Thursday, November 18, 2010

Make Your Home Smell Great for The Holidays

One common thing that I think of when I think of the holidays is the smells that are associated with the holiday. Here are some easy ways to make your house smell great and with a whiff make you instantly think of the wonderful holidays of the past.




1. Cinnamon Apple Sauce Cookie Ornaments will help to freshen the house up and provide the house with that lovely scent of cinnamon. TO make these cookies:



Mix equal parts cinnamon and applesauce together and refrigerate overnight (This gives the best results). Next day take a small amount out of the fridge and roll it out just as you were making cookies. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place a small hole in the top for future hanging. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough. You can place the shaped ornaments on a piece of cardboard or any other flat surface other than a metal pan. Allow to slowly air dry turning after the top side is stiff and dry. These will definitely smell up your house with the smell of Christmas and after you have dried them, you can hang them on your tree and use them for many years to come



2. Candles work well because they come in a great variety of scents. The only problem here is that you often need several to get the house smelling like the certain scent you want to achieve.



3. Potpourri is something that my sister in law uses a lot of. She sits a little in baskets through out the house. Like the candles they provide a stronger scent with the more that is used. This is safer than candles though in that they do not need a flame to make the fragrance. eaves and stuff it smells like Christmas. <3 You can buy potpourri at the store or here is a recipe that you can make at home

4 Oranges

4 Lemons

1/2 cup Whole cloves

1/2 cup Whole allspice

10 Cinnamon Sticks, broken

10 Bay leaves, crumbled

8 ounces Decorated jelly jars with bands & lids

Using a vegetable peeler, peel fruit carefully, removing only the peel, not any of the white pith. Cut or tear into one inch pieces. Spread peel on paper towel lined pan. Place in preheated oven to 175, or set oven to WARM. Dry in oven for 1 1/2 hours, tossing occasionally. Peels should be leathery and/or slightly crunchy. Spread peels on dry paper towels and let air dry for 24 hours. Combine with the cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Fill jars with mixture. Place lids on and screw bands on tightly. To use: Remove lid and leave band on for decoration to fragrance a room; OR put one Tblsp into a jar and fill jar with boiling water to release fragrance.

4. You can take oranges and stick small whole cloves in them. This will create a fragrance that will smell good for a while and brings that Christmas scent . This is also very fun you can create designs with the cloves and each of the oranges can look a bit different.



5. Fragrant oils are also widely available. The can be used in oil burners and bring as scent to the area that can be strong and last quite a while. This depends on the type and brand used.



6. Purchase a live tree if you can. It may be a bit harder to take care of but it brings the scent inside to you. In addition to the tree perhaps some evergreen wreaths around the house will help bring the Christmas smell of your choice. Scented pine cones are also available in some areas. I have been known to take a red or green plastic or glass bowl and fill it with pine cones, pine needles and the such makes a great holiday décor and also helps to make a wonderful scent.

7. Simply peel some fruit and put the peelings into a pan of simmering water the scent will remind you of Christmas and the fruit that was normally found around this time. I can remember always getting an orange for Christmas sometimes more than one.

8. Fill a spray bottle ¼ cup of baking soda and the rest water. Mix in some extract to give it a scent. You can use peppermint, lemon, orange, vanilla or a number of other scents. The baking soda will absorb any odor that may be present previously and the extract will leave a scent of the holidays behind.

9. A couple of quick ways to make a kitchen smell good are (1) leave fresh coffee grounds on the counter top for just a short period of time (2) grind a lemon or an orange peel in the garbage disposal (3) simmer water and cinnamon or cloves on the stove top

10. use scented dryer sheets in the air ducts to help place a fragrance into the air.



11. Place a few drops of scented oils on the light bulbs of lights in the rooms. The heat will heat the oil releasing a fragrance that floats through the house.



12. Do some holiday baking pies, brownies or breads will quickly add a great scent to the house



13. Use products that you can find at your local grocery store, target or Wal-Mart like air freshener, carpet deodorizers many products you can find at the store are perfect for holiday scents



14. Place bowls with sponges that have been drenched with vanilla, peppermint or other scent throughout the rooms in places that they can’t be seen

There are several ways to make you house smell like the holidays. Just like different people have their favorite scent of the holiday so is there a different manner in which to place this scent into you house. This post has been created in part for Snuggle Fabric Softner which is a name brand in our house. You can try the Ultimate in Snuggly Softness and get a $1.00 Snuggle® coupon and enjoy the scent of Blue Sparkle® Ultra that lasts for 14 days of freshness!

To find out more about Snuggle you can visit the Snuggle  website

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Snuggle blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here
 

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