Inside: Here are 3 recipes for making the best Fall stovetop potpourri with your kids! As it simmers on the stove, your house will smell like a cross between a freshly baked apple pie or a gingerbread cookie. Plus, your children will learn some interesting scientific information…all in the name of fun! Note: look for “Teaching Tips for Parents,” at the end of the blog. It will give you ideas on how to make this a learning experience with your kids and raise brighter children.
Stovetop Potpourri
When Fall arrives, I feel like a cupboard has been opened and all the sights, sounds, and smells of the season come tumbling out. Cinnamon, clove, ginger, cranberry, orange, lemon, nutmeg and more. Combining these delicious ingredients produces a luscious stovetop potpourri that will permeate your home and make it smell like warm gingerbread cookies popping out of the oven.
This DIY potpourri recipe is simple enough for the smallest of hands to make. It’s a fun gift for you or your kids to give at holiday time and it’s the perfect activity for grandparents to make with their grandchildren.
Do you like activities to do with your kids that are fun AND have a learning curve? I do. So look for the “Teaching Tips for Parents,” at the end of the blog and discover interesting information about how this activity teaches the power of scientific patterns and how to share these ideas with your kids.
Stovetop Potpourri for the Holidays
The recipes are considered stovetop potpourri meaning that their essence, oils, and fragrance are released when simmering on the stove.
There are 3 variations: one for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Each starts with the same base ingredients. Most of the items are dried, but before putting the potpourri on the stove, I like to add fresh oranges, lemons, apples or cranberries (depending on the holiday).
Click here to watch the 2-minute video here on how to make the stovetop potpourri.
This Fall stovetop potpourri is easy to make and has 7 basic ingredients: cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, bay leaves, and depending on the holiday: orange peel, cranberries, fresh lemons, oranges, or apples.
3 Recipes, 7 Ingredients, 4 Easy Steps
Check out Atlantic Spice Company and Nuts.com for the ingredients. Both places sell in bulk and have great prices.
Or check them out on Amazon
Halloween Stovetop Potpourri Recipe
- 2 T whole cloves
- 3 Bay Leaf
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 T dried lemon peel (1/4 inch diced)
- 3 slices dried oranges
- ½ fresh lemon, cut in quarters (this is optional--because you have the lemon peel, but I add it anyway)
- ½ fresh orange, cut in quarters
- Combine all the ingredients in a 2-quart pot
- Add 4 cups water.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and let simmer. Add water as necessary.
- When ready, turn off and let cool
- When cool, put the potpourri into a plastic container; cover; refrigerate and use another day. It will keep for at least 1 month.
This is delicious-smelling potpourri…perfect for the fall season! Most of the ingredients are dried, but before putting it on the stove, add either a fresh lemon, orange, apple, or cranberries–depending on the season. After simmering, cool and refrigerate to enjoy another day.
Thanksgiving Stovetop Potpourri Recipe
- 2 T whole cloves
- 3 Bay Leaf
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 T dried lemon peel (1/4 inch diced)
- 3 slices of dried apples
- ½ fresh lemon, cut in quarters
- ½ fresh apple, cut in quarters
- optional: ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
- Combine all the ingredients in a 2-quart pot
- Add 4 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and let simmer. Add water as necessary.
- When ready, turn it off and let cool
- When cool, put the potpourri into a plastic container; cover; refrigerate and use another day. It will keep for at least 1 month.
For the Thanksgiving potpourri, instead of adding dried or fresh oranges, substitute dried apple and a 1/2 of a fresh apple to simmer on the stove. When combined with the cinnamon, your house will smell like an apple pie right out of the oven!
Christmas Stovetop Potpourri Recipe
- 2 T whole cloves
- 3 Bay Leaf
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 T dried lemon peel (1/4 inch diced)
- 2 T fresh cranberries
- ½ fresh lemon, cut in quarters
- ½ fresh orange, cut in quarters
- You can also add dried oranges to the bag (it looks pretty)
- Combine all the ingredients in a 2-quart pot
- Add 4 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and let simmer. Add water as necessary.
- When ready, turn it off and let cool
- When cool, put the potpourri into a plastic container; cover; refrigerate and use another day. It will keep for at least 1 month.
For the Christmas potpourri, use dried and fresh oranges and lemons. I also add 2 tablespoons of dried cranberries to the mix. It adds beautiful red color to the potpourri and a wonderful smell to the room.
5 Ways to Wrap the Stovetop Potpourri for Holiday Gift Giving
Check out these different ways to wrap the potpourri for that special gift.
1. Labels & Directions
Attach a label and the directions to every bag of potpourri. Make your own or download this printable. It has 3 sheets of labels; one for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The intensity of the colors works best when you use high-quality paper or cardstock. I ran a test copy on both an ink-jet printer and a laser printer. Both work great, but again–quality paper is key.
