7 DIY Christmas Essential Oil Blends for a Festive Scentscape

Natasha Bruce-Carline
7 DIY Christmas Essential Oil Blends for a Festive Scentscape
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It’s that time of year to create festive Christmas essential oil blends. Last week, we looked at the new shift this season, from merely ‘decorating for Christmas’ to creating a whole ambient experience. This kind of decorating is enhanced by something called a ‘scentscape’. 

Sight, touch, and most importantly, smell, work together to enhance the festive ambiance. So, this year, why not move beyond simple holiday decorations to unite all the senses and create a more complete sensory experience? 

Christmas essential oil blends are perfect for this. Not only do they fill the house with warm, inviting scents, but their active properties will lift your mood to bring feelings of joy, comfort, and holiday cheer.

The Power of Christmas Essential Oil Blends on Mood

Aroma has this incredible ability to evoke emotions and stir memories. Essential oils add to this. With their unique chemical profiles, creating myriad different properties, they become very potent tools indeed. 

In the holiday season, traditional scents like Clove, Cinnamon Bark, Peppermint, Fir Needle, Frankincense, and Myrrh essential oils do more than just smell like Christmas. They enhance the mood, our states of relaxation, and mental states.

    • Clove Bud essential oil promotes warmth and coziness.

    • Cinnamon essential oil is warming, energizing, and comforting.

    • Peppermint essential oil is refreshing, uplifting, and invigorating.

    • The first essential oil is invigorating, enlivening, and restorative.

    • Frankincense essential oil is grounding, calming, and, along with Myrrh, is a traditional holiday aroma.

    • Sweet Orange elevates mood and encourages positivity

Using essential oils, like these, strategically in diffuser blends, candles, or sprays, encourages relaxation, promotes mindfulness, and enhances festive enjoyment.

Essential Oils Perfect For Christmas Blends

There is a whole range of luscious essential oils that can be used to create the basis of your Christmas essential oil blends. Let’s explore…


Conifers
Spices
Refreshing Greens
Earthy Greens

Balsam Fir

Cypress

Dwarf Pine

Fir Needle

Juniper

Scotch Pine
Allspice

Cardamom

Cassia

Cinnamon Bark

Clove Bud

Ginger

Nutmeg

Star Anise
Eucalyptus

Peppermint

Rosemary

Spearmint

White Camphor

Wintergreen

Galbanum

Helichrysum

Patchouli

Ravensara

Vetiver

Flowers
Woods
Resins
Citrus

Neroli

Rose Geranium

Rose

Ylang Ylang
Amyris

Cedarwood

Palo Santo

Sandalwood
Amber

Benzoin

Frankincense

Myrrh

Vanilla Oleresin
Orange

Mandarin

Petitgrain

Tangerine

Using these more ‘Christmas-inspired’ essential oils to create your blend’s base and adding in further complementary essential oils helps you design a well-rounded and appealing blend. 

How to Create a Christmas Essential Oil Blend

How to Create a Christmas Essential Oil Blend

Creating a well-balanced Christmas essential oil blend is both an art and a science. The design process requires careful thought.

First, ask yourself, what do I want this Christmas essential oils blend to DO? 

Are you simply setting the scene, or is there an intention to purposefully affect the mood and promote certain feelings? 

    • Does Aunty Nancy always fall asleep after dinner? Do you need something to keep a pep in her step or relax the whole family for a quick snooze, too?

    • Do your kids always get a bit fractious after an hour in each other’s company? Would an essential oil blend that is soothing, but also uplifting, help?

    • Are you on the go all day, being everything to everyone? Do you need something to keep you going, and then a little something for later to help you relax totally?

Choose your essential oils based on your answers to harness their properties to create just the right mood.

    • Choose essential oils to influence your feelings: Start with 2–3 primary essential oils that complement each other. 

For example: Dwarf Pine + Frankincense + Amyris. Frankincense and amyris are soothing. Dwarf pine is uplifting.

    • Layering for influencing the mood and overall ambience: Warm, spicy scents create comforting and cozy feelings that help us relax. Minty, citrus, and menthol notes invigorate and uplift us, making us feel alive. Earthy, resinous notes like Frankincense, Patchouli, and Myrrh oil calm and ground the space.

    • Decide on the delivery medium:  Are you creating a diffuser blend, making a candle or room spray, or are you producing skincare products? You may just want to dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil for easy applications. 

    • Begin to check safety and test ratios: Always start by checking the safety synopsis to avoid disappointment and costly mistakes. There is only one thing worse than realising your blend might be dangerous, and that’s the itchy skin! Remember that a “maximum dilution” is just that. It is the maximum amount of oil you can use in a blend safely. It is not a recipe recommendation. Often, that amount will be WAY too heavy in a blend. Start small and add more as you go. Adjust for desired scent intensity.

