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Homemade Holiday Stovetop Potpourri

This easy homemade stovetop potpourri will have your house smelling amazing throughout the holidays and winter season. This easy simmer pot recipe will never leave your stove!

An alternate title to this post would be something like, “How to make your house smell like the holidays!” And that would be totally, completely accurate.

I believe my oldest stepson’s words were, verbatim, “Yum, it smells like Christmas in here!” Yes, bud, it does.

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

You’ve probably heard of this concept before. Fill a pot with water, toss in a bunch of spices and fruit, simmer it on the stove and make the house smell instantly like fall and winter and dessert and cider and all those good things.

But does it actually work? Why yes, friends, it does!

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

Today I’m walking you through how to make this super simple homemade holiday stovetop potpourri, that is really perfect for the entire holiday season.

Put a pot on the stove this weekend while you’re decorating or baking cookies. Set a pot to simmer before guests arrive for a dinner party.

Your house has never smelled so good. Promise.

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

Homemade Stovetop Potpourri Ingredients

You can use any number of different spice and fruits to create your own custom simmer pot brew. Here are my favorites for the holiday season:

  • Orange slices
  • Fresh cranberries
  • Star anise
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves
  • Bay leaves
  • Cinnamon sticks

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Stovetop Potpourri

  1. Begin by filling a medium to large pot roughly 3/4 of the way full of water.
  2. Drop in a handful of cranberries, a few slices of fresh orange and then drop in all of your spices.
  3. Heat the pot over medium-high heat to a low boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and allow it to simmer. (The fragrance comes from simmering this on the stove, so at this point you’re basically done!)
  4. Keep an eye on the pot to be sure it doesn’t run out of water, because dried on fruit and bay leaf will make a mess.
  5. Top off with water as necessary and enjoy the smells of the holidays!

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

I mentioned this above, but it’s very easy to customize your simmer pot recipe to suit your personal preferences. That’s what’s so fun about making a stovetop potpourri with this method!

I like the combination of bay leaf, star anise, whole cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon sticks, but you can also just grab from what you have handy or find easily in the grocery store.

Note that you definitely want to use whole spices and/or herbs for this. Powdered won’t work in the same way and will just make a mess.

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

Tips + Suggestions for Stovetop Potpourri

Switch Up the Citrus – I love using oranges, but lime, lemons, tangerines and clementines also smell amazing! Use what’s on sale or leftover citrus from your fruit bowl, or a combination of citrus.

Make It in the Slow Cooker – If you prefer (or if you need the burner on your stove), you can make this potpourri in your slow cooker! Simply cover with water, set on high without the lid and check every hour or so to be sure the water hasn’t all evaporated.

Variations – To switch things up, add apple slices, vanilla or almond extract, or even fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme to your simmer pot mixture. During the warmer months, use lemons and fresh mint for a fresh, uplifting scent!

Where to Buy Spices – I like to buy whole spices at our local bulk food store, but you can also find them at grocery stores, natural food stores or even online. Places like Amazon have a surprisingly large assortment of spices!

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

Can You Reuse Stovetop Potpourri?

Yes! You can reuse stovetop potpourri over and over again for about a week. Strain and scoop it out of the pot and place it in a jar when not in use and put in the refrigerator.

To use it again, place all of the ingredients back in a pot, add water, bring to a low boil and then simmer. Allow it to continue simmering until your entire house or apartment scented, then turn off then heat.

When you need another burst of fragrance, turn the heat on again and repeat until you save it again for next time!

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Stovetop Potpourri

[Photos by Alice G. Patterson for The Sweetest Occasion.]

How to Make Your House Smell like Fall | Homemade Stovetop Potpourri plus more entertaining ideas, Christmas recipes, cocktail recipes, Thanksgiving ideas and more from @cydconverse

Homemade Stovetop Potpourri

Yield: 1 simmer pot

This easy homemade stovetop potpourri will have your house smelling amazing throughout the holidays and winter season. This easy simmer pot recipe will never leave your stove!

Ingredients

  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 4 to 6 star anise
  • 1 whole nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons cloves
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

Instructions

    1. Begin by filling a medium to large pot roughly 3/4 of the way full of water.
    2. Add the cranberries, fresh orange slices and then drop in all of your spices.
    3. Stir gently just until all ingredients have been submerged in water (they will float back up to the top.)
    4. Heat the pot over medium-high heat to a low boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and allow it to simmer. 
    5. Simmer until your house is fragranced and then either continue to simmer over the lowest heat or turn off and reheat when you want more scent.
    6. Keep an eye on the pot to be sure it doesn’t run out of water, because dried on fruit and bay leaf will make a mess.
    7. Top off with water as necessary and enjoy the smells of the holidays!

Notes

The above quantities are simply suggestions and may be adjusted to suit what you have on hand or your personal preference.

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Sara Welch

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

Christmas in an instant! Loved all those nostalgic aromas; this is great!

katerina @ diethood.com

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

This is fantastic! I can't wait to try it out!

Cyd Converse

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

Thanks, Katerina! You'll love it - so simple!

Melissa

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

My home smells wonderful! Thank you so much!

Cyd Converse

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

So happy to hear this - thanks, Melissa!

Gwen

Monday 21st of November 2016

I can not wait to get this simmering. I love my house to smell really good and the ingredient list on this potpourri sounds amazing! Thanks so much!

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 22nd of November 2016

Thank you, Gwen! You're going to love it and it's so easy. Let me know what you think! xoxo

Vicke @ My Little Crafty Life

Tuesday 15th of November 2016

Love this!

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 15th of November 2016

Thanks so much, Vicke! It smells amazing, too. XO

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