Homemade Christmas potpourri – add a holiday scent to your home

Homemade Christmas potpourri combining dried fruits, plants, spices and essential oils is a great way to invite nature into your home, while perfuming your interior. Perfect for every time of year, potpourri is particularly suitable for Christmas. Chic, eco-friendly and good for the budget, it combines several ingredients and colors and is very easy to make.

There are many ways to fill your home with a pleasant scent. With the right choice of ingredients you can create different “perfumes” for your home. Aromatic potpourri is a method for aromatherapy. Potpourri (French for “assorted”) is a mixture between plants, flowers, spices and essential oils.

Stovetop potpourri, also known as “simmer pot potpourri” means that you mix naturally aromatic ingredients into a small pot of simmering water on the stove and you fill your home with pleasant and all-natural scent.

Homemade Christmas potpourri is a wonderful gift for family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. You can combine various ingredients in a glass jar, small basket or a bag. Add a gift tag with instructions and Christmas wishes and you will have original, all-natural and eco-friendly homemade Christmas gifts!

What is important to know about homemade potpourri?

How do you make stovetop potpourri? Well, nothing easier! Just mix all the ingredients, add water and put your pot or pan on the stove top over very low heat. Potpourri should not be boiling, but simmering. Refill water when it evaporates and that’s all!

Generally, one of the most important considerations is safety. Despite the fact that stovetop potpourri are simmering, you should never leave the pot completely unattended and make sure to turn off the heat at night or when you leave the house. You should make sure that your stovetop potpourri are not completely dry. Setting an alarm will help you remember to check what’s going on the stove top and refill the water, if necessary.

Many people wonder if they can reuse their potpourri ingredients. Of course, you can. You can add water and keep your current mix simmering until you decide that you want to change the ingredients. Obviously, the scent will fade, so you should add a bit of ingredients to the pot.

What ingredients can you use for your homemade Christmas potpourri?

One of the best things about homemade Christmas potpourri is that you can create your own recipes and there is no need to follow exact measurements. There are no right or wrong ingredients here – choose according to your taste. You can find a huge assortment of pre-made mixes on the market but it is so much better to use your own imagination and favorite scents, isn’t it? Of course, we shall give you some homemade Christmas potpourri recipes, but you can substitute any of the ingredients with what you have available at home. For example, if you do not have dried orange slices or cinnamon sticks, do not hesitate to use fresh orange and ground cinnamon.

Here is a list of ingredients that you can use for your homemade Christmas potpourri:

• cinnamon sticks
• cloves
• nutmeg
• star anise
• allspice
• rosemary
• evergreen branches
• cranberries
• lemons
• dried or fresh citrus slices – oranges, clementines, lemon, lime, etc.
• dried or fresh apple
• vanilla
• lemon grass
• bay leaf
• dried flowers
• thyme
• lavender
• eucalyptus
• mint
• ginger root

Simmering Christmas Potpourri Mix Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tiny mandarins or 1 orange
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp mixed spice
• 4 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp of dry lemon grass
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp of dried flowers

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for as long as you wish. Keep adding more water to prevent the mix from drying.

Cranberry and Apples Christmas Stovetop Potpourri

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 orange, sliced
• ½ apple, sliced
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cinnamon bark or 3-4 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• few small pieces of evergreen tree
• water

Instructions:

Put all of the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and top up with water.

Simmer on the lowest setting and add water when necessary.

Easy Christmas Potpourri Recipe

Ingredients:

• ¼ grapefruit, cut into chunks, peel on
• 1 large apple cut into pieces
• ½ lemon, cut into chunks, peel on
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 cup cranberries
• Few small pine branches cut straight from a tree
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cups water

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 4-6 hours for fresh-smelling potpourri.

Holiday Simmering Potpourri Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 orange, cut into slices
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 2 -3 conifer twigs (pine, fir, spruce, cedar)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 2 chunks crystalised ginger (substitute with fresh or dried ginger)
• 8 anise stars
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tbsp cardamom pods
• 2 – 3 cups / 500 – 750 ml fresh water
• 10-20 drops essential oils, optional
• 1 tbsp flavor extract – vanilla, rum, peppermint or any other of your choice

Instructions:

Cut the orange into slices or wedges.

Fill a pot or saucepan half full with water.

Add the orange slices and other ingredients.

Optionally, also add essential oils or flavor extracts.

Bring the stove top potpourri to a mild simmer.

Cook on low flame and add water as needed.

Cranberry and Cinnamon Stove Top Potpourri Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges, sliced
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup cranberries
• 3 teaspoons ground clove
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 2 sprigs rosemary

Instructions:

Place ingredients into pot and fill with water to about 1 inch/2,5 cm below brim and simmer.

DIY Simmering Potpourri Gift Jar

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Orange Slices
• 3-4 Apple Slices
• 1 Tablespoon Cloves
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• ¼ Cup Cranberries – dried or fresh

Christmas potpourri gift jars ideas

Ingredients:

• Cinnamon sticks
• Whole cloves
• Allspice
• Star anise
• dried cranberries
• dried orange slices

Dried stove top potpourri recipe

Ingredients:

• Dried citrus slices
• Rosemary, thyme, or sage
• all-spice
• cloves
• cinnamon sticks

Quick and easy Christmas potpourri gift

Ingredients:

• Dried cranberries
• Dried orange slices
• Cinnamon sticks
• Whole cloves
• Conifer twigs

Spices and Apple Potpourri Recipe

Ingredients:

• Dried apple slices
• Dried bay leaves
• Cinnamon sticks
• Star anise
• Whole cloves

Citrus and Orange Potpourri with Spices

Ingredients:

• Dried orange slices
• Dried lemon slices
• Cinnamon sticks
• Cardamom pods

Candy Cane and Vanilla Stovetop potpourri

Ingredients:

• Candy canes
• Vanilla bean
• Coconut flakes
• Cinnamon sticks
• Star anise

Homemade Pine Potpourri

Ingredients:

• Cinnamon sticks
• Whole cloves
• Dried lemon slices
• Conifer twigs – spruce, fir, cedar or cypress

Gingerbread Holiday Stovetop Potpourri

Ingredients:

• Dried crystallized ginger
• Cinnamon sticks
• Vanilla bean
• Star anise
• Whole cloves
• Nutmeg
• Cardamom pod
• Almonds