Holiday Essential Oil Recipes and DIY Gift Recipes using Essential Oils

We carry two ultrasonic essential oil diffusers by NOW Foods (here’s one, here’s the other) at the store and I love them.  We do sell some premade oil blends at the store, but my favorite thing to do is to mix essential oil blends to make a great room scent.

Here are some favorites (you can add more or less oil depending on your preference and how strong you want the scent to be).  Each can be used in a diffuser or a bath.

Gingerbread:
3 drops cinnamon bark  
2 drops clove  
2 drops ginger
2 drops vanilla
1 drop nutmeg oil

Holiday Cookies:
6 drops vanilla 
1 drop tangerine

Candy Cane:
3 drops peppermint
4 drops vanilla

Comfort and Relaxation:
4 drops vanilla 
4 drops lavender

Pomander:
4 drops orange
4 drops clove
2 drops vanilla

Peace and Harmony:
4 drops patchouli
4 drops vanilla
3 drops orange

Yuletide:
4 drops balsam fir needle
4 drops tangerine
2 drops pine
1 drops anise

Peace on Earth:
4 drops vanilla
3 drops sandalwood
3 drops frankincense
2 drops cedarwood

Holiday Spice:
4 drops cinnamon bark
3 drops clove
3 drops orange
1 drop lemongrass

Under the Mistletoe:
4 drops vanilla
3 drops balsam fir
2 drops juniper berry

Holiday Spirit:
4 drops anise
3 drops lemon
3 drops frankincense

Christmas Eve:
3 drops lavender
3 drops vanilla
3 drops balsam fir
1 drop spearmint

Christmas Tree 
This one is also great mixed in a spray bottle with water and sprayed on an artificial Christmas tree.
5 drops balsam fir
3 drops pine
2 drops cedarwood
2 drops juniper berry

I think of the above recipes my favorites are Peace on Earth, Pomander, Comfort and Relaxation, and Peace and Harmony.  I really can't recommend diffusing oils in your home enough!  

I also came across a webpage* with a DIY "Thieves Oil" Recipe (Antibacterial Oil Blend):
80 drops clove bud oil
70 drops lemon oil
40 drops cinnamon oil
30 drops eucalyptus oil  
20 drops rosemary oil
20 – 40 drops total other oils of choice, including melaleuca (tea tree), frankincense, lavender, etc. (optional)

The above recipe makes enough for an entire bottle, but could be put in a diffuser at the amounts below:

5 drops clove bud oil
4 drops lemon oil
3 drops cinnamon oil
2 drops eucalyptus oil  
1 drops rosemary oil

*In the webpage linked above, the author recommends drinking the above blend, which Pass Health Foods absolutely does not recommend.  No essential oils should be taken internally.  More more information on essential oil safety, read our blog post here.
 

Essential oil blends can make a variety of amazing homemade gifts; here are a few great ones:

Peppermint Citrus Sugar Scrub
 

Bath Fizzies
 

Homemade Bath Salts
 

Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar Scrub
 

Homemade Body Butter
 

DIY Hand Sanitizer
 

Also on our health blog:

Our Store's Essential Oil Availability List and Information on Diffusers

Essential Oil Safety and Benefits

Product Spotlight: Essential Oils

Aromatherapy is incredibly popular right now, which is a wonderful thing.  Essential oils have been used therapeutically for over 6,000 years.  Our sense of smell if very powerful, and is can even be used to influence the parts of the brain that control emotion and memory.

With essential oils it is very important to be careful with their use.  Even though they are a natural product, they are very concentrated plant oils.  They should never be ingested, since there are a number of essential oils which are toxic if taken internally; in fact, the International Federation of Aromatherapists states that “No Aromatherapist shall use essential oils for internal ingestion or internal application, nor shall any Aromatherapist advocate or promote such use of essential oils”.

There are many people who are selling essential oils lately, who are not certified Aromatherapists, that recommend drinking various essential oils.  Even if an essential oil says it’s “food grade” or “therapeutic grade” on the bottle, it should not be taken internally.  There is actually no such official grading system for essential oils, and those terms actually mean nothing beyond being used as an marketing technique.  Either an oil is 100% essential oil or it isn’t, and just because something says its 100% essential oil does not mean its safe to consume.

I do love essential oils however, as a room scent. to inhale, use as massage oils, or to add to lotions or other topical products and preparations.  Most, if not all, essential oils should be diluted with a carrier oil (jojoba, grapeseed or almond oil are a few examples) before applying to the skin, since many essential oils are too strong to be put on directly and can cause burning or irritation if put on undiluted.  Essential oils are also wonderful to use as room scents in a diffuser.  We just started carrying ultrasonic essential oil diffusers  and I love them.  They use just water and a few drops of essential oils to scent a room for several hours (plus they turn off automatically).

At Pass Health Foods, we carry essential oils from the companies Aura Cacia and NOW Foods, both of which are high quality products.

I’ll list a few of my favorite oils below and some of their uses:

Lavender Oil

Lavender is wonderfully relaxing and makes a great oil to use for sleep.  Using in a diffuser at bedtime is a great idea, or even sprinkling a few drops on a pillowcase or tissue next to your bed.  We also have lavender essential oil sprays at the store as well, which can be spritzed on the skin or used as a room spray.  I also use vinegar mixed with lavender for cleaning (I’m not a huge fan of the smell of vinegar, but the lavender makes it smell better and is great for deodorizing the dishwasher or sinks).

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint is another oil that everyone should have.  It has been researched with positive results for helping with memory (on students studying for a test for example), as well as concentration and for reducing fatigue.  Inhaling peppermint oil can also help with nausea.  Mice are also said to detest peppermint oil, and we have a number of customers who have had luck with putting drops of peppermint oil on cotton balls and placing it around the house or garage to repel rodents naturally.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is naturally antibacterial and antifungal.  It’s great for making your own cleaning products or natural disinfectants (the highlighted links have recipes).   Tea tree is also great for nail fungus and can be put (diluted) on the skin to help with acne (we also have a number of prepared beauty products available with tea tree oil).   NOW Foods also has an oil blend of tea tree and lavender oil at the store.

Orange Oil

Orange Oil is wonderfully cheering.  Sprinkling a few drops in the shower is a great way to start the day in a good mood.

There are tons more essential oils, but I’ve only listed a few of my favorites.  Stop by the store since we have testers available of all our essential oils, so you can see what each smells like.

We also have started carrying small, empty roller bottles to make your own essential oil blends.