Christmas Scent

Marg (CaymanDesigns)'s Note:

This makes an excellent gift. Make sure you make some for yourself too though because it really smells wonderful. Please note, you need to use whole cloves. Ground cloves are much stronger and will definitely overwhelm the other scents. If you aren't a fan of cloves, feel free to leave them out entirely. I do sometimes.

• Total Time: 5 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 jar

• 2 -4 tablespoons cloves (whole)
• 2 -4 cinnamon sticks
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 orange, sliced
• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• water

Directions:

1. Add orange and lemon slices to dry mixture of spices. Put in a small sauce pan with 4 cups of water. Simmer on low to release the fragrance. Or, you can simmer it in a mini (2 qt.) crock pot with the lid off for a safer alternative.
2. IF you simmer it for a few hours, you will need to add more water occasionally so it doesn't boil dry. Store in refrigerator when not in use, to prevent molding. It can be simmered over and over again! Always add more water to equal 4 cups before each use.
3. TO GIVE AS A GIFT: put ingredients in a quart-sized decorative jar. Add enough water to fill jar. Add a few drops of red food coloring if desired. Close securely and give with a small gift tag explaining how to use it.
4. Note, I prefer to use the lesser amount of cloves so that they don't overwhelm the other fragrances.

Reviews

[Chef #625629]

Mmmm! We made this the day after Thanksgiving to have on while we put out Christmas decorations. It made our house smell soooo good and cheerful! My husband decided to try apple juice instead of the water and it enhanced the other smells a lot! Thanks for the awesome scent - we'll be using it a lot during the Christmas season now!

[Redhead in Chicago]

This was a perfect homemade gift to give to friends and family. Everyone loved it! Thanks for posting!

[IowaGirl]

This is fabulous! I had my family over for supper before our annual Christmas light tour and this scent was a great scene setter. Because we were using all of our burners, I did use a crockpot on high. Worked great!