Learn how to make the easiest melt and pour soap bars for Christmas this year.
These Christmas soap recipes are the perfect homemade gift idea for anyone on your shopping list, including that hard-to-shop-for person – we all know that someone.
For these Christmas recipes, simplicity is key! Hence the melt and pour soap base. Taking out that extra step was a lifesaver for me this year.
Make sure you look at each of the recipes in this post before deciding on which one to make, as some contain natural exfoliators.
All the bars, however, are made using natural ingredients and are scented with essential oils.
Trust me when I say these will be the easiest soap bars you ever make!
I love using melt and pour soap bases to make customized soaps for gift-giving. It is simple, and they turn out so beautifully.
Melt and pour soap bars
Making melt and pour soaps is the easiest way to make your own soap bars. I use this same method for several recipes, including dish soap bars.
Unlike hot process and cold process soap bars, no special equipment, tools, or lye are involved.
The first step is choosing a soap base. For the most part, it comes down to personal preference.
Shea butter, which is often used to make lotion, and goat milk soap bases are among my favorites! A close second is probably a glycerin or a honey-based bar.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Get my full disclosure here.
My favorite soap bases
Below are links to different soap bars you can choose from:
- Shea butter melt and pour soap base
- Organic oil clear glycerin soap base
- Goats milk melt and pour soap base
- Honey melt and pour soap base
- Coconut milk melt and pour soap base
Choose from any of the bases above, and the rest of the recipe will remain the same.
Christmas soap ideas
When it comes to making your soap bars for Christmas, there are lots of customizations to be made. This is the fun part; feel free to get creative with it.
Soap molds can be found in the shapes of Christmas trees, snowmen, and pumpkins (as I use in my pumpkin spice bars.)
I do tend to stick to the typical rectangle soap bar and add in my own custom holiday flair.
Of course, the smell of Christmas is very important! This can easily be achieved by adding essential oils.
Some of my favorites for Christmastime are wild orange, cinnamon, clove, Siberian fir, eucalyptus, ginger, and peppermint. I share some of my favorite Christmas essential oil blends for soap below.
Christmas soap recipes
CHRISTMAS SOAP BAR
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound of shea butter soap base (or soap base of choice)
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
- 5 drops of wild orange essential oil
- 4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
- Silicone molds
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in orange zest, honey, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour the melted soap into the molds.
- Allow it to completely harden, then pop the soap out of the mold.
CANDY CANE SOAP BAR
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound shea butter soap base (or soap base of choice)
- 1 teaspoon of red jojoba beads
- 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
- Silicone soap mold
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once melted, remove from heat.
- Add jojoba beads and peppermint essential oil. Stir well.
- Pour into the molds.
- Allow to harden completely before removing from molds.
CINNAMON ORANGE SOAP BAR
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound shea butter soap base (or soap base of choice)
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 1 teaspoon of red clay powder
- 10 drops of orange essential oil
- 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
- Silicone soap mold
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the soap base into small pieces and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in orange zest, clay, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
GINGERBREAD SOAP BAR
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound of shea butter soap base (or soap base of choice)
- 2 teaspoons of ginger zest
- 1 teaspoon of yellow french clay
- 10 drops of ginger essential oil
- 5 drops of clove essential oil
- Silicone soap mold
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in ginger zest, clay, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
CHRISTMAS TREE SOAP BAR
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound of shea butter soap base (or soap base of choice)
- 1 teaspoon of spirulina powder
- 10 drops of siberian fir essential oil
- 5 drops of cypress essential oil
- 5 drops of sandalwood essential oil
- Silicone soap mold
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in powder and essential oils. Stir to mix.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
Essential oil soap bars
Please note that essential oils are very concentrated and can cause sensitivities when used improperly or on people with sensitive skin.
See how to properly use oils for more information.
Several essential oils that we are using in these recipes are considered warm oils and should never be applied to the skin undiluted.
