Next Post
Sage Crusted Standing Rib Roast with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
I don’t know about you, but I love the smell of Christmas. Give someone the gift of a Christmas scent (homemade holiday potpourri) this holiday season!
Fresh pine, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange. So fresh, yet so cozy. To me, there’s nothing better than a snow day and a pot of homemade potpourri simmering on the stove. It’s winter perfection.
Last Christmas, I made potpourri in a pot for us all to enjoy, but this year I thought, why not take those scents and turn them into a gift for all our friends and family to enjoy as well. I know, I know, I am just so nice…right. Seriously though, this is such a quick and simple gift, I cannot believe I never thought of it before!
I have customized these cute little bags to my liking, but feel free to use a little more of this and a little less of that so that your Christmas scent is just PERFECT for you.
I also used fresh cranberries and oranges in my bag. Since I will be gifting these bags to Asher teachers tomorrow, I stored them in the fridge. If you would prefer, you can make these using all dried fruits, and then you don’t have to worry about the fruit going bad. For me, the fresh cranberries and oranges make a huge difference both in appearance and in smell, just sayin.
OKAY, and now for a fun/sort of serious part of this post. In keeping with my goal to really try to give back this December, today I have partnered with ZWILLING J.A. Henckels (aka my bestest buddies) to gift THREE readers one of my FAVORITE Staub pots. I’m pretty excited about it, AND you get to choose your favorite color (my favorites are the matte black and grenadine)! I know, so fun!
Staub is hands down my all time favorite cookware. Their pots, skillets, and dishware are honestly the best. I know you guys will LOVE this Staub Cast Iron 4 Quart Cocotte. It’s the pot I use most in the kitchen!! Love it!
While I am so excited to be gifting you guys some of my favorite cookware, I am also really excited to share a little info about the charity I am giving to this week. My mom has always made a point to give back, especially around Christmas. This year, she has really inspired me to give back myself, and today I wanted to chat a little about a charity I think is pretty close to a lot of people’s hearts.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital works day and night to help save the lives of thousands of children battling cancer. Cancer is something that has probably affected most us in some way or another. I know it has greatly affected my family. This is one of the many reasons I feel so lucky to be able to give back and help support such an amazing organization like St. Jude’s.
I was laying in bed the other night finishing up some work, I think it was like 11:45 pm and I was so ready for bed, but me being me, I just couldn’t go to sleep without a little something fun. At least for a few minutes of a Christmas movie was a must. I told myself I would only watch ten minutes, but of course, I picked one of those sappy, tear-filled Hallmark Christmas movies. A huh, you know what I’m talking about.
Anyway, long story short, the movie was about a young boy with leukemia. His mother wrote a blog about their journey, staying at St. Jude’s, and the everyday ups and downs. To say that it was intense is an understatement. I totally cried my way through the ending, but even though the story was so sad, it was also very upbeat and positive at the same time. It’s hard to explain, and I am a horrible story-teller, but the point is that it really made you think and be grateful and so happy for what you have, you know?
I really could not think of a better organization to donate to this Christmas. Kids are everything, full of innocence, energy, and life. Knowing that by giving, even just a little, I can help to fund research that can potentially help save lives, is a great feeling.
So today I am encouraging you all to give a little back too, if it’s at all possible! Please check out the St. Jude’s Website, watch the videos, learn about the kids, and learn how you can help save a life.
Sorry if that all totally sounds like an ad, BUT it’s Christmas, and it’s a time for giving, not just receiving… of course that’s fun too!
To enter the Staub GIVEAWAY: tell me what is on your bucket list of things you MUST do before Christmas? Do you want to go ice skating? Bake pounds of Christmas Cookies? Decorate Gingerbread houses? Make Homemade Holiday Potpourri for gifting?
Leave your answer in the comments and I will pick THREE winners one week from today!! Oh, and if you do decide to give to St. Jude’s, please email me or let me know in the comments. I will send you a big internet hug! 🙂
Happy potpourri making friends!
Christmas Potpourri.
Servings: 1 BAG HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS POTPOURRI
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries OR 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks crushed
- 1-2 star ansie optional
- 1 tablespoon cardamom crushed
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1/4 cup candied ginger
- 1 vanilla bean halved lengthwise
- 1 fresh pine or 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 cup Satsuma or tangerine OR 1/3 candied orange peel
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except the orange in a burlap bag or glass jar. If using a jar, add the orange and seal the jar. If using a burlap bag, tie the sack shut and then tie the orange onto the outside of the sack. You can also just place the orange inside the sack. Decorate as desired.
