It's Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

One of the best parts of the holiday season has to be the wonderful smells.  Some of my favorites are cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg,- probably because they remind me of gingerbread cookies!  In the past I've used a variety of scented candles, room spray, and potpourri, but this year I am so excited to use my diffuser and essential oils to keep the house smelling like Christmas. 

I ordered a bottle of Christmas Spirit blend last month, but it has not arrived yet so I have been mixing up some of my own blends.  The possibilities really are endless and it is a lot of fun experimenting.  I've been involving the kids and having them make up their own recipes too, which they are thoroughly enjoying. 

All Purpose Soothing Balm & Diaper Lotion

Have you started (or finished?!?) your holiday shopping yet?  This year I am endeavoring to make as many gifts as possible and I am excited to have found some great ideas using essential oils. This first recipe is something I have been making for a few years now and is pretty much considered a necessity around here.  

When my kids were babies I cloth diapered them and one of my greatest frustrations was finding a diaper lotion that was both cloth diaper safe as well as effective.  After a lot of searching I found a natural brand that met my criteria, but it was *very* expensive.  The ingredients were fairly simple though and after a bit of experimenting I was able to develop a recipe that I was happy with and worked well for us.

Essential Oil Deodorant Creme

Throughout the course of my childhood, my mom went on a few different “health” kicks that dramatically affected what was served for dinner and what kind of shampoo (or lack of) you could find in our bathroom.  I didn’t always appreciate her efforts though.  As a young teen I didn’t really care if they were full of hormone disrupting carcinogens, I just wanted pretty smelling lotion and shower gel.  And peanut butter with added sugar.

I particularly remember when my Mom read somewhere that antiperspirant was full of aluminum and possibly linked to breast cancer.   I now fully agree with her decision to switch to natural deodorant,