25 Natural Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas
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Make your home smell like Christmas in no time with these easy, all natural tips and tricks!
Our sense of smell can be a very powerful tool.
Scents can help us recall a memory, change our mood, or put us in the holiday spirit.
Whether you are hosting friends and family over the holiday season or just spending some quiet time at home, you will want to be surrounded by all your favorite smells of the season.
Favorite holiday scents will be different for everyone, but most people associate certain smells with Christmas.
Vanilla, cinnamon, pine, peppermint, a crackling fire, baking cookies, pumpkin spice, and more.
Welcome guests to your home with these Top 25 Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas.
Your home will smell so warm and inviting they will never want to leave! 😉
For more ways to make your home smell amazing, check out the following:
10 Festive Christmas Simmer Pot Recipes
12 Homemade Natural Simmer Pot Recipes for Fall
17 Brilliant All Natural Home Scent Hacks
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Contents
Best Christmas Scents
So what smells like Christmas? Holiday scents can mean something different for everybody, depending on your family’s traditions and where you come from.
To me, Christmas smells like a fresh-cut Christmas tree, cinnamon, cookies baking in the oven, cranberries, ginger, vanilla, cloves, peppermint – all those warm and comforting winter scents that often greet us this time of year.
What smells do you associate with the holiday season? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Safe + Natural Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas
What would Christmas be without fresh-baked cookies?!
To make your home smell warm and comforting, pop a batch or two of your favorite Christmas cookies in the oven.
Some favorites include sugar cookies, gingerbread, snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, and peppermint.
2. get a live tree
Nothing smells like Christmas quite like a live Christmas tree!
If you can stand the mess of falling needles, enjoy the fresh scent of pine with a live tree and other fresh decorations like garlands and wreaths.
3. hang pine garlands and wreaths
Just like natural Christmas trees, pine garlands and wreaths can add wonderful fragrance and beauty to your home.
4. light the fireplace
If you have a fireplace, light it! A live fire is one of the easiest natural ways to make your home smell like winter and Christmastime.
5. make scented fire starters
Your home will smell even better if you start your fire with these naturally scented DIY Fire Starters.
6. assemble pomanders
Making pomanders is a simple craft project even the kids can enjoy.
After decorating your fruit, roll them in a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and sandalwood oil to let them cure, and they should last for years.
7. mull some wine
Mulled wine isn’t just a tasty drink for holiday parties and Christmas dinner, it also does a wonderful job of making your whole house smell like Christmas!
You can make mulled wine on the stove or in the Crock Pot (this recipe has instructions for both methods). Just pick your favorite recipe, and enjoy!
8. swap your hand soap
Refill your soap pump with a liquid soap featuring your favorite holiday scent, such as pine, cloves, vanilla, or peppermint, for a fresh burst of warming fragrance every time you wash your hands!
Find some DIY natural hand soap recipes scented with essential oils here.
Find some DIY natural hand soap recipes scented with essential oils here.
9. try scented candles
One of the easiest ways to make your home smell like Christmas is to buy or make your own scented candles. Some of the best Christmas scents include:
Can’t decide which fragrance to try? Here’s a candle that offers three layers with completely different scents all in one!
The top layer smells like Apple Cider and Cinnamon, the middle layer like a Fresh Cut Christmas Tree, and the bottom layer smells like Cookies, Orange Peels, and Cloves.
Make your own layered Christmas Scented Candles with this easy tutorial.
10. make mason jar oil candles
This mason jar oil candle lamp is created with beautiful pine cones, evergreens, and cinnamon sticks combined with essential oils to freshen your home for the holidays.
11. try wax melts
If you don’t like the idea of having an open flame in your home, consider wax melts. All you need is a wax warmer and some naturally scented wax melts.
This 2-in-1 wax warmer lets you use wax melts or candles! Here’s a wax melt for pet-loving homes.
Make your own DIY Wax Melts with this tutorial.
12. and reed diffusers
Reed diffusers are refillable containers that spread essential oils throughout a room.
Find a set that includes the reeds, container, and some oil to start with.
You can easily find reed diffuser sets with peppermint scents and other Christmas smells. If you want something that isn’t as strong, go for an orange or vanilla oil.
Find more Christmas Scented Reed Diffusers here.
13. simmer stovetop scents
Give your home a festive holiday makeover with barely any time, effort, or money by simmering traditional holiday scents like orange, cinnamon, cranberry, fresh pine, apple cider, and more!
Related: 10 Festive Christmas Simmer Pot Recipes
14. diy a dried citrus wreath
Hang a dried citrus wreath to greet guests and make a wonderful first impression!
15. use essential oils
Essential oils don’t just smell great, they also have many therapeutic benefits that can drastically improve your health and mood.
My favorite brand of essential oils is Plant Therapy. The quality can’t be beat, and they are much more affordable than brands like Young Living and DoTerra.
Plus, they are readily available on Amazon, so you don’t have to worry about MLM sales or membership fees.
