"Making Spirits Bright" Scent Stories
For me, it’s the scent of those old boxes from the loft that smell is so nostalgic. It carries memories of pure excitement and wonder. I think of the retro foil decorations hanging from the ceiling, which felt absolutely magical, and the vibrant tinsel in every colour which, of course, was my favourite. The frosted apple and berry tree decorations were mesmerising with their dewy texture, along with the wooden soldiers that I now realize were nutcrackers. Then there were the homemade decorations my sister and I crafted at school, and Mum’s special angel with the porcelain face. It always looked ancient, but she loved it so much.
The smell itself isn’t particularly pleasant, but there’s something so comforting about it. No matter what, it will always remind me of my childhood and stay with me forever.
A more recent smell that always reminds me of Christmas is mulled wine. Smells are linked so strongly with memory and the smell of mulled wine takes me back to Christmas 2021 instantly. The first Christmas in our new home, and sadly the last Christmas Day I got to share with my mum, mulled wine always takes me back to that special day. My mum had made mulled wine to accompany our incredible roast dinner and her love was poured in to her making of the wine. Every time I smell mulled wine I’m comforted by not just memories of Christmas, but memories of my mum too.
My mum was always extra prepared for Christmas. Baking almost daily throughout the year meant the Christmas Pudding was mixed as early as late Summer, so that it had time to really develop in flavour. I always remember coming down in our dressing gowns one random morning and being asked to stir the pudding and to make a wish. The strong scent of brandy, sweet raisins, apples and all the festive spices immediately shouts Christmas to me. We would always pour some extra brandy on top of the pudding just before we tucked in on Christmas day and I always hoped I would be the one to find the lucky sixpence!
A smell that always reminds me of Christmas time is the smell of a real Christmas tree. My mum, dad and lots of other family members are flower market traders at London’s infamous Columbia Road Flower Market and every year, their plant nursery is filled with real Christmas trees, ready to sell at the market. Each year, we would of course pick our own tree to take home. We would load the tree onto the van and take it home, ready for decorating. After decorating the tree, I’ll never forget the magic of coming downstairs as a child the next day, to the whole downstairs filled with the rich, green aroma of pine needles. Ever since, I always have a real tree in my own home to try and recapture that same feeling. That smell for me is the epitome of Christmas and something that takes me straight back to that special memory.
The pungent aromatic smell of my Nan’s home made parsley and thyme stuffing, the thyme meticulously picked by my Nan. I can see her now, plucking the thyme leaves, as intimate as a four leaf clover.
My Christmas Scent Story is the smell of freshly snuffed out candles after singing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight for Christmas Eve, when I was a girl Chorister. The highlight of our Chorister Year.
Granma’s red tin, decorated with odd (but cute) little pigs, full to the brim with homemade mince pies; the smell of the spiced fruits and the warmth from the freshly filled tin, is what really brings back my childhood Christmas memories.
Every Christmas, the highlight is going to my mama’s house for our family Christmas party. We go every Christmas eve and she always makes it so special for us.
When we arrive, we help her cook and have Christmas music on in the background. We enjoy a buffet of delicious food; sausage rolls, pringles, pigs in blankets, mince pies and more.
My parents, siblings, auntie, uncle and neighbours all come, and we take turns to open one present each with hot chocolate to enjoy too. At the end of the party, we drive home silent and exhausted from all the food before we come home to watch The Santa Clause movie and eat even more chocolate.
The smell that makes me think of this special day is the smell of a log fire, because my mama always has the fire on and the smoky, sooty, woody smell always fills her home. Even when it’s not Christmas and I go to her house, that smell takes me straight back to Christmas eve. It’s my favourite day of the whole year, even better than Christmas day itself.
When I was younger, we always used to walk to town and my mum would always take us with her to John Lewis to complete the Christmas shopping. The smell that really sticks with me is the smell of Pot Pourri. My mum would always buy some to bring home, so the smell of the Christmas spices filled our home.
As a family, we have a Christmas tradition where me, my little brother and my mum make our own gingerbread men on Christmas eve.
When we open our Christmas eve boxes, the recipe and ingredients are always inside. It’s something I always really look forward to and even though there’s always some arguing, we always get there eventually.
My mum turns off the room lights and puts all the Christmas lights on, with Elf in the background (which is our favourite Christmas film.)
While mum reads the instructions, me and my brother follow each step, fighting along the way over who gets to do what. While the biscuits are baking, we have hot chocolates and so the smells of sugar, ginger, baking and chocolate always make me think of Christmas and this tradition.
The biscuits do always turn out slightly burnt, but we decorate them and enjoy them anyway. We save some for my dad for when he gets home, and eat the rest while we finish Elf. This is my most special Christmas memory and a tradition we have never skipped.
let's move to the eighties. The north-western part of Poland and a small village surrounded by beautiful forests. The time of communism where people didn't have much and yet they had much more than in the modern world - good hearts. Winter spice reminds me of the times when my grandmother baked Christmas gingerbread. The old house filled with the scent of cloves, vanilla..... time of love, time of forgiveness, time spent with family. There were no presents and the time awaited until Christmas dragged on mercilessly. The scent of Winter spice is for me a memory of a carefree childhood, a fragrant Christmas tree and the heavenly scent of my grandmother's gingerbread, a time that unfortunately will never come back.
It’s piggies in blankets for me! The aroma of them sizzling away with all the other delicious smells. Without a doubt brings all the tastes and smells of a Christmas dinner together!
Nothing quite like opening the tin of Quality Street! As a child it was like opening a chest of treasure with the jewel like wrappers and that sweet smell that hits you! Now as an adult, they are an essential part of getting me through the last minute panic Christmas Eve wrapping!
