Fill a pretty bowl with this homemade Christmas potpourri or make it to give as gifts. Made with a mixture of dried oranges and apples, cinnamon sticks, star anise and scented with clove, sweet orange, balsam fir, bay and cassia essential oils, it smells like Christmas morning.
To get myself in the mood for holiday decorating. I whipped up a batch of this delicious-smelling DIY Christmas potpourri made with dried fruit, cinnamon sticks and a fragrant blend of essential oils.
With its blend of citrus, balsam, bay, clove and cinnamon scents, it is evocative of fall days and Christmas morning, So, it’s the perfect scent to carry you from Thanksgiving through the holiday season.
The pretty potpourri is a nice accompaniment for the orange peel candles I made recently and these homemade Christmas reed diffusers.
I also have a post on how to make simmering stovetop potpourri that includes recipes for seven different fall and winter blends.
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I wish I could describe to you just how delicious this smells, or better yet, give you a whiff through the computer screen. But you’ll just have to trust me.
This Christmas potpourri is a wonderful craft to make with friends at the holidays. Set out some bowls of dried fruit, clove buds, cinnamon sticks, along with some seasonal essential oils and let everyone mix their own.
I like the idea of packaging this dried orange potpourri in pretty gift bags or mason jars to give as holiday gifts to neighbors. Add some pretty ribbon and a gift tag for a nice presentation.
The dried potpourri would also make a wonderful hostess gift for all those holiday parties.
Want to see a brief overview of the process before diving into the Christmas potpourri recipe? Click here to watch my web story on how to make this amazing smelling home fragrance.
How to Dry Fruit for Potpourri
To make this homemade Christmas potpourri, you will need a selection of dried fruit. You can buy dried orange slices for bowl fillers or potpourri, but they’re a bit pricey.
It’s much cheaper to dry orange slices using your oven, and it’s very easy to do.
A chilly weekend or a cold evening is the perfect time to make dried fruit. Just pick a time when you’ll be home for a while and won’t mind running the oven for several hours.
How to Dry Orange Slices in the Oven
Begin by thinly slicing citrus fruit.
You can use any kind of citrus fruit you like, including fresh oranges, grapefruits, lemons and blood oranges. A variety of different colors and types of oranges will look pretty in the Christmas potpourri.
- Place the fruit slices in a single layer on a wire rack or parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Dry the fruit slices in the oven at 200 degrees F for 4 to 6 hours.
- Be sure to check the orange slices frequently and flip them so they dry evenly, especially if you’re using parchment instead of a wire rack on your pan.
The amount of time it takes to the orange slices to dry in the oven will depend on your oven temperature, as well as the thickness of the slices.
How to Dry Apples in the Oven
You can also dry apple slices using this same method.
- Core the apples if you like, but it’s not necessary when you’re using the slices for potpourri.
- Use a knife or a mandolin to thinly slice the apples.
- To help prevent the apples from browning, combine 4 cups of water with 1/2 cup of apple juice.
- Soak the apple slices for 30 minutes before placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees F for two to four hours, depending on desired crispness.
- Be sure to flip the apple slices midway through the cooking process.
How to Make Christmas Potpourri
Once the fruit slices are dried and cooled, gather them along with other supplies to make the Christmas potpourri. For this batch, I used:
- dried orange slices
- dried blood orange slices
- dried apples
- whole star anise
- cinnamon sticks
- dried putka pods
- whole cloves
- essential oils
You can also use mini pinecones, dried florals, evergreen sprigs, wood curls, whole nutmeg, allspice, acorns and any other natural items you like in your homemade holiday potpourri.
Here’s the recipe for my blend:
- 8 drops of clove oil
- 10 drops of sweet orange oil
- 3 drops of balsam fir oil
- 3 drops of cassia oil
- 2 drops of bay oil
Mix together in an empty amber bottle and swirl to combine.
Add 8 drops of the blend for every 1 cup of dried plant material and toss to coat. I like to make my potpourri in a plastic zip-top bag to make blending the scent easier.
If the potpourri aroma fades over time, you can refresh it by adding more drops of the essential oil fragrance blend.
I mixed up this special essential oil blend, using items from my Simply Earth Essential Oil recipe boxes, to scent my Christmas potpourri.
Don’t miss these other natural products I’ve made using previous Simply Earth subscription boxes. Many of these make great homemade Christmas gifts:
The homemade potpourri smells so good, and it’s so pretty that you’ll want to set it out in bowls throughout your house. I love how it adds a natural, festive touch to our family room.
More Home Fragrance Projects
You might enjoy these other holiday fragrance DIYs, especially if you’re looking for homemade Christmas gift ideas.
Homemade Orange Scented Candles
DIY Christmas Scent Reed Diffuser
Santa’s Cookies & Milk Homemade Candle
Pin This! Homemade Christmas Potpourri
Printable Instructions and How-To Video
Homemade Christmas Potpourri with Dried Oranges
Ingredients
For the Potpourri
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 blood orange, sliced
- 1 apple, sliced
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 4 cups water
- whole star anise
- cinnamon sticks
- dried putka pods (optional)
- whole clove
For the Essential Oil Blend
- 8 drops clove oil
- 10 drops sweet orange oil
- 3 drops balsam fir oil
- 3 drops cassia oil
- 2 drops bay oil
Instructions
How to Dry Orange Slices in the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 200° F.
- Thinly slice the oranges.
- Place the fruit slices in a single layer on an oven-safe wire rack or on a parchment-line baking sheet.
- Dry the fruit slices in the oven for 4 to 6 hours.
- Be sure to check the orange slices frequently and flip them so they dry evenly, especially if you’re using parchment instead of a wire rack on your pan.
- Allow to cool completely.
How to Dry Apple Slices in the Oven
- To help prevent the apples from browning, combine 4 cups of water with 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Soak the apple slices for 30 minutes.
- After soaking, place apple slices on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 200° F for two to four hours, depending on desired crispness. Be sure to flip the apple slices midway through the cooking process.
- Allow to cool completely.
Making the Essential Oil Blend
Making the Potpourri
- Combine the dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, seed pods and whole cloves in a large bowl of zip-top plastic bag.
- Add 8 drops of the oil blend for every 1 cup of dried plant material. Toss to coat.
Video
Notes
Variations:
- You can also use mini pinecones, dried florals, wood curls, acorns and any other natural items you like in your homemade holiday potpourri.
- Try other essential oil blends, or omit them altogether, and just use dried fruit, spices and dried, fragrant evergreen.
Jill
Hi, could you please specify 200F or 100C – UK mainly uses Celsius not Fahrenheit and 200C is like 400F!
Thanks, I’ll be using this for fruit slices to make my crystal clear soaps look pretty.
Atta Girl Amy
Hi, it’s 200F. Sorry that wasn’t clear in the original directions.
Reena Agarwal
I liked the ideas and looking forward for more and more home made pot pouris