Do you have a specific scent that transports you to holidays of the past? Holiday scents can make your Collinwood assisted living apartment cozy and happy. Finding safe ways to pull your favorite holiday smells into your home is the perfect way to get ready for the holiday season.
Your sense of smell is connected to the part of your brain that handles things like memory storage and processing emotions. When you smell something that happens at the same time as something memorable, like holidays with your family, it all connects and stays in your brain.
For instance, the smell of pine might be connected to the happy memories of Christmas morning gathered around the fresh pine tree with your family. When you smell pine now, it stirs up the emotions and memories of those holidays.
Incorporating those scents in your assisted living apartment can create a positive feeling. It can also remind you of past holidays and the people you love.
Choosing a holiday scent often comes down to what you like and what's familiar to you. Some common holiday scents include:
Think back to past holidays and identify the scents that you remember. Your family's favorite holiday activities can help you decide. A spicy, sugary scent is ideal if you always bake cookies together. If you traditionally had fresh pine trees, choose an evergreen scent.
You can incorporate holiday scents into your assisted living apartment in many ways. Keep in mind that candles aren't allowed in assisted living communities, but plenty of alternatives smell just as great and are safe for use. Here are some ideas.
Essential oils are available in a variety of scents, including pine, citrus, cinnamon and vanilla. Plug-in diffusers spread the scent throughout your apartment for a natural holiday aroma. You can also put a few drops of pine essential oil on your artificial Christmas tree or other scents in your decorations to spread the scent.
When you're shopping for holiday decorations, look for ones that are scented. You can often find scented garland, ornaments and other decorations. You can also scent the decorations you already have with essential oil or air freshener.
Another option is to incorporate fresh pine into your decor. You get a natural pine scent plus the pretty addition of evergreen boughs. Fresh evergreen wreaths and garlands are easy to add to your apartment. You can use other items, such as cinnamon-scented pinecones or dried citrus slices, on the pine decor for additional scent and a pretty touch.
Cleaning up isn't the most fun part of the holidays, but it's something everyone has to do occasionally. While Collinwood offers housekeeping and laundry services as some of the many convenient amenities, you'll likely need to touch up your home yourself.
Choose commercial cleaners with holiday scents, or make your own by adding essential oils to cleaners. For a simple all-purpose cleaner, combine equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Then, add about 20 to 30 drops of your favorite essential oil that reminds you of the holidays. Always test your cleaner on surfaces first to ensure it doesn't leave any marks.
Baking is the perfect way to make your home smell like the holidays, even if it's only temporary. If your assisted living apartment has an oven, you can bake cookies, gingerbread, fruitcake and other holiday favorites. Even if you can't bake fresh goodies in your apartment, you can heat up premade cookies in your microwave to get a little whiff of holiday baked goods.
You can make a simple simmering potpourri on your stove top. To make a simple stove top potpourri, add your favorite holiday ingredients to a pan. Some things that work well include:
Add about 4 to 6 cups of water to the pan, depending on the size. Turn the heat to low and let the ingredients simmer. You can keep it simmering for as long as you want while you're in your apartment, but check every hour or two to see if it needs more water.
You can also do a slow cooker version that doesn't require as much attention. Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker with the water and turn it on low.
Warm drinks offer the perfect way to warm up during the frigid Fort Collins winter. Your favorite drinks also make your assisted living apartment smell nice while you make them. Mulled wine, hot apple cider, hot chocolate and peppermint lattes are a few options you might enjoy. You can add the ingredients to your slow cooker to let the flavors mingle and keep the holiday scent in your apartment a little longer.
