A Stress Free Christmas With The Help Of Essential Oils
Ready or not, life steps up a gear now as Christmas hurtles headlong towards us.
And while it should really be a time for celebration, the worrying about getting the right presents for everybody, arranging the Christmas dinner, and preparing for all those parties is certain to send your stress levels soaring.
So this year, invite the cheering and welcoming scent of Christmas into your home and keep the stress at bay with just your essential oils and a little imagination. Follow these easy to use aromatherapy tips and we promise you will be able to take everything in your stride – and maybe even recapture some of the lost magic of Christmas too!
Countdown to Christmas
At the first sign of festive fatigue get your essential oils and start blending! A soothing mix of lavender, grapefruit and ginger essential oils in equal proportions quickly dispels a Christmas panic attack, and it smells gorgeous too. If brain-fade kicks in and you are having trouble focusing on all your priorities, a few drops each of rosemary, basil and lavender oils should help bring a little clarity to the situation.
Shopping for gifts and groceries in overcrowded stores can be exhausting and stressful in equal measure, so if you do plan to shop ’till you drop, a soothing and refreshing aromatherapy footbath will bring blissful relief when you get home. Just one drop each of cooling and refreshing peppermint, rosemary and lavender essential oils added to a warm footbath will quickly soothe and revive those tired tootsies and have you back on your feet in no time at all.
Jingle smells
Christmas provides the perfect excuse to over-indulge not only in food and drink, but fragrance too! Spice oils such as cinnamon, clove and nutmeg all invoke a fantastic Christmassy atmosphere. They blend perfectly with citrus essential oils such as mandarin and sweet orange, so you can experiment to your hearts content with any of these.
If you prefer an artificial Christmas tree, try some silver fir or pine essential oil to bring a touch of nature into your home without all the falling needles. For a little more variation try adding a drop of another tree-derived essential oil such as cypress or cedar, and even a splash of a citrus oil such as grapefruit to give the fragrance a tangy twist.
You can use the blended essential oils in your diffuser or burner, or alternatively put 50mls of water in a water-spray, add 5 drops of essential oil and shake the mixture. Keep shaking whilst you spray the tree, and be sure to avoid spraying near any expensive polished wooden surfaces. If you don’t have a water spray simply put a few drops of the essential oil on to a tissue and place it at the base of the tree to produce a refreshing pine forest!
Soak it up
Start the day on Christmas morning with a nice relaxing bath to set the mood for the forthcoming day’s festivities. To set the mood put on some relaxing music, add 3 drops of sandalwood and 2 drops of rose oils to a nice warm bath and soak yourself for 15 minutes – ahhh, absolute heaven! This relaxing blend will at least ensure that you have a nice peaceful start to the day and should keep you a happy, at least until lunchtime . . .
Next, mist some oils around the house while you make preparations for the Christmas dinner or get ready for the party games Frankincense essential is perfect for Yuletide and has a soothing and calming effect if the children (or adults) are getting over-excited and chaos is breaking out all around you! After your Christmas dinner when energies are lower and things start flagging, try using a few drops of lemon, orange or grapefruit oils to give everyone a reviving boost. Alternatively of course, you could just let everyone sleep while you have a well earned rest!
Mix it up
Parties are all about atmosphere and fun, so don’t be afraid to be daring with your essential oil mixes at party time. Some people are shy, so using calming and balancing oils such as lavender and geranium will create a warm, friendly and inviting ambiance. Christmas celebrations can even lead to romance, so if you want to create the right atmosphere for this choose seductive oils such as ylang ylang, rose, neroli, sandalwood or patchouli.
Be adventurous and create a different fragrance in each room for your guests. Use frankincense oil to create a quiet and peaceful space, and for the athletic dancers you can juice things up with grapefruit, lime or lemon essential oils. If you don’t have more than one diffuser just add a few drops of essential oil to a wreath, cotton wool balls, or tissue paper, and place them discreetly around your rooms. Just let your imagination run free this Christmas and you will have all your friends singing your praises right into the New Year.
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Carol Barrett
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