There’s nothing quite like the scents of fall and winter filling your home with warmth and coziness during the holidays. From freshly cut Christmas trees to homemade brewed holiday coffee, the scents of the holidays are quite magical, and comforting. Here are some of the best simple and natural ways to make your home smell like the holidays!
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions and recommendations are my own.
Why Not Just Buy A Typical Holiday-Scented Candle?
Because 1) they can be pricey and 2) many of the “holiday-scented” products are filled with chemicals, toxins, and strong faux fragrances- pass! So if you’re pregnant, have young kids, have allergies, or simply want “cleaner” air in your house while also having it smell festive and amazing, opt for natural holiday scents in the home. So let’s take a look at some of the best simple and natural ways to make your home smell like the holidays!
Stovetop Holiday Simmer
Making a stovetop holiday simmer, or “Christmas stovetop potpourri”, couldn’t be easier! You fill up a saucepan or dutch oven with 4-6 cups of water and add a mixture of herbs, Christmas tree clippings, spices, or fruits that smell like the holidays and let simmer on the stovetop for as long as you’d like, replacing the water as needed.
Now, there are Christmas stovetop potpourri recipes out there that call for an entire meal- a bag of cranberries, 5 full oranges, etc. Ignore those. It must be the mom in me (especially having so many kids!) that thinks it’s kindaaa a waste. Keep it simple. Use leftover orange peels (where the fruit is most fragrant anyhow), skip the cranberries (although they look festive!) and save them for an edible cranberry dish, use a sprig of rosemary that’s leftover from some holiday cooking that you don’t need to use, and choose a tiny pinch of whole cloves, a cinnamon stick, or splash of vanilla if you prefer.
Personal preference- I actually like my cinnamon scents only in baking, so I skip those and focus on a mixture of these:
- Orange/Lemon Peels
- Sprig of Rosemary
- Whole Cloves (just a couple)
- A couple drops of Balsam Fir Essential Oil (optional, but it smells so festive!)
Again, there isn’t a perfect formula, because everyone likes their holiday scents a little more “piney” or “cinnamony” or “citrusy”- personal to their own preference. So play around and see what works best. The aroma from the holiday stovetop simmer will fill your home for hours!
Essential Oils
Another simple and natural way to make your home smell like the holidays is making a DIY essential oil spray. I use these inexpensive (but pretty!) amber spray bottles, fill them up with water, add about 20-30 drops of balsam fir essential oil, shake it up, spray around the house and call it a day! I leave these sprays in all the bathrooms throughout the house for easy access, and it’s easy to spray on pillows, curtains, hallways whenever we need a little more holiday scent in the home.
Again, play around to see what works for you- if you want a stronger scent, add more drops. If you love the balsam fir scent but want a bit of a citrus undertone, add some sweet orange essential oil. And of course, you can add a few drops to a diffuser and let the essential oil holiday scents fill your home all day long!
These are a few of the best holiday essential oils:
- Balsam Fir
- Pine / Scots Pine
- Frankincense
- Cypress
- Orange
- Cedarwood
- (Lavender and Lemon can be a nice compliment or undertone to the stronger holiday essential oil scents)
And these are some holiday essential oil blends:
Adding essential oil drops to a natural cleaning spray is also a great way to get the natural Christmas scents throughout your home (avoiding all of those fake fragrance chemicals). Or try spraying over pinecones (they’re porous so they work well for this!), and display them in a beautiful bowl for a festive, holiday decor statement that smells great too.
Create A Holiday Bath Spa
Eucalyptus shower bundles have become a popular way to create a spa-like feel at home. The bundle of herbs hang from the shower head and the heat from the shower releases the oils creating an aromatherapy treatment. Eucalyptus and Rosemary shower bundles offer a great holiday scent combination.
While you’re in the shower, try a natural holiday scented soap or body scrub to fill the air with the best Fall or Winter scents! I’ve always loved the all-natural Pacha Soap Co whipped soap + scrub and they come in some great holiday scents. (Amazon sells Pacha Soap but tends to sell out often, so check the Pacha Soap Website, or pick up some from Whole Foods!). You’ll pamper yourself with a DIY holiday spa, and make your home smell like the holidays at the same time = win-win!
Get A REAL Christmas Tree
I’m not gonna lie, they make some really great looking faux Christmas trees these days. And the ease of storing a faux Christmas tree and NOT having to get pine needles out of your crawling baby’s mouth is super appealing, however, if you REALLY want to naturally make your home smell like Christmas, opt for a real Christmas tree. There’s nothing quite like the scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree to make your house truly smell like Christmas and bring all the warm and cozy winter vibes with it.
These are the most fragrant Christmas trees:
- Balsam Fir
Rated the best smelling Christmas tree with its sweet, rich, warm, and fresh aroma that lasts throughout the holiday season.
- Fraser Fir
Second place for the best smelling Christmas tree- it is similar to the Balsam Fir, but a bit sweeter and not as strong.
- Douglas Fir
Not as scented as the Balsam or Fraser, but still has soft, sweetly scented needles.
Bake!
One of the absolute BEST ways to naturally make your home smell like the holidays is to get baking! There is nothing like being welcomed home during the fall to the smell of freshly baked pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie or oatmeal cinnamon cookies. Or being welcomed home from the snowy winter with the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies or ginger molasses cookies. The possibilities are endless, the family will be thrilled, and your home will smell amazing.
Holiday Spices + Morning Coffee
Add a dash of ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, nutmeg, star anise, or allspice (or a combination of these) to your coffee grounds, and as it brews, it’ll make your house smell just like a coffeeshop during the holidays! (Or buy a holiday blend coffee to make your morning a little easier).
Natural Candles
Skip the toxic, faux fragrance, perfumey, chemically-pumped candles or plug-in scents and stock up on naturally-scented or soy-based wax candles. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s carries some great selling naturally scented holiday candles, and you can usually find some on Amazon too.
Here are a few popular natural soy candle choices:
Hang Holiday Wreaths Indoors
A beautiful holiday wreath on the front door is such a warm welcome during the winter. Depending on the tree clippings that form the wreath, most smell very fragrant. So don’t forget about your interior doors! Add a small wreath or swag to each bedroom door upstairs, and not only will it look festive and lovely, but the cozy pine tree scent will greet you every winter morning as you leave your bedroom. A perfect cozy welcome to a winter morning!
By using one or many of the ways to naturally make your home smell like Christmas, you’re sure to have a cozy home that smells like the holidays all winter long- enjoy!
Other Posts You’ll Love:
How To Create A Winter Floral Arrangement
A Must-Have Evergreen Shrub: White Album Wintercreeper (Euonymus Fortunei)
Garden Rose Tips and Tricks (Everything You Need To Know Before Planting Your Garden Rose)
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