When you're getting your home ready for Christmas, it's easy to think about things like decorations and Christmas music- but there's one important thing not to overlook and that's scent and home fragrance. This is one of the quickest ways to make your house feel really homely and Christmassy; there's something about the smell of warming spices, winter fruits and festive plants such as pine needles, cedarwood and evergreens that really make you feel like Christmas is here. There are loads of different ways it can be done, here are a few of my favourites!

Bake

When you bake something Christmassy you can guarantee that the whole house will smell gorgeous for hours afterwards. So not only do you have fun baking but you inadvertantly make the house smell amazing too; it's a win-win! I love it when you walk into someone's house and you can smell that they've been baking, it gives such a cosy and homely feel.

Boil Christmas Spices or Mulled Wine

If you don't have the time or inclination to go cooking up a storm in the kitchen, you can whip up the scent of Christmas in your home by simmering a pan of festive fruits and spices on the hob. Simply add a few sticks of cinnamon, cloves, star anise and ginger as well as festive fruits like clementines and cranberries to water. Bring to the boil, and then leave on a slow simmer to release the fragrance. Alternatively you could simmer some mulled wine which would give a similar kind of scent, and you have the added bonus of being able to drink the mulled wine later in the evening too!

Burn Scented Candles

Scented candles are not only great for setting the ambience with the low lighting they give off, but if you buy decent ones you get a huge fragrance boost too. If you like quite strong scents then candles are your best bet, you can definitely smell them when you have one burning away next to you!

Use Essential Oils

The good thing about essential oils is they can be used just about anywhere. Adding a few drops to radiators will release the scent when you put the heating on. You can add a few drops to some water in a spray bottle to make your own air freshner, you can use it in wax burners and even add some to the inside of your hoover so it smells nice when you're cleaning up! You can buy essential oils on ebay, in health food shops and on specialist shops online- they're reasonably cheap and a little goes a long way.

Use Plug In Air Freshners/ Reed Diffusers

I'm obsessed with these things all year round, I find they make the house smell amazing and are completely fuss free- unlike candles they can be left unattended and work their magic all day and night. You can get some beautiful Christmas scents, have a couple of these dotted around the house and you'll smell the fragrance whenever you go into the room. Keep your eyes peeled for Christmas scented spray air fresheners too.

How do you make your home smell Christmassy?