Christmas Essential Oil Blend Recipes

Here are some quick and easy blends that will make your home smell festive while supporting and enhancing your mood. 

Get warm and cozy with our spicy Reed Diffuser. 

Evoke childhood memories of the Christmas tree with our whimsical candle blend.

Change the vibe to something infinitely cooler with the Frozen Forest Room Spray. 

Warm your stiff, frozen limbs with my Ginger Bug Aching Muscles Massage Blend.

Rustle up these festive projects in no time at all. Get great results for very little time or energy outlay. 

Let’s get into it! 

Cozy Christmas Reed Diffuser Blend

Cozy Christmas Reed Diffuser Blend

This spicy blend promotes a feeling of soft warmth, comfort, and relaxation. Perfect for quiet, relaxing evenings, toasting your toes by the fire, 

Mood Effect

Cozy warmth, gently uplifting and quietly grounding, evokes traditional holiday feelings.

How To:

Use the Reed Diffuser Base and instructions found here, and add this warm and spicy essential oil blend. Be sure to follow the safety advice on positioning your reed diffuser. 

Into 100ml of Reed Diffuser Base add: 

Safety:

    • Not suitable for use on the skin

    • Keep out of reach of children and pets

    • Do not diffuse in a home with cats

Around The Christmas Tree Candle Essential Oil Blend

Around The Christmas Tree Candle Essential Oil Blend

This DIY Christmas candle essential oil blend is just like being around the tree on Christmas morning. Warm spices, uplifting Tangerines, and invigorating Pine notes, it is quick and simple to put together and bursts with the well-loved aromas of a traditional Christmas.  

Mood Effect:

Comforting warmth, wonderfully reviving and enlivening. It brings the smell of Christmas to every corner of your home. 

How To:

Follow the instructions and safety advice in How to Make Scented Candles With Essential Oils.

Add this Christmas essential oil blend to six cups of slightly cooled molten wax.

Safety:

    • Not suitable for use on the skin

Frozen Forest Room Spray Blend

Frozen Forest Room Spray Blend

Who doesn’t love a room spray? Spritz the space as you spy guests coming up the path to welcome them into a fragrant, festive haven. Spruce bathrooms, hallways, or sitting rooms at a moment’s notice. I really love this year's shift towards a more natural ambience. Scents that evoke the wild outdoors are all the rage, and personally, I love those aromas that make you feel like you are standing in the middle of a snowy pine forest.  

Mood Effect:

Crisp, cool, and clean, like a breath of fresh air on a frosty day. It’s refreshing, invigorating, and enlivening.

How To:

Follow the instructions and safety advice in Your Guide to Room Spray and don’t skip the preservative or the dispersant for the best results! Shake before each use and spritz lightly to fill your home with holiday essential oil scents.

Into 120ml of Room Spray Base add:

Safety:

    • Not suitable for use on the skin

    • Do not spray near animals, their bedding, or places where they sleep and rest

Festive Holiday Cheer Diffuser Blends

Diffuser blends are a quick and simple way to introduce the power of essential oils into your festive home. They are simple to swap out when you want to ring the changes, so if the kids are arguing, calm things down with a soothing blend. If your guests seem to be flagging from too much food, pep them up with an enlivening blend. With a bit of forethought and planning, you can create Christmas essential oil diffuser blends for pretty much any eventuality. 

To make things easy, though, here are some of my favourites. 

How To Make Christmas Essential Oil Diffuser Blends :

    • Combine essential oils and decant into a 5ml dropper bottle.

    • Label clearly and list all ingredients.

    • Use just a few drops of the blend in your diffuser as directed in the manufacturer's instructions.

Festive Cheer Diffuser Blend

Festive Cheer Diffuser Blend

This bright, uplifting diffuser blend is perfect for use in the living room or dining room during gatherings.

Mood effect:

Uplifting, energizing, joyful, and it encourages free-flowing conversation and laughter.

Blend:

Safety:

    • Not suitable for topical use

    • Not suitable for use around cats (Citrus oils).

Chillax Diffuser Blend

Chillax Diffuser Blend

Sometimes, you just need everyone to take a breath and chillax. Are kids too noisy? Uncle Bert upset Grandad again? Is the dog going nuts and driving you insane? Pop some of this in the diffuser and watch them all just calm a little and find their centre again. 

It’s not so soothing as to send everyone to sleep, but it just takes the edge off and encourages a bit of much-needed R&R. 

Mood effect:

Soothing, calming, and comforting. Creates a serene ambience that just helps everyone unwind a little and de-stress their minds!

