I’m loving my new and improved living room since I got my IKEA furniture.  It’s looking even more special with my Christmas decorations up. Coming home at night and turning on the tree lights, then lighting the candles on my mantelpiece makes me so happy.

I wanted the room to smell, as well as look, Christmassy. Last year I bought a Yankee Christmas candle but, alas, it  made me sneeze uncontrollably so I gave it away. This year, I’ve gone for a more natural option – Christmas pot pourri.


I’m not a fan of shop bought pot pourri – I’ve seen some dyed in garish colours with artificial scents which are horrible. However, this natural concoction smells lovely. I bought cloves, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon sticks and dried oranges. I could have dried my own orange slices, but I was worried I’d end up setting fire to the kitchen.

I have it in a shallow dish on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. The dish is star shaped (it’s actually meant to be a starfish) but stars work for Christmas too! It’s subtle, but I get wafts of orange and clove as I’m sitting on the sofa knitting. You could put the mix in a cloth bag and tie it to a radiator (or hang it near a fire, if you have one) if you wanted to intensify the scent.

To me, it’s the smell of Christmas and it’s glorious.