6 Essentials to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas – with Luxurious Greenery, Spices, and Fireside Notes

I test home fragrancing for a living, and this is how to elevate your home with gourmand and seasonal notes

A blue dining room decorated for Christmas with a large laid table, large Christmas tree, presents, taper candles and a decorated white mantelpiece with candles, foliage, and a large gold mirror above.
(Image credit: Future / Time Inc (UK) Ltd)

While I love using scents to elevate my home year-round, there's just something about the winter season that really brings seasonal scenting into its own.

I'm not just talking about the classics, either, like candles boasting notes of wood fire and vanilla. Both winter and Christmas inspire natural scenting, with the use of seasonal spices and foliage to decorate your space and create a sense of welcoming warmth.

Six Suggestions for Scenting the Season


If you're after more recommendations or holiday gifting inspiration, I've also put together a guide to the best candles, best reed diffusers, best essential oil diffusers, and the fall scents I'm shopping from Net-a-Porter, all of which contain options to suit any budget.

Ottilie Blackhall
Sleep Editor

Ottilie joined Homes & Gardens in 2024 as the News Writer on Solved, after finishing a Master's in Magazine Journalism at City, University of London. Now, as the Sleep Editor, she spends her days hunting deals and producing content on all things sleep – from mattresses and sheets to protectors and pillows, all of which she tests in her own home. She also has particular expertise in home fragrance, covering everything from candles to reed diffusers.

Previously, she has written for Livingetc and Motorsport Magazine, and also has a Master's degree in English Literature and History of Art from the University of Edinburgh, where she developed a love for inspiring interiors and architecture.