Simmer 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!
Watch our step by step video!
I saw an article in Country Living, sharing 10 simmer potpourri recipes to make, and it reminded me of this beautiful and heavenly-scented one that uses festive holiday ingredients like cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sprigs of greenery.
The concept isn't new, and neither is the combination of spices, but I thought others might find the labels that I created useful for packaging up these cute simmer potpourri kits for last-minute gifts. I dropped a couple of these off to friends this morning and have had one on my stove for a couple of days.
Use my printable tags/labels to add to the top of a lid or tie onto a cellophane bag!
Stovetop Simmer POTPOURRI
So what is stovetop potpourri? It's 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, 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 keep doing this for 4 days.
Obviously, this isn't a set-it-and-forget-it item. Check on it every couple of hours to make sure that there is enough water, and never leave it completely unattended.
I like making a big batch and piling in the cranberries and spices. 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 useful for so many things! I ordered them here.
Simmer Potpourri Ingredients
There are endless ways to customize your stovetop potpourri. Simply can use my list as a guide. Scroll to the end for the measurements that you'll need for everything to fit perfectly into the cups that I used.
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.
Tips for Buying Stovetop Potpourri Spices
Shop the Hispanic aisle: Don't head to the spice aisle and buy 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 a little digging and learned that McCormick and Badia (the brand I used) often buy the same 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. An even better source is heading to a local Hispanic market for even more variety. Use the leftover spices to make homemade wassail for the holidays!
How To Make Stovetop Simmer Potpourri
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.
Video
Printable Potpourri Tags/Labels
Click HERE to download the printable tags.
Simmer Potpourri Packaging Ideas
They 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.
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.
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!