, spices and pine trees. It’s red berries, sherry and a crackling fire!
We’ve put together a few ideas of things you can do to help your home smell like Christmas. Help your home turn into a real yuletide grotto this December by involving every sense in your festive décor.
Some of these can even be easily adapted for once Christmas is fading in our memories and you just want an uplifting scent for your living room.
So if you’re ready for your house to be filled with the scents of Christmas, then read on!
It’s Beginning To Smell Like Christmas
Those Tree Trimmings Don’t Have To Go To Waste!
Nothing says Christmas quite like that fresh pine smell, and there’s really no way to recreate it properly. So use your tree trimmings to make your living room smell like Christmas trees and joy!
Take some trimmings from your tree after you put it up, and dry out the branches somewhere warm and dry – like an airing cupboard.
Once they’re dried, the needles should be easy to strip from the branch, although you may want to use gloves for this part.
Now just pop it in a small drawstring bag and hang it wherever you need it! If you’re quite crafty, why not make your own bags from old t-shirts or jumpers for an extra charming edge.
Use Your Stove To Fill Your House With Smells Of Christmas
Quite a lot of people aren’t too fond of the cloying and fake smells that can come from candles and potpourri. If that sounds like you, you can still get your home to smell like Christmas using fresh and real herbs and spices.
Stovetop potpourri is essentially a crockpot or pan filled with various ingredients that you then cover in water (about an inch from the top) and then simmer!
With this method, you can put it on the heat whenever you need it and take it off – and it lasts for a long time. But you can refresh the ingredients as often or as little as you’d like.
This is our favourite recipe:
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 orange (sliced)
- 4 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)
- 1 tbsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2-3 cups water
And just add water when the level gets a little low – and just like that your home will smell like Christmas spices!
Make Some Gingerbread With Your Kids For A Warming Smell
Although this one isn’t very long term, there’s no doubting that gingerbread is Christmas.
Make your home smell like Christmas with the mixture of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. You can even use this as a daytime activity with your kids once they’ve finished school to help cut out the dough, and decorating the biscuit individually.
If you’re really adventurous – why not try a gingerbread structure like a Santa’s grotto. And it’s only a plus that this Christmas scent can be eaten afterwards as well!
Check out a recipe here.
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Try Pinecones For A Beautiful Christmas Scented Decoration
Pinecones can be a charming decoration for your mantelpiece – so why not upgrade them to incorporate scent to help your home smell like Christmas.
You can go foraging for pinecones in your area if you find some make sure to rinse them thoroughly. Then bake them at 150ºC to kill off all those critters and help them open up.
If you can’t find any, or don’t have the time, you can easily find them online – just make sure they’re natural.
Once you have your dried pinecones, place them in a large ziplock bag and cover them in your chosen essential oil. Seal the bag and shake them around so each one is covered. Now you just need to leave them for a week to soak up all that oil and then they’re ready to place!
Use Olive Oil (yes really) To Help Your Home Smell Like Christmas
Olive oil can be used as a store cupboard method that will make your house smell beautiful (and not like a deep fat fryer – we promise). For this method, you simply need some candle wick (which you can buy easily online) some old jars, a paperclip, some olive oil and essential oils or herbs.
Cut the wick to size with the jar, and wrap the paperclip wire around the tip of the wick. Then hook it over the edge to keep it in place with the wick still centrally placed.
Now simply add the olive oil to the jar, allowing half an inch of the wick to sit above the oil. Now you can add whichever essential oils you’d like, or even dried herbs to the oil. When you light in your room will instantly smell like Christmas and yuletide joy!
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Make Your Own Reed Diffusers For A Personalised Scent
Reed diffusers are a popular method of scenting your house. However, when it comes to making your house smell like Christmas, they can be limiting.
When you only want it for a shorter time, you don’t want to dish out on an expensive oil that you won’t fully use. And the cheaper ones can quite often smell a bit too fake and cloying.
You’ll want to find a nice container first, maybe an old bottle or vase – but something with a narrow neck works better.
Then just fill the bottle up with a carrier oil with around 30 drops of essential oil of your choice. Then simply add some rattan reed sticks to the bottle and place it where you’d like!
Make Your Own Homemade Scented Candles
Making your home smell like Christmas can be as simple as just melting some wax. This method can be a little messy but it’s so very effective and can even double as wonderful homemade gifts!
You’ll need a suitable container, and some wax chips to melt down as well as some essential oils or spices of your choice.
Melt your wax chips in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water. When the wax is completely melted, add in your spices – our favourite is ground cinnamon! If you’re using essential oils, you may need to research how much to use of the specific oil. As it can sometimes react with the wax and prevent effective burning.
While the wax is melting, glue a candle wick to the bottom of the jar that fits the length of the container. Secure the wick by wrapping the top of it around a pencil that’s balanced on the top of the container for when you pour in the wax.
Then simply pour in your wax mixture and allow to set for a wonderful homemade candle!
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Upgrade Your Wreath To A Scented Treat
For this method, we’ve found two that we couldn’t choose between – they both looked so fabulous. Wreaths are very common to be found in someone’s festive decor, but how often to they make your home smell like Christmas?
For the first method, you’ll just need 4-6 oranges, a wreath frame which you can find easily online, and some glue.
You’ll want to slice your oranges so they’re around 2cm thick and all evenly sliced. Press them onto a towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Then place them on a baking tray and bake for two hours at 200 degrees – flipping throughout.
Once the oranges have been dried and cooled, start to glue them around the wreath form – layering until you’ve reached the look you want. And you’re done! Add some berries or cloves for a scent to smell like Christmas.
For the second method, you’ll need to start with a plain fir wreath. Then simply use some scented potpourri to attach to the wreath using a mix of glue and ribbons to help secure it.
If you’d like, buy some artificial snow spray to apply before you add in the potpourri – and it’s that simple! But look how beautiful it is!
Make Your Fire Smell Like Christmas For That Festive Touch
If you’re lucky enough to own your own fireplace, then this is a wonderful idea to boost that already Christmassy firewood smell.
Firestarters are just paper muffin liners filled with scented and combustible ingredients to help boost your fire and make it smell glorious.
Place your paper cases in a muffin tray, and fill with pinecones, bay leaves or any spices you’d like to add to the fire. Nestle an inch of cotton wick in the cones and pour over melted wax chips to fill the paper cups.
Then simply remove from the muffin cases and store until you choose to nestle them under the logs of your fire and light!
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Create Some Beautiful Scented Ornaments To Hang
This idea is so simple but so pretty.
You need to start with a clear glass or plastic bauble. Detach the top so it allows you to fill the bauble with any essential oils or herbs like cinnamon sticks. Make sure to add in some carrier oil to allow the essential oils to be smelt without drying out.
Add in other decorative things like glitter, pine needles or berries if you’d like to add that festive cheer.
Then simply attach the top again, using a little glue if it seems loose. Next use a pin or a razor to make small holes so the smell can escape. Then hang at your pleasure!
Using smell for your Christmas interior really does add that wonderful extra touch to help boost your Christmas look.
Using smell can be a much more subtle way to add festive cheer. If you’re not too keen on the over the top decorating and prefer a minimalist approach.
Are you going to turn your Christmas grotto into a treat for all the sense this Christmas?
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