For me, it’s the scent of those old boxes from the loft that smell is so nostalgic. It carries memories of pure excitement and wonder. I think of the retro foil decorations hanging from the ceiling, which felt absolutely magical, and the vibrant tinsel in every colour which, of course, was my favourite. The frosted apple and berry tree decorations were mesmerising with their dewy texture, along with the wooden soldiers that I now realize were nutcrackers. Then there were the homemade decorations my sister and I crafted at school, and Mum’s special angel with the porcelain face. It always looked ancient, but she loved it so much.
The smell itself isn’t particularly pleasant, but there’s something so comforting about it. No matter what, it will always remind me of my childhood and stay with me forever.
A more recent smell that always reminds me of Christmas is mulled wine. Smells are linked so strongly with memory and the smell of mulled wine takes me back to Christmas 2021 instantly. The first Christmas in our new home, and sadly the last Christmas Day I got to share with my mum, mulled wine always takes me back to that special day. My mum had made mulled wine to accompany our incredible roast dinner and her love was poured in to her making of the wine. Every time I smell mulled wine I’m comforted by not just memories of Christmas, but memories of my mum too.
My mum was always extra prepared for Christmas. Baking almost daily throughout the year meant the Christmas Pudding was mixed as early as late Summer, so that it had time to really develop in flavour. I always remember coming down in our dressing gowns one random morning and being asked to stir the pudding and to make a wish. The strong scent of brandy, sweet raisins, apples and all the festive spices immediately shouts Christmas to me. We would always pour some extra brandy on top of the pudding just before we tucked in on Christmas day and I always hoped I would be the one to find the lucky sixpence!
A smell that always reminds me of Christmas time is the smell of a real Christmas tree. My mum, dad and lots of other family members are flower market traders at London’s infamous Columbia Road Flower Market and every year, their plant nursery is filled with real Christmas trees, ready to sell at the market. Each year, we would of course pick our own tree to take home. We would load the tree onto the van and take it home, ready for decorating. After decorating the tree, I’ll never forget the magic of coming downstairs as a child the next day, to the whole downstairs filled with the rich, green aroma of pine needles. Ever since, I always have a real tree in my own home to try and recapture that same feeling. That smell for me is the epitome of Christmas and something that takes me straight back to that special memory.
The pungent aromatic smell of my Nan’s home made parsley and thyme stuffing, the thyme meticulously picked by my Nan. I can see her now, plucking the thyme leaves, as intimate as a four leaf clover.
My Christmas Scent Story is the smell of freshly snuffed out candles after singing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight for Christmas Eve, when I was a girl Chorister. The highlight of our Chorister Year.
Granma’s red tin, decorated with odd (but cute) little pigs, full to the brim with homemade mince pies; the smell of the spiced fruits and the warmth from the freshly filled tin, is what really brings back my childhood Christmas memories.
Every Christmas, the highlight is going to my mama’s house for our family Christmas party. We go every Christmas eve and she always makes it so special for us.
When we arrive, we help her cook and have Christmas music on in the background. We enjoy a buffet of delicious food; sausage rolls, pringles, pigs in blankets, mince pies and more.
My parents, siblings, auntie, uncle and neighbours all come, and we take turns to open one present each with hot chocolate to enjoy too. At the end of the party, we drive home silent and exhausted from all the food before we come home to watch The Santa Clause movie and eat even more chocolate.
The smell that makes me think of this special day is the smell of a log fire, because my mama always has the fire on and the smoky, sooty, woody smell always fills her home. Even when it’s not Christmas and I go to her house, that smell takes me straight back to Christmas eve. It’s my favourite day of the whole year, even better than Christmas day itself.
When I was younger, we always used to walk to town and my mum would always take us with her to John Lewis to complete the Christmas shopping. The smell that really sticks with me is the smell of Pot Pourri. My mum would always buy some to bring home, so the smell of the Christmas spices filled our home.
As a family, we have a Christmas tradition where me, my little brother and my mum make our own gingerbread men on Christmas eve.
When we open our Christmas eve boxes, the recipe and ingredients are always inside. It’s something I always really look forward to and even though there’s always some arguing, we always get there eventually.
My mum turns off the room lights and puts all the Christmas lights on, with Elf in the background (which is our favourite Christmas film.)
While mum reads the instructions, me and my brother follow each step, fighting along the way over who gets to do what. While the biscuits are baking, we have hot chocolates and so the smells of sugar, ginger, baking and chocolate always make me think of Christmas and this tradition.
The biscuits do always turn out slightly burnt, but we decorate them and enjoy them anyway. We save some for my dad for when he gets home, and eat the rest while we finish Elf. This is my most special Christmas memory and a tradition we have never skipped.
let's move to the eighties. The north-western part of Poland and a small village surrounded by beautiful forests. The time of communism where people didn't have much and yet they had much more than in the modern world - good hearts. Winter spice reminds me of the times when my grandmother baked Christmas gingerbread. The old house filled with the scent of cloves, vanilla..... time of love, time of forgiveness, time spent with family. There were no presents and the time awaited until Christmas dragged on mercilessly. The scent of Winter spice is for me a memory of a carefree childhood, a fragrant Christmas tree and the heavenly scent of my grandmother's gingerbread, a time that unfortunately will never come back.
It’s piggies in blankets for me! The aroma of them sizzling away with all the other delicious smells. Without a doubt brings all the tastes and smells of a Christmas dinner together!
Nothing quite like opening the tin of Quality Street! As a child it was like opening a chest of treasure with the jewel like wrappers and that sweet smell that hits you! Now as an adult, they are an essential part of getting me through the last minute panic Christmas Eve wrapping!