See how to make a DIY stovetop potpourri gift! These simmer potpourris make your house smell like Christmas and dry potpourri recipes are wonderful homemade holiday gift ideas. The tutorial for Christmas potpourri in a jar comes with free printable labels and gift tags for packaging and gifting.

And I have more good things for you as I’m sharing more amazing DIY beauty and aromatherapy gift from my blogger friends. Scroll to the end of the post and check out their wonderful holiday projects!

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Stovetop potpourri gift ideas – Easy simmering potpourri recipe gift ideas

With Christmas just a couple weeks away, it’s high time to share more DIY holiday gifts. And that’s where my easy stovetop potpourri gift ideas come in! Not only are these 6 Christmas potpourri jars super easy to make, but potpourris in a jar are also very gorgeous to look at.

Holiday simmer potpourri DIYs bring the holiday spirit to your home. And because these dry potpourri recipes are only made with dry ingredients, they have a long shelf life and are wonderful make-ahead Christmas gifts for your family, friends, helpful neighbours, your kid’s teacher and, of course, yourself!

Christmas Potpourri in a Jar

How do you make your house smell Christmassy? Try my 6 dry potpourri recipes! They are like Christmas in a jar! The instructions for how to make stovetop potpourri gifts are beyond simple: just grab a clean empty jar and fill it with a fragrant blend of spices, dried fruits and herbs.

For ingredients, you can use almost anything that is dry and won’t spoil. Think dried citrus and apple slices, dried cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, pine needles and dried herbs. One simmer pot recipes uses even candy canes.

So, let’s get into the simmering potpourri recipes and try 6 stovetop potpourri ideas! And if you like to know how to make festive simmering pots with fresh ingredients, check out my fall stovetop potpourri or this Christmas stovetop potpourri.

Easy Christmas Potpourri Gift – Merry Christmas Boil

This Merry Christmas boil is the quintessential homemade holiday potpourri recipe. This dry potpourri recipe combines our favourite Christmas scents: spices, oranges, dried cranberries, and woodsy conifers. This potpourri blend also looks very festive, and I used holly leaves to decorate the jar.

Check out the materials for this simple Christmas potpourri gift recipe:

• dried cranberries
• dried orange slices
• cinnamon sticks
• whole cloves

To learn how to dry cranberries for potpourri, check out Cyna’s tutorial on how to dry cranberries at home. Fresh cranberries will shorten the shelf life but can be included if you know that the potpourri will be used soon.

Spices & Apple Potpourri Recipe

Baked apples are one of my favourite holiday treats, and this spices and apple potpourri recipe pays homage to the popular Christmas dessert. Dried apple slices, cinnamon, star anise and cloves make your home smell like Christmas instantly. Dried bay leaves add a herbaceous note that is very pleasing to the senses.

Here is how to make a homemade potpourri with apples and warming spices:

• dried apple slices
• dried bay leaves
• cinnamon sticks
• star anise
• whole cloves

Citrus & Orange Potpourri with Spices

A refreshing citrus and orange potpourri! This stovetop potpourri gift is made with dried oranges and cinnamon sticks. I also added dried lemon and blood orange slices, as well as cardamom pods. The combination of citrus and spices is perfect to deodorize your home naturally and clean the air of stale or bad smells.

Here is what you need for this homemade potpourri with oranges:

• dried orange slices
• dried lemon slices
• cinnamon sticks
• cardamom pods

Candy Cane & Vanilla Stove Simmer

This Christmas potpourri in a jar is one for candy lovers. Fresh vanilla beans, cinnamon and real candy canes give this candy cane vanilla stovetop simmer a sweet and minty aroma. While the candy canes will melt quickly as the holiday stovetop potpourri simmers, the peppermint fragrance will scent your home for hours. Coconut flakes provide extra cuteness, but you can omit them if preferred.

Here’s the ingredient list for this yummy peppermint vanilla stove simmer recipe:

• candy canes or starlight mints
• vanilla bean
• coconut flakes
• cinnamon sticks
• star anise

Homemade Pine Potpourri

I live in a city, and perhaps that is why I find the scent of pines, spruce and other conifers so appealing. This homemade pine potpourri smells a little like a walk through a wintery forest and is a perfect handmade gift for nature lovers. The balsamic conifer smell blends with the spices and a hint of lemon – so refreshing and relaxing!

Let’s see what we need to make a homemade pine potpourri:

• cinnamon sticks
• dried lemon slices
• whole cloves

Although I called this a homemade pine potpourri, other conifers such as spruce, fir, cedar or cypress, are perfect for a fragrant dry holiday potpourri, too. I added small pinecones purely for decoration, they don’t smell and you can skip them.

Gingerbread Holiday Stovetop Potpourri

Want your house to smell like cinnamon? This stovetop potpourri gift is packed with spices, that make your home smell like you have been baking gingerbread and Christmas cookies all day long. Cinnamon sticks, anise stars, and chunks of dried candied ginger make this dry potpourri recipe very appealing, and the warm, spicy Christmas scent is just heavenly.

