I have just received my first large order for Christmas oils—what already? I asked … then I looked at my diary and wondered what had shortened October so dramatically while I was not looking? Well never mind that, I am sure I am not unique in that domain and anyway I simply love blending Christmas oils it puts me right there, smack where I should be in the calendar—the smell is so evocative of the festive season.
It is the smell that erases any bad memories of Christmas’ past and promises only tinsel, crisp snow, log fires, glossy fragrant Christmas trees and happy cheery children. A walk through Selfridges Christmas Halls is nothing like as inspiring as a big sniff from my little frosted bottles. The first year I produced “Christmas Spirit” I attended the wonderful Boutique de Noel at Kensington Town Hall. I was busy giving everyone a sniff of my blends when this lady marched up and pointed to the Christmas oil, enquiring what was in it—having spent the last two days going on about my products I was in the mood for a bit of change and banter so I explained it contained all the best things Christmas had to offer, love, presents, laughter, lights, holly, Santa even reindeer … she looked at me drily and asked if I kept their hooves on or off …?
Anyway I tried it out on the kids in the middle of our hot Italian summer, I found a bottle floating about at the back of a shelf and we all took a big sniff and went ahhhh roasted chestnuts and Christmas carols—for a minute we weren’t surrounded by cicadas and lemon trees, we were somewhere in a scene out of Elf. You see, with a bit of care and careful ingredient picking you can bottle happiness, good memories and sweet moments, that’s one of the wonderful things about smell, it can take us time traveling, it really does spin magic!
