As a little girl, we didn’t have much money. At Christmas time, my single mom tromped out to the woods, cut down a tree and drug it back inside. She would chop off a little chunk of the trunk and place it in water in the kitchen. It smelled absolutely amazing.

That memory is something I wanted to continue with our kids. So every Christmas, we tromp out to a friends pasture and cut down one of the unwanted cedar trees. Luke cuts off the bottom of the trunk and I pull off several of the unnecessary branches. Some of these are turned into cleaning solution, and the others are plopped into a pot of warm water, simmering on the stove, along with cinnamon and orange slices.

When my kids think of Christmas, I hope they think of our rickety Christmas trees and the house smelling of cedar and cinnamon.

Stovetop potpourri ideas for you to try at home:

• Christmas Morning - fresh & freeze dried oranges, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, and cloves

• Harvest Blend - fresh & freeze dried oranges, lemons, ginger, star anise, cloves

• Winter Solstice - fresh & freeze dried lemons, cinnamon sticks, cedar, rose petals, and star anise

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Simply place all ingredients in a pot of simmering water atop your stove and the whole house will smell like Christmas.

Continue to add water as it simmers down. These blends will last about 5 days.