My Christmas really starts on Christmas Eve. I start to get really excited as I prepare for the big day ahead. It's one time of the year when I notice that my home is filled with wonderful smells and natural fragrances, which percolate through almost every room in the house. From mouth- watering smells of cooking, roasting and baking that emerge from the kitchen to the sweet fragrances of relaxing bath oils and candles quietly burning in the background. Christmas smells always evoke such fantastic memories, like my children's first performance in the school nativity play to the local Rotary Club coming round with Santa on his sleigh on Christmas Eve; it's just a magical experience.
In the story of the Nativity, the Three Wise Men presented gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh for baby Jesus, and to this day fragrances and essential oils play a great part in the celebration of Christmas all over the world.
I wanted to share with you some of my favourite essential oils for this time of year – which instantly bring back all the great Christmas memories. These essential oils smell great individually or they can be mixed together to create your own unique smell.
- Spruce Essential Oil
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, Christmas is not complete without a Christmas tree and decorating the tree is one of the most exciting things about Christmas. The Christmas tree brings its own outdoor, fresh and very distinctive smell into the home. Spruce essential oil has an energizing and traditional woody aroma that you smell instantly when you have a real Christmas tree. This essential oil is used to ease muscle aches and pains and is good for treating anxiety or stress-related problems. Spruce essential oil has one of those unique scents that bring the fresh smell of the outdoors straight into your living room - leaving the atmosphere clear, crisp and fresh.
- Sweet Orange Essential Oil
Sweet Orange is one of my favourite scents for this time of year! It is a great uplifting and sweet smell for Christmas, this relaxing and calming essential oils features heavily in our bath and body oil, in our organic pamper gift set. This sweet, citrus, refreshing scent is a perfect way to bring a burst of citrus freshness indoors and will instantly improve the aroma of a kitchen or dining room after cooking or eating a Christmas meal. Sweet Orange essential oil can also help with stress relief or anxiety, so it's perfect for scented candles or for a relaxing bath after a hectic day with the family. Adding a few drops into a warm bath will certainly help you to relax and unwind at the end of a busy Christmas Day.
- Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint is a popular ingredient in Christmas shopping and features everywhere from chocolate to sweet treat. It also features in our Peppermint Collection Gift Set. Peppermint essential oil provides a fresh, minty and uplifting scent and proves to be popular all year round, but even more so during the Christmas season. As peppermint oil contains menthol, it has great health benefits and it provides a cooling sensation and to help relieve tension headaches and muscle pain.
- Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense was one of the gifts to the baby Jesus and so plays an important part in Christmas. It is also a great essential oil for this time of year and has been used for many years for its medicinal, cosmetic, aromatic and spiritual benefits. It is wonderfully relaxing and often used in meditation and relaxation therapies so this is an ideal oil and scent to maintain a chilled and relaxed atmosphere during this hectic period. It's a great natural skincare ingredient for dry and mature skin types. Frankincense is also a good spiritual enriching essential oil and a great one to use in a burner or diffuser in order to beautifully radiate a room, creating calm and serenity.
- Myrrh
Myrrh also has great religious connotations as it was another gift presented to the baby Jesus. This scent is often used for its spiritual properties and benefits to oral health – in fact, myrrh can be found as an ingredient in some toothpaste and mouthwash. As an essential oil, myrrh is a powerful antioxidant and great for the protection of ageing skin as it helps reduce wrinkles, chapped and cracked skin.
- Stress Relief Essential Oils
Essential oils such as Lavender, Jasmine and Chamomile are great to use this time of year as they work to relieve any stress or feelings of anxiety. This time of year always proves to be hectic, despite how much preparation you do! Organizing Christmas presents, Christmas plans and Christmas dinner can easily raise stress levels so it may be a good idea to keep these essential oils close by this Christmas! Lavender helps greatly with sleepless nights while, on the opposite scale, Jasmine helps to uplift your mood and can leave the atmosphere feeling refreshed and positive - great for relieving stress or anxiety. Chamomile is a great way to stable emotions as it has the ability to dispel anger and clear the mind. The benefits of all three oils are perfect for this time of year!
Whatever the time at home this year, these wonderful essential oils can help to bring calm, peace, happiness and goodwill to your home.