The holiday season is a glorious time of year when many people are itching to transform their homes and businesses into winter wonderlands. Decorations certainly catch the eye and do much to establish that festive holiday feeling. Savvy individuals know that scents also can convey messages and elicit strong memories.
Scents can bring back memories and have a stronger link to emotions than the other senses, according to Discovery. Neuroscientists say scents bypass the thalamus, which acts as the relay station in the brain, and go directly to the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and the hippocampus, which is why aromas can trigger intense emotion and detailed memory, as these components are vital to processing memories and emotions.
This holiday season, crafters can explore the various ways to capitalize on the scents of the season to make the experience more immersive for everyone involved. These projects showcase inviting aromas.
Stovetop Potpourri
Set a simmering pot of warming scents to give your home an inviting aroma. Dried orange or lemon slices, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise will smell wonderful together. Turn this into a gift by packaging the ingredients inside of a mason jar with a festive ribbon attached to it.
Cocoa-Scented Soaps
Crafters need only visit their local craft stores to find inspiration for various projects. Many retailers have an entire aisle dedicated to soap-making. Kits often have reusable molds, colorants and essential oils. Look for add-ins that can mimic the inviting scent of a warm mug of hot cocoa with cinnamon. Every time the soap is used it can elicit memories of sipping hot chocolate while snow falls outside.
Evergreen Candles
Making candles is another fun craft project, with soy wax, paraffin wax or beeswax widely available. Crafters can customize the scents as they desire, but for the holidays, the fresh scent of pine can trigger fond memories of the season. Line the mold or fill a vessel with a few sprigs of evergreen branches collected for a decorative effect, and use drops of pine-scented essential oil to mix into the wax. When lit, the candles will make it seem like a fir tree is inside your home.
Peppermint Bath Bombs
Candy canes are displayed and enjoyed during the holiday season. Mimic the effect of candy canes with peppermint bath bombs that can revitalize and sooth whenever a spa experience is needed. Bath bombs can be made with a few simple ingredients pressed into a mold. They can be tossed into the bath water or allowed to dissolve during a shower to release a rich aroma into the steamy environment.
DIY Reed Diffusers
Reed diffusers are a flame and heat-free way to fragrance a space, which is perfect for those with pets or small children. They are easy to make and can be great gifts. One will need a glass or glazed ceramic container with a narrow opening at the top. Then add a solvent or oil to the container as the base. Some people use sweet almond oil or even vodka and water. Then add a fragrance of choice. Vanilla-scented essential oils can create a “Christmas cookie” scent. Then fill the container with a few reed diffuser sticks or bamboo skewers and wait for the scent to permeate the room.
Scented crafts can enhance the holiday experience by eliciting strong, happy memories.
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