Putting on Your Christmas Scents

After the Christmas tree and all the trimmings are up, it's time to put on your Christmas scents. It's looking a lot like Christmas at my house, but the scents of Christmas are what gives life to all the decorations. I've given up on burning candles and buying cans or bottles of scents. For one, I'm a very frugal person on a budget. To buy the real scents and candles made of pure ingredients can be quite expensive. The majority of commercially made scents and candles are mostly made of toxic chemicals such as toluene and benzene and harmful paraffin's that can cause asthma as well as other illnesses. In order to keep my family breathing healthy air as well as the joy of being creative, I'm feeling great about making my own scents. I love using pure and natural herbs, spices and selective items from nature and my garden.

Every year I collect items for a fresh basket to place on top of the fireplace. This year I'm filling it with pine cones, rosemary cuttings, cinnamon sticks, simple homemade potpourri, pomanders and a few pine tree branches.


I also enjoy keeping a simmering pot on the stove top or in my crockpot filled with things like lemons, limes and orange pieces, along with cinnamon sticks, cloves and vanilla extract in a little water and sometimes even a little apple cider. It fills the entire house with warm and cozy intoxicating scents throughout the day. Simply keep an eye on it occasionally to be sure it has liquid in it and keep the heat on the lowest setting.


I love the look of an old fashion grapevine wreath filled with lovely items from my garden along with warm spices. This year I'm trying a few new things that I've learned on Growing Herbs for Beginners Holiday Craft Classes online. The classes are very nicely done with a video and a print out page with instructions for making it simple to create an array of beautiful Christmas crafts and scents. The first thing I couldn't wait to try was the cinnamon applesauce dough. She shows how to shape fruits, beads and several adorable cutouts with the dough. I went for the gingerbread cutout and some beads. It's been all I can do to keep my husband and son from trying to eat my crafts!! I can't believe how intense the cinnamon and apple scents are. I'm thinking these will retain the scent for the entire year if I keep them out for display to enjoy. Visit Growing Herbs For Beginners and sign up for the Christmas Craft Classes by clicking on the Texas logo on my blog "Guest Blogging for Growing Herbs for Beginners." Once on the website you will find the link for Herb Classes.




Happy Gardening and Merry Christmas!!

Pammy