Scented decorations for Christmas

Create an aromatic atmosphere using handmade decorations scented with spicy essential oils

Pretty pomanders

These clove-studded oranges will invite the smell of Christmas into your home, and they make an attractive display, too. Make holes in oranges with a large needle, then push in cloves. You can draw the designs with little dots of marker pen. Make these just before you want to display them, as the oranges will rot quite quickly.



Winter potpourri
Put whole cloves, pieces of cassia or cinnamon bark, nutmegs, cinnamon sticks, dried rosehips, cardamom pods and star anise in a polythene bag. Add several drops of Christmas spice oil, or a combination of essential oils such as orange, cinnamon, clove and frankincense, tie the bag and shake up to mix. Leave for a week or so, then put in cellophane bags to give as presents, adding dried red chillies and dried orange slices for colour. Drops of oil can be added whenever the smell begins to fade. You can also freshen up existing potpourri in the same way.

Potpourri ingredients available from supermarkets, or Indian spice stockists.

Creative candles
Nothing sets a Christmas scene like the flickering flame of a candle. To turn a plain perfumed candle into something special, pin bay or ivy leaves around the outer edge using whole cloves, having made the holes in the candle with a hot needle.

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