It is Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas!
The second in a series of guides to ‘conscious’ local gifting suggests small yet luxurious scented presents.
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas (as sung by Michael Bublé) with festive lights strung across the streets and sparkling Christmas trees taking centre stage in our towns and villages. For many of us, however, it is the smell of Christmas that evokes the strongest memory of the season: mulled wine, garlands of dried oranges spiced with cloves, roasting chestnuts on street stalls, open wood fires, and fresh pine needles.
So, what about giving the scent of Christmas this year? Scented candles, natural soaps, room fragrances, bath foams and oils created by local producers, using natural, local and ethical ingredients, make luxurious yet very affordable gifts. These include award-winning, palm-oil-free goats milk soaps handmade in Hampshire by Cyril's Soap Shed. They have exceptional moisturising, nourishing and healing properties, and seasonal fragrances include: Autumn Breeze, a warm and spicy soap; Winter Forest, a rich festive scent of cedarwood, pine, clove and peppermint; and Orange and Cinnamon. Prices for individual soaps start from £4.75, however they are also available in a soap dish gift set, gift bag or luxury gift box.
New Forest Aromatics Festive Spice fragrance of orange, cinnamon and cardamom is described as capturing the essence of Christmas. It is available as an extra large 3 wick candle (burn time approximately 80 hours), large candle (burn time about 40 hours) and small candle (burn time around 12 hours). They are totally natural, made with non GM soy wax, cotton wicks and scented with natural and organic essential oils. The Festive Spice scent is also available as a reed diffuser and a room fragrance. Other seasonal scents include Warm Hug, also available as a candle, with soothing wafts of ginger, cardamom and grapefruit. Candle prices start from £6.50.
More fragrant and natural candles, reed diffusers as well as body washes, foams and oils are available from local producers such as: A Basket of Bees, Becky's Beezzzs, Hampshire Soap Company, Lavender Fields, Mrs B’s Bees and Summerdown. There is a scent to sooth or freshen up a winter day, capturing special moments.