Some favorite essential oils for Christmas include:
- Peppermint Essential Oil
- Christmas Tree Blend
- Three Gifts Blend
- Holiday Season Blend
- Cinnamon Essential Oil
- Clove Essential Oil
- Orange Essential Oil
- Frankincense Essential Oil
Plant Therapy also offers the Merry & Bright Gift Set (includes a diffuser!) and the HolidayBlend Set you can get for yourself or for gift-giving.
Here’s the Plant Therapy set I bought, and I love it for use all year round!
Use your natural essential oils to make your own candles, wax melts, and reed diffusers, put them on a diffuser necklace or bracelet to wear yourself, or diffuse your favorite oils to scent the whole room.
What are some of your favorite ways to use essential oils? Let me know in the comments below!
side note: essential oils and cats
Be careful about using essential oils around your pets, especially cats.
Even diffusing oils can cause serious health problems or even death!
Cats lack an essential enzyme in their liver, which causes them to have difficulty metabolizing and eliminating certain toxins like essential oils.
Cats are also very sensitive to phenols and phenolic compounds, which can be found in some essential oils.
The higher the concentration of the essential oil (i.e. 100%), the greater the risk to the cat.
Essential oils that are known to cause poisoning in cats include oil of wintergreen, oil of sweet birch, citrus oil (d-limonene), pine oils, Ylang Ylang oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, pennyroyal oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil.
Download the Pet Poison Hotline Essential Oils and Cats Handout here.
I love essential oils for their scent and therapeutic benefits, but I don’t use them around my pets unless I know for sure they are safe.
Consult your veterinarian for more information.
16. scent your pinecones
Cinnamon scented pinecones are in nearly every store around Christmastime, but you can make them yourself really easily.
Making your own is a great idea if you are worried about what chemicals they might be using in the store bought pinecones.
You can buy unscented pinecones at many housewares, big box stores, and on Amazon, or gather pinecones outside for free. You should get around 12-20 pinecones.
If you gather your pinecones outside, you’ll need to bake them first to dry them out, open them up, and kill all the bugs that may be lurking inside.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil, and arrange your pinecones in a single layer.
Bake them for 30 minutes, and let them cool before the next step.
Put your pinecones in a gallon-sized zip-locked bag, and add essential oils of your choice.
The most popular essential oil for pinecones is Cinnamon Essential Oil, but you can use any you like.
I like a blend of 20 drops Cinnamon Essential Oil, 15 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil, and 10 drops Clove Essential Oil.
Close the bag, removing all the air, then shake and roll the bag to distribute the oils evenly to all your pinecones.
Leave your pinecones in the bag and store in a cool, dark place for at least a week before displaying.
The longer you leave the pinecones in the bag, the stronger they will smell.
Turn your scented pinecones into a rustic modern garland with this easy tutorial.
17. make homemade potpourri
Homemade Christmas Potpourri smells amazing and will have your entire house ready for Christmas with very little effort.
18. infuse your shower
Hang fresh cuttings like eucalyptus, pine, or a short string of scented pinecones to your shower head.
The heat from your shower will infuse your whole bathroom with a scent that will last all day.
Make your shower even more cozy and sweet smelling with all natural Plantlife brand soaps like Cassia Clove (my favorite), Vanilla Orange, Frankincense Myrrh, Peppermint, Pumpkin Spice, and special seasonal scents.
Available in both bar soap and liquid body wash.
19. diy scented ornaments
Put some whole spices like cinnamon sticks and cloves in a clear glass ball ornament, and add your favorite Christmas-scented essential oils for an ornament as pretty as it is fragrant.
These easy homemade ornaments for your Christmas tree will make your whole house smell like cinnamon!
Make a Cinnamon Applesauce Garland with this tutorial.
Homemade baking soda ornaments are scented with cinnamon and clove essential oils.
Scented Christmas salt dough ornaments are a fun DIY project for kids and make a great gift idea!
20. make scented garlands
String garlands on your tree, mantel, or any place in your home that could use some fragrance and holiday cheer!
Orange + Cinnamon Winter Garland
21. mix some diy room spray
Make your own all-natural peppermint spray with just two ingredients!
Combine 20 drops of peppermint essential oil to 8 ounces of water, and spritz the air, furniture, and draperies to make your home smell like candy canes.
22. make sachets
This project is a great way to reuse those pesky fallen pine needles from your natural Christmas tree, wreaths, and garlands and makes a wonderful gift idea!
Don’t like to sew? Check out these surprisingly easy No-Sew Gnome Sachets that are as adorable as they are sweet-smelling!
Welcome family and friends into your home with these warm and inviting ways to make your home smell like Christmas, naturally!
What do you think of these Natural Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas? Will you be trying any of these ideas to freshen your home for the holidays this year?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
10 Festive Christmas Simmer Pot Recipes
12 Homemade Natural Simmer Pot Recipes for Fall
17 Brilliant All Natural Home Scent Hacks
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