Your sense of smell is the strongest of the senses, allowing you to recall 65% of scents after one year, whilst we remember only 50% of visual stimuli after just three months. It’s no wonder that many of our childhood memories involve scents in some way and that pleasant smells positively impact our emotions.
Christmas is full of gorgeous and mouth-watering scents, from the sweet smell of dried fruits to the gentle aroma of woodland and pine. But how do you keep those scents around in the lead-up to the festive season? Keep reading to discover a few easy ways to make your home smell like Christmas.
If you have a spare ring on your hob on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, making a heat-based potpourri simmer pot is an easy way to make your home smell divine. Fill a saucepan (or, if you have one, a slow-cooker) with water and place on low heat. Add delicious festive ingredients such as cinnamon sticks, orange slices, cloves, and cranberries to create a nostalgic and fragrant potpourri. Alternatively, use sprigs and branches of pine with cinnamon sticks for a warming winter wonderland scent.
When making one of these simmer pots, it's essential to check the pot regularly and top up with water before the pan becomes too dry.
If you don’t have a burner on your oven available, traditional dried potpourri is an easy way to infuse those Christmas scents in your home. Our favourite potpourri for the season includes pinecone and warm vanilla. However, if you have an afternoon free, you can easily make your own by drying orange slices in a 140-degree oven for 3 hours and adding them, pinecones, cinnamon sticks, and star anise to a bowl.
The container you use to display potpourri is just as crucial as the potpourri, as it becomes part of your home decor. We suggest using a glass tray or a decorative bowl with a wide opening to allow the scent better movement around your home whilst looking stylish.
For a relaxing scent that goes down well, especially in the evenings, try adding essential oils such as rosemary, frankincense or orange into a humidifier or aroma diffuser for a steady stream of gorgeous scents. Alternatively, reed diffusers are a great way to get a similar scent effect in your home – and they all come ready-made with essential oils in combinations you might not even thought of! For something luxurious this party season, gingerbread will get people in the festive spirit, whilst mulled wine provides a warming and enticing scent.
Oil Burners are a great mix of essential oils and candles. Place a tealight under your burner and add a few drops of oil at the top for a heady mix of solid scent and inviting light.
The simplest way to get that coveted Christmas scent travelling through your home is to use a scented candle. They give off fantastic smells and add a gentle and warm light that’s perfect for adding a little atmosphere to cold evenings. The Caramel Pecan Candle Jar and Pomegranate & Clementine candles from True Aroma are scents that will smell particularly comforting in the winter.
Switch your shower gels and soaps over the festive period as a subtle way to infuse scent around the home. Cranberry Crush Soap Sponge has a lovely warm and fruity bouquet with a Christmassy fusion of cranberry and cassis, whilst Dove Shea Butter and Warm Vanilla Bath Soak adds a warming and sweet note to your skin and your bathroom.
Radox Muscle Therapy Soak is not only great for those tight and aching muscles after all those Christmas parties and long shopping days, but it also has a warming and spicy scent that feels like bathing in a steaming tub of mulled wine.
If you have a real Christmas Tree, then you may be ahead on this one. If not, or if you would like a more aromatic smell, tie pine branches, winter honeysuckle, witch hazel, or other scented winter plants and eucalyptus together with ribbon. These gorgeous little parcels can then be hung around the home for an instant scent boost. Feeling a little craftier? Check out our article on how to Create a Festive Wreath and make a beautiful decoration with pine and eucalyptus leaves and adorn it with dried oranges and cranberries.
If your access to fresh pine and eucalyptus is limited (it’s okay, we get that), then pop to your local The Range store and pick up a pack of Scentsicles. These delightful fragrance sticks come in various scents and can be easily hung around the home, in wardrobes, or on your Christmas tree for an immediate scent kick.
Not only does baking give you something relaxing to do and something tasty to eat, it also emits amazing scents into the home. If you needed another excuse to get baking this Christmas, then this is it!
Spiced fruit cakes, gingerbread cookies, and anything chocolate-orange flavour are sure to be a big hit taste and scent-wise!
