Indulging in Holiday Scents
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008The scents of the holidays are one of the best things of this time of year. There is the scent of gingerbread cookies baking, sugar cookies in the oven and the holiday meal cooking, but some of the over looked or under-smelled scents of the holidays are herbs. With a bit of knowledge you can pretty much get any scent drifting through your home. Here are a few ways to incorporate some of the best holiday scents and take advantage of their benefits as well.
1. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis): Make a hair rinse using rosemary. The hair rinse will make your hair smell absolutely wonderful. Make a tea with 1/2 cup fresh rosemary. Cool till about lukewarm and use after shampooing and conditioning your hair.
2. Clove (Syzygium aromaticum): There has always been a tradition in our home to make “studded” citrus fruits. Using oranges, limes, lemons and even grapefruits to make studs on the fruits with clove. Whole cloves have a wonderful aroma and when mixed with citrus. Use a wooden dowel to poke holes all in the fruit skin and poke whole cloves into the holes. Place around your home in bowls and smell the aroma fill the air.
3. Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.): Crushing cinnamon sticks is a great way to get a bit of cinnamon into your holidays. If you don’t want to add them to cookies, have a cinnamon tea or even simmer the crushed cinnamon in a pot of water over the stove. Crush whole cinnamon sticks with a mortar. It’s a great way to incorporate cinnamon scent into your holidays.