Cinnamon, clove, ginger, and peppermint essential oil should be used with caution on the skin.
If you have sensitive skin or if you are making these soap bars for a child, you may consider diluting the amount of oils in half.
I hope you found these Christmas soap bar recipes to be the perfect gifts to give this holiday season.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
If you are interested in trying a from-scratch soap bar recipe, this cold-process chamomile soap bar is one of my favorites.
If you prefer to stick with soap bases, try my whipped soap recipe for something a little fancier!
5 Christmas Soap Bar Recipes
Equipment
- Double Boiler
- Silicone molds
Ingredients
Christmas soap bar
- ½ pound of shea butter soap base or soap base of choice
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
- 5 drops of wild orange essential oil
- 4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
candy cane soap bar
- ½ pound shea butter soap base or soap base of choice
- 1 teaspoon of red jojoba beads
- 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
Cinnamon orange soap bar
- ½ pound shea butter soap base or soap base of choice
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 1 teaspoon of red clay powder
- 10 drops of orange essential oil
- 5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
Gingerbread soap bar
- ½ pound of shea butter soap base or soap base of choice
- 2 teaspoons of ginger zest
- 1 teaspoon of yellow french clay
- 10 drops of ginger essential oil
- 5 drops of clove essential oil
Christmas tree soap bar
- ½ pound of shea butter soap base or soap base of choice
- 1 teaspoon of spirulina powder
- 10 drops of siberian fir essential oil
- 5 drops of cypress essential oil
- 5 drops of sandalwood essential oil
Instructions
Christmas soap bar
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in orange zest, honey, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour the melted soap into the molds.
- Allow it to completely harden, then pop the soap out of the mold.
Candy cane soap bar
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once melted, remove from heat.
- Add jojoba beads and peppermint essential oil. Stir well.
- Pour into the molds.
- Allow to harden completely before removing from molds.
Cinnamon orange soap bar
- Cut the soap base into small pieces and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in orange zest, clay, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
Gingerbread soap bar
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in ginger zest, clay, and essential oils. Stir well.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
Christmas tree soap bar
- Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place it into a double boiler.
- Melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Once completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add in powder and essential oils. Stir to mix.
- Pour into the soap molds.
- Allow the bars to harden completely before removing them from the molds.
Chloe says
Do these soap bars need to cure? Thanks 🙂
Laura says
No, these melt and pour just need to harden!
MommyMeg says
I absolutely loooove your website and recipes! We really loved your pumpkin spice soap bars, but the kids were hoping they’d be “more smelly good”, ha ha. Is it safe to double the amounts of EOs used in that recipe? And any recipe for that matter? They want to try some of these Christmas soaps also but want them to smell stronger for the family members we are gifting them to. Will it affect the consistency at all to double it, or increase by 50%? Thanks a bunch!
Laura says
The consistency should not be affect by adding a few more drops of EOs.
Callie says
I used a pound of shea butter on your other melt and pour soap recipes, and the most that I could make was four. So won’t half a pound make like two or three?
Fredi says
YUMMO!
What perfect timing… we have gone from 75* to 31* and ICK in the past 24 hrs.
Time for some indoor fun. Thank you so very much for generously sharing your Wonderful Recipes!
Laura says
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
Sofia says
Hey Laura, can you use normal shea butter or do you have to buy the soap base melt and pour alternative? I have normal shea butter at home.
Kind regards Sofia
Laura says
It is a melt and pour shea butter base. It is different than regular shea butter.
Jan says
how do you wrap your soaps? jan
Laura says
I like tieing hemp around them and adding a label.
Carol Witt Pugh says
Where do you get the hemp?
Jennifer says
Where do you buy red jojoba beads?
Laura says
I found some on etsy.
Bailey says
Cinnamon is not safe to put in soap!
Ellie says
It’s ok cause it’s only cinnamon oil not actual cinnamon
Ali James says
How many bars does this recipe make?
Laura says
Each recipe will make 5 bars using the molds I have linked in the post.