Simmer pot potpourri is easy to make and fills the room with a heavenly scent. Make a batch to simmer on the stove and use our free labels to create gifts to share with friends!
If you love the spices used in this potpourri, you'll love our holiday wassail recipe! You might also like our homemade beeswax candles, our lotion bars, or our bottle brush tree wreath!
I have a couple of simmer pot potpourri mixtures that I enjoy using, depending on the time of year. During the holidays, I always gravitate to ingredients like cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sprigs of greenery. One pot can simmer for a couple of days, filling your house with a fantastic aroma. I also created labels for packaging these cute simmer potpourri kits as last-minute gifts.
Why I Like This Simmer Pot
- Simple ingredients. For the best blend of holiday spices, use orange slices, cranberries, rosemary, greenery clippings, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and any other spices you'd like to add.
- Lasts for days. After day 1, the colors of the cranberries and oranges won't be as bright and cheerful, but the scent will remain. You can add more water and start the simmer again!
- Creative gift idea. I like that this isn't an edible gift. We receive an abundance of sweets and treats this time of year. I enjoy finding gifts that won't add to the pile of treat plates on the counter.
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Tips and Tricks
- Shop the Hispanic aisle: Avoid heading to the spice aisle and buying little bottles of cinnamon sticks, anise, or allspice if you can help it. All 3 of these are available for a fraction of the price in the Hispanic section at the grocery store. I did some research and discovered that McCormick and Badia (the brand I used) often source the same high-quality ingredients from the same countries. Buying little jars of McCormick spices at a higher price doesn't necessarily mean a higher quality product. I found bags of Star Anise for $1.98, whole allspice for $.98, cloves for $.98, and cinnamon sticks for $2. I've had great success doing this at local grocery stores. A more reliable source is visiting a local Hispanic market for even greater variety. Use the leftover spices to make homemade wassail for the holidays!
- Do not leave unattended. Obviously, this isn't a set-it-and-forget-it item. Check on it every couple of hours to ensure there is enough water, and never leave it unattended.
- Get creative. There are endless ways to customize your stovetop potpourri. Simply use my list of ingredients as a guide.
- Add more water. This simmer pot can be used for several days. Add more water as needed to maintain a slow simmer.
- Gift idea. You can also make smaller kits that fit into the same cups that I used for my 12 Days of Christmas QR code gift idea. They are helpful for so many things! I ordered them here. Use my printable tags/labels to add to the top of a lid or tie onto a cellophane bag!
Ingredients
- Oranges: I used small/medium oranges so that they'd fit into the gift cup.
- Cranberries: Fresh cranberries if given as a gift. Frozen if simply making a pot for yourself.
- Cinnamon sticks: You can use ground cinnamon if making a pot for yourself, but cinnamon sticks make gift-giving easier since there aren't a bunch of ground spices sticking to everything in the container.
- Whole Cloves: These just might be the most fragrant item in the potpourri. Definitely don't skimp on these!
- Whole Allspice: Again, ground allspice works, but whole allspice is better for gift-giving.
- Star Anise: Star anise looks so pretty, and has a sweet scent.
- Greenery Clippings: I trimmed a few sprigs from a fresh Christmas wreath that I have hanging outside. The fresh clippings smell heavenly! You can use anything that has a nice aroma in your yard.
- Rosemary: I picked up a package of fresh rosemary at the grocery store for under $2 and thought the sprigs looked pretty in the mixture.
Refer to the recipe card for detailed information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Simmer Potpourri
- Fill a pot with a mixture of spices, orange slices, cranberries, and rosemary. I just eyeball everything and make a larger batch. Typically, 1-2 oranges (sliced), a couple of handfuls of cranberries, a few sprigs of greenery, 1-2 tablespoons of whole cloves and allspice, 3-4 star anise, and 3-4 cinnamon sticks.
- Add 6-8 cups of water. Simmer on low. Add water as needed to prevent the mixture from burning. Do not toss the potpourri at the end of the day. Simply remove from heat until ready to simmer the next day.
How to Make Simmer Pot Gifts
- Divide the ingredients into cups or cellophane bags. Another idea is to package everything into a Ziploc bag and then place the bag inside a brown lunch sack. Fold the top down, add a couple of hole punch holes in the center, then tie it with ribbon.
- Tie with a ribbon or add a lid.
- Attach a label. The labels print 4 to a page and are just the right size to fit onto the lids of the containers that I used. You can also use a hole punch to add a hole and tie to a cellophane bag with ribbon or twine.
Simmer Pot Potpourri FAQs
Simmer potpourri is a mixture of fresh and dry ingredients that simmer on the stove with water to fill your home with a beautiful scent. You simply add the ingredients into a pot, add water, and then simmer on low.
As the water level drops, you can add more water to keep it simmering for as long as you'd like. You can turn the heat off and let the pot sit on the stove to enjoy the next day, and repeat this process for 4 days.
Avoid heading to the spice aisle and buying little bottles of cinnamon sticks, anise, or allspice if you can help it. All 3 of these are available for a fraction of the price in the Hispanic section at the grocery store. I did some research and discovered that McCormick and Badia (the brand I used) often source the same high-quality ingredients from the same countries. So buying little jars of McCormick spices for a higher price doesn't necessarily equal a higher quality product. I found bags of Star Anise for $1.98, whole allspice for $.98, cloves for $.98, and cinnamon sticks for $2. I've had great success doing this at local grocery stores. A more reliable source is visiting a local Hispanic market for even greater variety. Use the leftover spices to make homemade wassail for the holidays!
More Holiday Gifts To Make
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Stovetop Simmer Potpourri
Equipment
- pot to simmer on stove
Materials
Gift Cup Measurements
- 1 orange
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 3 star anise
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 Tbsp. whole allspice
- 1 Tbsp. whole cloves
- 1-2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 evergreen sprig
- printable labels (print on cardstock)
Instructions
Gift Instructions
- Place the orange in the bottom of the gift cup or gift bag. Add cranberries, spices, and greenery.Tie with a ribbon or add a lid.
- Add a tag with simmering instructions.
- The simmering instructions are on the printable tags that I made. If you make your own tags you can label them with the following information:Slice orange. Add everything to a pot with 6 cups of water. Simmer on low heat. Add more water as needed.
Stovetop Instructions
- To make a pot for yourself simply fill a pot with a mixture of spices, orange slices, cranberries, and rosemary.I just eyeball everything and make a larger batch. Typically 1-2 oranges (sliced), a couple of handfuls of cranberries, a few sprigs of greenery, 1-2 tablespoons of whole cloves and allspice, 3-4 star anise, and 3-4 cinnamon sticks.
- Add 6-8 cups of water. Simmer on low. Add water as needed to prevent the mixture from burning. Do not toss the potpourri at the end of the day. Simply remove from heat until ready to simmer the next day.
Brandy says
Hi everyone! Brandy here, I've made these during the holidays for a couple of years now and love gifting them as much as I love making them for my own home. I also love that the scent lasts for a few days, just keep adding water!