Click here to download the FREE labels
2. Cellophane Bags
Purchase clear cellophane bags. Carefully place all the ingredients into the bag. Tie a bow with ribbon or fold the edges down and clasp with a small clothespin. Attach a label with directions.
For this photo, the label is on the side, but attach it to the actual potpourri cellophane bag
3. Fabric Bags
There are dozens of fabric bags you can use to put the potpourri in. Check Paper Mart for bags that come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and fabrics.
4. Baskets
When giving this as a gift include the potpourri along with fresh orange, lemon, or apple. Put everything in a colorful basket for the perfect fun gift!
5. Attach to a Larger Gift
If you’re looking for something to make a special gift to someone look extra creative, think about adding a bag of potpourri to the top of your gift. Put the potpourri in a cellophane bag, tie with ribbon and tuck it underneath the bow of your package.
This is a Halloween gift (wrapped in black paper) and after putting the potpourri in a cellophane bag, you can tuck it underneath the bow of your package. The label is attached underneath the potpourri.
These are easy recipes to put together, but if it seems too daunting, consider the alternative: air fresheners from the store…ugh!
Stovetop Potpourri: Safe, Healing & Cleansing Benefits
The ingredients used in this potpourri can build the brain and calm the nerves. When heated, the oils in the cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves, and fruits release oil into the air that cleanses, brightens, and freshens the air—not to mention creates the most amazing AND safe smell that will permeate your home.
Here is a chart showing some of the health benefits of three of the ingredients used in the potpourri (share this information with your children):
Last, make this a fun teaching experience for your children. Here are some tips on how to teach your children and teens about scientific patterns.
The Best Stovetop Potpourri for Holiday Gift-Giving
This easy stovetop potpourri recipe will safely freshen your home and make it smell amazing. And use it as part of your holiday gift-giving. It’s perfect for that small gift for your family and friends around the Thanksgiving table, an additional special touch on a Christmas package; or a fun gift for your kids to give their school teachers. A family is all about creating memories and establishing traditions. This DIY stovetop potpourri can be both because it’s “Scent with Love…”
Stovetop Potpourri Recipe Books
If you want to expand your recipes for stovetop potpourri–check out these books!
- Make Sweet Fragrant Potpourri by Marcello Nascimento
- Unique Home Scents by Len Argiro
- Simmer Scent: Stovetop Potpourri Recipes by Tara Aveilhe
- Simmer Scents by Janita Ogata
- Homemade Potpourri Cookbook by Sophie Baker
- Homemade Potpourri Recipes by Mr Carolyn Hall
Have you ever made a potpourri? Any recipes you would like to share? Please comment in the section below.
Want to remember this? Post “How to Make the Best Stovetop Potpourri with Your Kids,” to your favorite Pinterest board!
I love this post! Every little thing about it…the photos, the creative twists on the basic potpourri recipe, the child friendliness of the process, the potential gift-giving opportunities.
And, I agree, those artificial fresheners are the worst! They can make the home’s air quality worse than any inner city smog. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you, Lorrie! So glad you know the dangers of commercial air fresheners. They should be banned! Thank you for sharing!
I had no idea that making your own potpourri was so simple!! This is something I am going to do with my kids for the holidays, I think they’ll have so much fun! I can only imagine how wonderful the house smells while making potpourri at home…mmmmm!!!
Yes, it really is a simple recipe. Twenty years ago, I only used 3 ingredients–I keep adding things I like the smell of. And your kids will love helping you make it–it’s fun & easy!
These recipes are very helpful…it will be a good activity for kids and grandkids! Thank you, Sharlene, for your many great ideas and your thoughtfulness in sharing them. I especially like the idea of adding the labels…so creative!
Thank you, Antoinette! You are one of the most creative people I know so your kind words mean a lot! The potpourri smells amazing–if you had a heat source–it would be fun to have it simmering it at your store. I’ve read that Christmas music and cinnamon/clove fragrance cause people to buy more things. That’s why malls play Christmas music in September!
I have to admit that I am guilty of using commercial air fresheners. After reading this post, I’m ready to throw every single one out! I never realized how easy it was to make my own! I love the labels and all the ways you’ve shown to make this potpourri into a special homemade gift. I think Zach and I will be making these for all his teachers this holiday season. Thanks so much, Sharlene!
Yes–definitely throw out the commercial air fresheners–they really are the worst! When taking all those nutrition classes–there was one entirely on xeno-hormones–and commercial air fresheners are one of the biggest culprits! Thank you again, Tiffany, for all your support! You will love this potpourri and knowing you–will create your own fabulous version!