How to make your house smell amazing for £5

Kickstart the Christmas chat with colleagues, loved ones or random passers-by and it’ll be a mere matter of moments before someone gets giddy about those good ole seasonal scents… Cinnamon! Christmas trees! Log fires! Mulled wine! Gingerbread lattes! 

So far, so Christmassy, right? Only, did you know that our sense of smell is directly connected to the part of the brain that interprets our memories and emotions? Which is why we’re instantly catapulted back to childhood whenever we get a whiff of cinnamon! Christmas trees! Log fires! You get it – and it’s why we’re so drawn to scents that we feel familiar with. Hello, multimillion-pound home fragrance market…

But scenting your space needn’t be a costly affair. If you’re looking to save money this Christmas (hello, cost of living crisis) then why not make a DIY diffuser for under £5? And who better to take our nasal passages on a nostalgic trip down memory lane than craft legend Christine Leech, co-author of Zero Waste Christmas? Here, Christine shares how to make your home smell like Christmas for less, with some DIY hotpourri.

‘I used the ANYDAY Copper Wire Clip Top Airtight Glass Storage Jar,’ says Christine. ‘Add a cinnamon stick, a fancy orange, pink peppercorns (for prettiness), fir and all those spices you bought once upon a time and never really used (hibiscus, cardamom, star anise).

‘Next, fill a pan with water, put it on your stove, sit your filled jar in the water and just leave it to simmer – a bit like a scented soup! You could use a stock pot or a Crock-Pot slow cooker, and it’ll make your whole house smell amazing. It’s like Christmas potpourri – only I have named it hotpourri because, well, it’s warmed up.

‘You can also personalise the jar with a Sharpie and add an instructions label to make it a great budget Christmas gift idea.’