If you have, I also recommend adding whole almonds with the skin on as the benzaldehyde in the almond skin creates a nice bitter almond fragrance.

Want to know the ingredients in this gingerbread Christmas simmer pot recipe? Here they are:

• dried crystallised ginger (regular dried ginger works too)
• cinnamon sticks
• vanilla bean
• star anise
• whole cloves
• nutmeg
• cardamom pods
• whole almonds (with skin!)

By the way, you don’t have to include all of the suggested materials. It’s perfectly fine to customize the dry potpourri ingredients and use the spices you have at hand. You can also add ground spices or a ground spice mix.

How to package DIY Christmas stovetop potpourri gift ideas – Potpourri jars

Who doesn’t love mason jar gifts? When it comes to packaging stovetop potpourri gift ideas, you have options, my friends! Most likely, you won’t even have to buy jars. Simply recycle cleaned jam or salsa jars.

Here a few glass jars for gifts and Christmas potpourri in a jar recipes:

• 8-oz mason jar
• 8-oz jam jars with lids 
• 4-oz quilted mason jars 
• 4 -oz clip-to jars
• 11-oz milk bottles

Homemade potpourri sachets

You can also create a Christmas sachet. How do you create a Christmas potpourri sachet? Easy, fill the contents of a dry potpourri recipe into a small cotton bag, organza bag or treat bag and tie with a pretty ribbon. Optionally, attach a gift tag and decorations.

Stove top potpourri recipe with printable labels and gift tags – Pretty DIY gifts for holidays

Of course, this wouldn’t be a CHC blog post without printable stovetop potpourri labels and gift tags. The printable labels and gift tags come in different shapes and sizes so that everyone can find a label for their jar. I have included the steps on the printable potpourri labels, so recipients know what to do.

You can download the printable Christmas potpourri labels at the end of the post.

How do you simmer potpourri?

So, how do you simmer a dry potpourri recipe? Stovetop potpourris can simmer for several hours and the steps for how to use these stovetop potpourri gift ideas are pretty easy:

• Fill a small saucepan or pot with 2 to 3 cups of water.
• Add the simmering potpourri mix.
• Simmer uncovered over low flame.
• To avoid burned ingredients, replenish with fresh water as needed. Be careful that kids or pets don’t burn themselves.
• After cooking, take the saucepan/pot off the heat and let sit on the counter to fragrance your home further.
• You can reheat all simmering potpourri recipes except the candy cane vanilla simmer pot for 2 to 3 days.

How long do dry simmering potpourri gift recipes last?

Homemade potpourris in a jar are one of these easy make-ahead holiday gift ideas that you can prepare well in advance. This holiday project is perfect when you want to craft homemade Christmas gifts early and to have something ready whenever you need a present for surprise guests.

Store your homemade stovetop potpourri gifts in a dry, dark place away, from moisture and heat. Dry stovetop recipes last for many months, even years depending on the ingredients and how you store them.

More holiday gift ideas

For more easy holiday gifts, try these projects from my blogger friends:

DIY Air Freshener with Essential Oils

These DIY air fresheners from Everything are made with essential oils, beeswax, and soy wax. They are perfect for closets, drawers, or anywhere that needs a little freshening up.

Honey and Goat Milk Soap Recipe

This honey melt and goat mils soap recipe from Life-n-Reflection makes easy handmade gifts for friends and family, and the rich lather and sweet scent make them irresistible not to keep one for yourself. The finished soaps have a classic bumblebee and honeycomb shape that makes each look expensive and elegant.

Christmas Ornament Bath Bombs

Handmade bath bombs always make for a fun gift, but turning them into Bath Bomb Ornaments like Lydi Out Loud make them the perfect holiday gift. Scented with the smells of the season and made festive with red and green sprinkles, they not only make a perfect holiday gift, but a full sensory experience.

8 Holiday Room Spray Recipes

Essential oil rooms sprays are so easy to make, smell amazing, and have aromatherapy benefits for you.  Check out these 8-holiday room spray recipes from our Oily House to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

DIY Essential Oil Ornaments

Learn how to make DIY essential oil ornaments in 30-minutes or less to add a natural fragrance to your tree this holiday season. These quick &easy ornaments from Soap Deli News can be scented with your favorite holiday essential oil blend and make lovely DIY holiday gifts too!

DIY Holiday Cupcake Bath Bombs

Tweak & Tinker shares a festive holiday bath bomb cupcake DIY with two designs to choose from – one candy cane peppermint and one Christmas tree. This easy recipe contains nourishing oil, clay and essential oils and makes for a pretty handmade gift.

DIY Mocha Mint Cupcake Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

This mint chocolate cupcake soap recipe from Total Wellness Choices is easy to make with melt and pour soap. These soap cupcakes are adorable and are scented with a natural mocha mint fragrance oil. The unique soap mold makes the process easy. They make a great holiday gift for friends, teachers, or anyone who loves fun soap.

Over to you!

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Irena xx