Blend together:

Safety:

    • Not suitable for topical use

    • Do not diffuse in a home where cats are present

Blissful Day Diffuser Blend

Blissful Day Diffuser Blend

This is just a lighthearted blend, focused on feelings of positivity and joy, and a hint of spice in the background to keep that Christmas spirit in play. It is perfect for Christmas morning, right through to after dinner. 

Mood effect:

Convivial, positive, and conducive to enjoying yourself. Beautifully balanced for a blissful day of celebration and for making heartwarming memories.

Blend together:

Safety:

    • Not suitable for topical use

Sleepy Elf Diffuser Blend

Sleepy Elf Diffuser Blend

Have you been everything to everyone again and worn yourself to a frazzled thread? Fear not, this Sleepy Elf diffuser blend will have you knocking out the Zzzz’s in no time at all.

Diffuse for 60 minutes before bedtime. Don’t leave it running while you sleep.

Mood effect:

Soporific, sleepy, and ultimately relaxing. Get out of your head, connect with your body, and sink into restful dreams.

Blend together:

Safety:

    • Not suitable for topical use.

Tash’s Top Tip: You can turn this into a really lovely massage blend by reducing the number of drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil from 15 drops to 10 drops and diluting it in no less than 100ml of carrier oil or a pre-made massage oil base. Safety - Do not use it in the first 37 weeks of pregnancy and avoid intimate areas and broken or irritated skin. 

Tash’s Top Tips for Using Christmas Essential Oils to Influence Mood

    1. Diffuse your scents strategically: Carefully plan your desired ambience for each room and place diffusers in rooms where you want to create energy, relaxation, or social uplift.

    2. Be canny and layer scents: You can greatly enhance the power and intensity of your ambiance by layering your Christmas essential oil blends. Use a scented candle or wax melts alongside a reed diffuser or a room spray. 

    3. Create different zones with complementary blends in other rooms and spaces: This is where you could consider using a Signature Scent and adding the active properties of essential oils to create a different ambiance. You could create a bright and lively kitchen, a relaxed dining room, and a soothing sitting room, all built on complementary scents. My recent article, The New Language Of Holiday Scenting, with NO. 114 is packed with layering ideas using a Signature Scent as a starting point.

    4. Consider the timing: In the morning, you could use Peppermint or Eucalyptus blends that are energizing and invigorating alongside zingy citrus aromas. Lunchtime could bring those gourmand aromas of Cardamom, Nutmeg, and Ginger. Evening blends could be rich in warming Cinnamon, Clove, and Vanilla to encourage cozy reflection.

    5. Capitalize on quick fixes: Diffuser reeds can be flipped to refresh the scent as you walk by to keep the aromas strong and fresh. Room sprays can lift the ambiance of a space instantly for guests and can be great for when you are moving spaces throughout the day.

    6. Simple drops, done well: You can simply add a few drops of essential oil diluted into a carrier oil into a bath to help you relax and unwind, or even get ready for a big night out and energize you appropriately. Simple massage oils allow you to use essential oils for soothing your tired and aching body and for luscious mood enhancement. Why not create a naught, sensual blend to take advantage of not having to get up in the morning!

Create Holiday Scentscapes Last Beyond

Create Holiday Scentscapes Last Beyond


With everything else you have going on right now, it’s easy to think ‘Why bother? But these essential oil blends are going to be good even after the holidays. All of your favorite Christmas essential oils can continue the scentscaping idea and support feeling cozy, enhance positive energy, and bring you feelings of comfort all year round.

These mood-enhancing blends are definitely not just for Christmas!

    • Use the diffuser blends in the winter months for their active properties. Uplifting, soothing, instilling positivity, and helping you rest well and sleep better.

    • Carry those energizing Peppermint or citrus-rich blends to refresh the energy in your home office or workspace when you have to get back to work in the New Year. 

    • Layer your favorite essential oils in your favourite mediums like a room spray, wax melts, or a scented candle for your daily comfort and to enhance their effects in a small space. 

    • The key here is to think of your Christmas essential oil blend not just as a seasonal scent, but as a tool for intentional, mood-enhancing aromatherapy.

A Note About Essential Oil Skin Safety at Christmas

A Note About Essential Oil Skin Safety at Christmas

I’d just like to make a quick comment about safety simply because many of the traditional Christmas essential oils come with warning labels, safety precautions, and low skin safety dilution rates, and we need to use them safely.  

It is the time of year when my eyes are constantly rolling because the internet is rife with recipes for either Peppermint or Cinnamon Lip Balm. Usually written and blogged by hobby moms with absolutely no notion or knowledge of essential oil safety.  So, let's avoid this veritable minefield of ‘Russian Roulette recipes’ and get clued up properly on essential oil skin safety before we go any further.

