Does anyone else love holiday scents as much as me? I think I’ve written plenty of articles on it! I’m not much of a candle person in general, but when the holidays come around, they are the perfect home accent not only for ambient lighting, but for the scent. 

For the rest of the year, I prefer reed diffusers and stick with woody, musky scents. But below are my top 5 scents to spice up your home for the holidays.

Pine and fir

I couldn’t leave this one off the list, could I? Evergreen trees are the essence of Christmas. Pine has a very sharp and refreshing scent of crisp. Fir needles also fall in the same category. I suppose if you have a real Christmas tree, this would do the trick. 

But if you’re going the oil or candle route, opt for a pine scent that is combined with something additionally sweet or musky to balance out the sharpness.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood is one of my favorite year-round scents because of its deep muskiness. Cedarwood has balsamic undertones and a camphoraceous odor that reminds you of an heirloom hope chest or a good aftershave. 

This aromatic wood scent can call to mind pencil shavings and fine cigar boxes, both of which are often manufactured from cedar. I love this as a grounding scent to my home and layering a lighter, sharper scent on top, like lemon in the spring. 

For the holidays, you could compliment cedarwood with one of the scents below.

Cardamom and vetiver

This is by far one of my favorite scent combinations. There is a spicy and woodsy tone from the cardamom. Cardamom is a spice often used in cooking, as well as chai so there is a lightly sweet undertone.

Vetiver smells dry, earthy, woody, leathery and smoky. Think of uncut grass on a warm day and you'll have a rough idea of what vetiver smells like. Vetiver is considered to be a more masculine fragrance, and is used in candles, colognes and other scented products marketed to men. (Can you tell I prefer more masculine scents?)

Cinnamon and cloves

Heading into the sweeter range if that’s your thing, we have, of course, cinnamon and cloves. I pair these two together the most because out of the holiday spices, they have the boldest scents and complement each other well. 

We all know what cinnamon smells like. A subtle spice with a bold sweetness and a distinct flavor. Clove, on the other hand, is sweet-spicy, and hot, with fruity top notes. So altogether you get a sweet yet earthy fragrance. This is a good transition if you can’t decide between the super sweet scents or the masculine ones.

Sugar cookie and vanilla

The ultimate sweetness combination. I actually used to love the smell of vanilla for body colognes and fragrances. But if I go for a sweet vanilla in my home these days, I usually go straight to baking a fresh batch of cookies and that does the trick!

If seasonal flavors like sugar cookies, pumpkin pie, caramel apple, etc. are your thing then this one's for you. It might be a little too strong to use in a reed diffuser, so I recommend a candle instead.