Homemade Thanksgiving Potpourri with Essential Oils

Making your own potpourri with dehydrated fruits, fall spices, and essential oils is the best way to fill your home with delightful holiday scents. This homemade potpourri makes the perfect hostess gift, is made with all-natural ingredients, and makes a beautiful centerpiece. 

Learn how to make homemade Thanksgiving potpourri with essential oils, sliced oranges, apples, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. This potpourri will bring the smell of the season right into your home, all while giving off aromatherapy benefits.

I loved making my own stove-top potpourri for Christmas in the past. Making one for the Thanksgiving holiday has always been something I have wanted to do. They really make the best gift for your hostess and help get you into the holiday spirit. The best part about making your own potpourri is customizing it just the way you want and that it can be made without any synthetic fragrances.

Adding essential oils to your homemade potpourri will increase the strength of the scent as well as allow it to last longer.

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BEST INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE POTPOURRI

For this potpourri, we are going to use fruits, spices, and essential oils that have fall scents. This makes this potpourri perfect for Thanksgiving! You can use any ingredients you wish; below are a list of my favorite scents for the holidays. Get creative and come up with your own combos too!

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• Apples- Any apples will do!
• Oranges- The juicier, the better.
• Pine cones- Adding in pine cones gives this potpourri a beautiful look and fall smell.
• Cloves- I am using whole cloves, but you can use dried cloves if that is what you have.
• Cinnamon Sticks- Again, I am using whole cinnamon sticks because I love their look, but the dried spice will work.
• Ginger- You can use whole ginger slices or the spice.
• Nutmeg- Just a sprinkle of the dried spice will work.
• Pumpkin pie spice- This is another great scent to add-in for the holidays!
• Essential oils- My favorite essential oils for fall are cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, and wild orange.
• Container-mason jar or weck jar 

DEHYDRATED FRUIT FOR POTPOURRI

Using dehydrated fruit will extend the shelflife of your potpourri. If you decide to make a stovetop potpourri, you don’t have to dehydrate your fruit as it is made for one-time use.

HOW TO DEHYDRATE ORANGES

1. Slice the oranges into thin, even slices.
2. Place the oranges in a single layer on a baking dish covered in parchment paper.
3. Bake at 200 degrees for 4 hours or until dry.
4. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

HOW TO DEHYDRATE APPLES

1. Slice the apples into thin, even slices. I do them in circles by laying the apple on its side and cutting right through the core.
2. Place the apples in a single layer on a baking dish covered in parchment paper.
3. Bake at 200 degrees for 1-2 hours or until apples are dry.
4. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

HOW TO DEHYDRATE GINGER

1. Peel the ginger.
2. Slice the ginger into thin, even slices.
3. Place the ginger slices in a single layer on a baking dish covered in parchment paper.
4. Bake at 150 degrees for 1-2 hours or until ginger is dry.

If you have time, you can also dry ginger by placing it in a sunny window for 4-5 days.

HOW TO MAKE POTPOURRI?

Making your own potpourri is so easy to do! You can make a stovetop potpourri or a dry potpourri. The same ingredients can be used for both; just the way you use them will be different.

STOVETOP POTPOURRI RECIPE

1. Place all the ingredients (except essential oils) into a 16-ounce mason jar.
2. Fill with water.
3. Add in essential oils and secure lid.
4. Decorate with ribbon, hemp, or burlap. Add gift tag.
5. Pour contents of mason jar into a large pot. If needed, add more water to the pot.
6. Turn the stove burner to a medium heat setting. Once the water almost reaches a boil, turn the temperature down to low; this allows for a long slow release of the potpourri.

DRY POTPOURRI RECIPE

1. Place all the ingredients into a cute mason jar, bowl, or container.
2. Add 10-15 drops of essential oils over the ingredients.
3. Decorate with ribbon, hemp, or burlap if giving this as a gift, secure a lid onto the container to trap the scent.
4. Open and enjoy it!

HOW LONG WILL HOMEMADE POTPOURRI LAST?

Once opened, the dry potpourri will last for a couple of months. If you want to make the scent stronger or last longer, you can add more essential oils to the jar.

WHICH SPICES ARE BEST FOR HOMEMADE POTPOURRI?

There is really no wrong or right way to make potpourri as it really is a matter of preference. As far as potpourri goes for Thanksgiving or fall time, I like to stick to cinnamon and clove. Something about those smells just reminds me of the holiday season!

Adding in nutmeg, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice makes it perfect for fall, or add in pine cones and star anise for Christmas.

Add in fresh herbs, sprigs of lavender, or rosemary for added scent and decor.

WHAT IS THE BEST CONTAINER FOR HOMEMADE POTPOURRI?

This is the fun part! You can find a fun container to put your DIY potpourri in at a garage sale in your basement or the local thrift shop. Use a vintage mason jar, a festive mug, or weck jar. It is best to use a jar that has a lid so you can keep it closed when you are not using it to preserve the smell longer.

 

Homemade Thanksgiving Potpourri

Print

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 2 hours

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Materials

• 1 apple, dehydrated
• 1 orange, dehydrated
• 2 cinnamon sticks 
• 1 tablespoon of dried clove buds
• 1/2 inch ginger. sliced and dehydrated
• Nutmeg Spice
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Essential oils of choice

Instructions

1. Place ingredients (leaving out the oils) into the glass mason jar.
2. Add 10-15 drops of essential oils over the ingredients. 
3. Decorate with ribbon, hemp, or burlap.
4. If giving this as a gift, secure a lid onto the container to trap the scent.
5. Open and enjoy it!