Spread Christmas cheer with a homemade gingerbread essential oil! The festive holiday blend is perfectly scented with ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, and other warm oils that evoke the delicious smell of freshly baked gingerbread cookies. Perfect for the diffuser and home fragrance!

DIY gingerbread essential oil blend

Gingerbread essential oil is a classic Christmas scent that brings me back to my childhood and my grandmother’s baking.

My grandma owned a pub in the Midlands, and each year she would rent out the local bakery to bake thousands of holiday cookies. Her gingerbread cookies were always highly sought after by her guests and family. I sure had my fair share!

And to this day, I love the smell of gingerbread. The rich aroma of molasses and spices is enough to take you to Santa’s workshop and make you feel like one of his elven bakers.

This gingerbread scented oil is part of my personal Christmas essential oil trifecta. The other 2 blends are this incredible Christmas tree oil and the classic candy cane essential oil.

Creating holiday scents is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the Christmas season. Some of my other favorites include this sugar cookie essential oil and my pumpkin pie spice essential oil.

What does gingerbread smell like?

Gingerbread has a unique smell that resembles the aroma of gingerbread cookies. It’s a mingling of sweet, slightly bitter molasses, honey, sugar, and warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and of course, ginger.

Gingerbread has a long tradition. Its history traces back to ancient Greece and medieval Europe. The first gingerbread man was apparently made for Queen Elizabeth I.

The gingerbread house originates in Germany, where the tale of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm made it a popular holiday confection. Hop over to The Spruce Eats if you’d like to learn more about the history of gingerbread.

What essential oils make gingerbread scent?

The characteristic gingerbread smell comes from a mix of different spices, which we can fashion by combining spice oils such as ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

While it’s easy to recreate the aroma of spices with essential oils, replicating the aroma of molasses is a bit tricky. Molasses smells sweet with a sour note. My blend uses copaiba, sweet orange, and vanilla to achieve a sweet, molasses-like smell.

You can intensify the molasses aroma by adding benzoin resin to your gingerbread blend. Benzoin resin is a dark, thick oil obtained from the styrax tree and has a smooth, sweet smell similar to vanilla. I also use it in my DIY sweater weather candle, but it’s optional because it isn’t easy to find.

Ingredients

On to the fun part, mixing your own gingerbread scented oil! You’ll only need a few oils to make this scrumptious blend, and you probably have most of these in your collection already. Here’s what you’ll need:

The total drop count is 200 drops, which is approximately 10 ml. I recommend storing your Christmas spice blend in a 10-ml amber glass dropper bottle.

Gingerbread diffuser blend

To use this blend in your diffuser or to test it out, try this gingerbread diffuser blend. It’s the same ratio of oils, just with smaller amounts.

Simply add this blend to your diffuser and diffuse as you usually would.

How to make gingerbread essential oil

Before the holiday season starts, I always whip up DIY gingerbread fragrance oil. It’s super easy and takes just 5 minutes to create. This is how to make gingerbread scent with essential oils:

Open bottle. Remove the dropper cap from a 10 ml amber glass essential oil bottle. This recipe makes approximately 10 ml, but you can reduce or double the ingredients to adjust the amount.
Add essential oils. Place a small funnel in the opening of the bottle and add the essential oils into the funnel. You can do this step without a funnel, but this method helps to avoid spills.
Close bottle. Attach the dropper cap and screw the lid on tightly.
Blend. Gently shake the bottle to combine the oils and optionally apply the printable label.
Rest. Let the blend develop for 1 to 2 days before use. The fragrances need time to mingle together and can change a little during this period.

How to use gingerbread oil

Use gingerbread essential oil for your diffuser and to fragrance holiday candles, wax melts, room spray, and other air fresheners. You can also use it to spice up homemade fire starters and scented ornaments. It’s a great blend to have on hand during the chilly winter months.

FAQ

Is this holiday essential oil blend aromatherapeutic?

Yes, gingerbread essential oil offers aromatherapy benefits. The warm, spicy scent has a grounding and comforting effect and can provide calm, ease tension, and create a relaxed mood.

Can I use this gingerbread essential oil to season cookies and treats?

No! Essential oils aren’t safe for consumption and should never be used to season food. Instead, try this homemade gingerbread spice mix.

How is this scent different from pumpkin pie spice?

I also have a pumpkin spice essential oil recipe on the blog, and you might wonder how it’s different from this gingerbread blend.

The difference is subtle, but the pumpkin spice oil has a stronger cinnamon note. Whereas ginger is more prominent in my gingerbread scented oil.

Is this recipe the same as gingerbread fragrance oil?

No, essential oils and fragrance oils are different. Essential oils are always sourced from natural plant materials. Fragrance oils are made of synthetic components.

Is this blend safe for skin care?

No, I don’t recommend adding this blend to your homemade skincare products. Ginger and cinnamon essential oil are pretty potent and known irritants. No worries though, I’ll share a skin-safe version below.

Is this blend safe for pets?

You can safely diffuse the blend around pets, but you should never apply the oil to your pet’s skin, and they mustn’t ingest it.

I have 2 cats and always leave the door open when I’m diffusing, so they have the option to move to another location if they don’t like the smell.

Skin-safe gingerbread essential oil

To scent bath and body products, try this gentler, skin-safe gingerbread essential oil blend. Use this blend at a 1% to 2% usage rate. You’ll need:

I created this blend last year when I shared 8 gingerbread-inspired essential oil holiday gifts. In this post, you’ll learn recipes for bath bombs, gingerbread soap, sugar scrub cubes, lotion bars, lip balm, lip scrub, tea lights, and wax melts.

Storage instructions

Storage: Store your gingerbread essential oil recipe airtight and protected from light + heat. An amber glass bottle is best because brown glass blocks out sunlight.
Shelf life: The essential oil recipe will keep good for 1 to 2 years.

Gingerbread Essential Oil Recipe

Yield: 10 ml

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Open bottle. Remove the dropper cap from a 10 ml amber glass essential oil bottle. This recipe makes approximately 10 ml, but you can reduce or double the ingredients to adjust the amount.
Add essential oils. Place a small funnel in the opening of the bottle and add the essential oils into the funnel. You can do this step without a funnel, but this method helps to avoid spills.
Close bottle. Attach the dropper cap and screw the lid on tightly.
Blend. Gently shake the bottle to combine the oils and optionally apply the printable label.
Rest. Let the blend develop for 1 to 2 days before use. The fragrances need time to mingle together and can change a little during this period.