- If using fresh cranberries and oranges, gift the potpourri within 2-3 days of making and keep stored in the fridge. If you use all dried fruits, the potpourri can be stored at room temperature for up to a month.
- To make the Potpourri, add the contents of your bag (or jar) to a medium size pot. Add water until it comes 3/4 the way up the pot. Simmer on the stove over low heat, adding water every so often to keep it from drying up.
If only you could smell my potpourri simmering away. SO Christmasy!! And isn’t that Staub pot the most beautiful thing ever? It’s really a work of art! I know I have already said this, but it’s my favorite!
Lastly, if you make this Homemade Holiday Potpourri be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
This post was originally published on December 6, 2015
On my pre christmas bucket list – Christmas cards! I know it takes time and is “old fashioned” but they are always appreciated and a way for me to stay in touch with family and friends across the country.
I love that you still send Christmas cards! I used to love to see all the ones we got from other families! Thanks Brenda!
This year I am having all my family (35 or so) to my rural Colorado home and i can’t wait. I am planning the menu and the schedule so that I can coast into the Christmas Event without breaking a sweat! So much to do, but I too love this time of year and with planning and a day by day schedule I can get everything done without too much stress.
That sounds so great! I hope you have an amazing holiday and everything goes well! Let me know if you have any questions!
do some recipe testing for vegan sides and a vegan pumpkin pie. a guest this year is vegan
Okay I’ll try that out! Thanks!
oooh I am thinking of making this a classroom project for fourth graders! How fun for them to take home and have the smells in each and every house! Thanks so much for the instructions……a great idea!!!
That sounds like such a great idea! And something I am sure their parents will enjoy! Let me know how it goes Cindy! Thanks!
Thank you very much for this beautiful Staub pot! I am so grateful for being one of the chosen winners for this giveaway! I have never won a giveaway, so this is very exciting for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️ Merry Christmas to you, your family and all of your wonderful readers! Xo
Our week before Christmas is about people, not presents. We call “older friends” who are away, we share a meal with local friends, trying to spend special time with each one. It’s our special gift—-to ourselves also! As a native Memphiam, St. Jude has been our special charity for almost 51years! Merry Christmas!
I’ve already baked all my cookies for family and friends. This year I am bringing back an old tradition for many years of breaking a couple of different types of bread for family. I stopped doing this about 10 years ago, because it seemed like live got too hectic this time of year. But, I miss the process of baking bread from scratch and people LOVE receiving homemade bread…so bread it will be for my Christmas Bucket List. Oh and of course, there are my homemade Christmas cards. I started those back in October. They mailed tomorrow!
I follow you on pinterest and today I became a subscriber. I really like your blog.
My Christmas bucket list obviously includes baking cookies — I bake my (and my best friend’s, boyfriend’s and dad’s…) favorite: spiced oatmeal and cranberry cookies. I’ll box these guys up before Christmas and send them to my dad and he’ll box up the Christmas cookies he made and send them to me. He lives in Pennsylvania and I live in Massachusetts so it lets us start celebrating a little early. We love the preparation leading up to Christmas and it doesn’t feel like the holidays without a little cookie swap across state lines.
Happy Holidays!
Here is my bucket list for the season…
To finish knitting my Christmas gifts.
See Star Wars with my son on Thursday.
Bake Merry Cherry bars and macaroons.
Decorate the tree. This year I knitted the ornaments!
Go to the post office, stand in line, and hope I didn’t forget any addresses!
Pray that the Yoda and Darth Vader gingerbread men look as good as they taste!
Make an awesome Christmas dinner while sipping Tom and Jerry’s!
Watch animated vintage Christmas cartoons with the family.
HO HO HO!
I love this post! I’m dying to try stovetop potpourri this year.
My bucket list includes: giving to a local charity, picking out a real tree (but mini, tabletop size!) with my mum, listening to The Carpenters Christmas albums, and enjoying our local festival of lights (an amazing Christmassy neon light display along our riverfront).
Take a Christmas Light tour!
On my bucket list is to make a bunch of cookies and get out to ice skate and enjoy the season!
I love St. Judea and what they do for children and their families. They are a charity I try to support throughout the entire year.
My big bucket list hope is to get all 6 of my children and their families in my home at the same time to celebrate Christmas.
I have to deep clean the house. My mother in law is coming!
I want to spend a quiet night watching Christmas movies.