Links lead to the essential oil’s Safety Synopsis. You can find these important files in the DOCUMENTS section of each essential oil’s webpage. 

Clove Bud

Clove Bud is a wonderful essential oil when it comes to its active properties for fighting pain and microbes. It is widely used for toothache for this reason. However, its chemical constituents can be very harsh on the skin and cause skin sensitization. Therefore, it has a very low skin safety dilution rate of 0.50% and should not be used on children under six. The dilution rate is equal to just 10 drops of essential oil in 100ml of base. Find out more in Liz’s Complete Guide to Clove Essential Oil.

Cinnamon Bark and Cinnamon Leaf



Cinnamon Bark and Cinnamon Leaf sometimes have confusing labelling, because they both have the same Latin nomenclature of Cinnamomum zeylanicum. 

Most often, it is the Cinnamon Bark variation available in the marketplace. They are very different essential oils, as explained in Cinnamon Leaf Vs Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil, and this article will help you to discern the differences between them by sight and smell. 

They are both very strong oils and can cause skin sensitization. Again, both have very low skin safety dilution rates and should not be used on children under six years of age. 

Cinnamon Bark is 0.07%, which equates to 1 drop in 100ml base. Yes, you read that right, ONE drop, it is absolutely minuscule!  

Cinnamon Leaf is 0.60%, which equates to 12 drops in 100ml base.

Peppermint & Eucalyptus



Neither Peppermint nor Eucalyptus should be used in lip balms because they can be very drying on the thinner skin of the lips, but that is just the start of it!

Peppermint is wonderfully cooling and clarifies the mind - explore more in What Does Peppermint Oil Do?

Research shows that Peppermint stimulates the heart, so it carries a mild risk of fibrillation. Therefore, anyone with epilepsy or a heart condition should only ever use the smallest dilutions. Peppermint essential oil is also not suitable for patients with G6PD Deficiency.

Eucalyptus is invigorating and brings in much-needed energy and stimulation.  Delve deeper into What Is Eucalyptus Oil Good For?

Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Children 

We need to be really careful using both Peppermint and Eucalyptus around little children, this includes in your Christmas diffuser blends! 

Eucalyptus essential oil is high in 1,8-cineole, and this compound is known to slow respiration. Therefore, we do not advise using this essential oil in dilutions of more than 0.25% dilution on children under the age of six. It is also recommended that it be applied on their back only, and never close to their faces.

Also, Peppermint essential oil has the same restrictions as Eucalyptus when it comes to using it on little ones. However, this time, it is menthol rather than 1,8-cineole that's the problem, but they both slow respiration, so we need to use it with caution around our precious little ones. Be especially mindful if your children have any breathing issues, such as asthma. 

We do not advise using Eucalyptus or Peppermint essential oil on children under 6 months old. 

Liz gives you a balanced approach in - Is Eucalyptus Oil Safe For Babies?

Myrrh

All essential oils should be avoided in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, but there are some oils, like Myrrh, that should be avoided until after week 37. 

Flower absolutes like Rose, Jasmine, Neroli, and Ylang Ylang essential oils are considered uterine stimulants, hence why they should not all be used until after week 37 of pregnancy. 

Look into - Myrrh Essential Oil: A Window into The Past.

Sweet Orange

Sweet Orange is wonderful for uplifting the mood and alleviating feelings of stress and anxiety. What is Orange Essential Oil Good For?

Sweet Orange, like most cold-pressed citrus oils, can be phototoxic. This means if you apply it to your skin and then expose it to UV or sunlight, it can cause discoloration of the skin and/or an irritating rash. It is advisable to avoid exposing your skin to UV or sunlight for up to 12 hours after application. 

Only Green Mandarin essential oil is the citrus exception to this photoxicity rule. It applies to Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Tangerine, and Mandarin Orange.  

Other Essential Oils

Thankfully, both Fir Needle & Frankincense are wonderfully safe essential oils to use on the skin, and both have a 3% dilution rate. 

Right, I am pleased that we have got clued up on that and know how to use these essential oils safely. Always consult the essential oils safety synopsis (found on its individual webpage) and use your common sense, please! 

Shall we get into the fun stuff?

Conclusion

Christmas is more than sparkly lights and glittery decorations; it’s a whole experience for the family to participate in and enjoy. 

With Christmas essential oil blends, you can control the ambience of your home. You can choose to lift your mood, create cozy Christmas cheer, and fill your home with the smell of Christmas in a way that influences how you and your loved ones feel. I heartily encourage you to experiment, blend, and enjoy the Christmas essential oil blends. Because a festive essential oil is not just fragrance; it’s a way to scent your home, think of the meaning behind Christmas, and create meaningful, joyful moments imbued with feelings of positivity and cheer

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