DIY Gift Idea: Homemade Simmering Potpourri Jar

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DIY Gift Idea: Homemade Simmering Potpourri Jar

I love homemade holiday gifts, there is something so special about knowing that someone took the time to make you something. I love receiving them and I love giving them. 

Sometimes one of the hardest things about coming up with unique homemade gift ideas if finding something that will appeal to everyone on your list. Who doesn’t love the wonderful smells of a holiday home? That’s why this DIY gift idea is a great one: Homemade Simmering Potpourri Jars. 

These homemade potpourri jars are super simple to make and you can adjust the expense based on what you have on hand, what you can find at the dollar store and you can even find supplies right in your own backyard! 

My father’s yard is overflowing with crab apples and I’m so thrilled to have finally found a use for these. 

Here is a suggested list of ingredients per gift jar, you may adjust the amounts as best fits your preferences and for what you may have on hand and of course the size of your jars. 

Supplies for making Simmering Potpourri Jar

Jars

1-3 clementines or small oranges depending on the size of the opening of your jars. 

About ¼ cup or fresh or dried cranberries

Clusters of crab apples (these stay on trees nicely until early winter in many regions, if not available, you can look for baby apples at the store or go with dried apple slices). 

Dried rosemary or dried rosemary sprigs

Small pieces from fir trees

Cinnamon sticks 

Ribbon, Tinsel and Gift Tags 

Scissors / Garden Clippers

Obviously the possibilities are endless but a combination of the things listed above blends wonderfully to create a holiday fragrance that brings together all of the wonderful smells of the season!

Instructions for making Simmering Potpourri Jar

The filling of your jars is pretty simple, you’ll want to stack items into the jars so that they are arranged to show a nice blend of color and texture.

If you choose to cut the citrus fruits open, you’ll want to wait until the day you’ll be giving them out to ensure they are fresh and then encourage the recipients to add water and shimmer the ingredients within 24 to 48 hours. 

Try to avoid gifting the jars with water already in them as the appearance of the ingredients may start to change before you have a chance to hand them out. 

Rinse and dry the fir swags and crab apples before placing in the jars to make sure there aren’t any little crawling friends going into the gift jars.

With the tips above in mind, assemble the goodies and start to fill the jars. Depending on the size of the opening, you may want to set the heavy fruits on the bottom or slide in the longer ingredients first. 

Add the lids and maybe some festive ribbon (I love the look of tinsel with ribbon, see photos!) to help hold everything in and add a little sparkle! If you like, attach a little gift tag with instructions for simmering. 

Instructions for simmering the items in Simmering Potpourri Jars

Most people know how simmering potpourri works, but don’t assume they do. Including a description and/or instructions is never a bad idea and you want to make sure they understand how these work. Most importantly, make sure they know that they need plenty of water in the pot they’ll be heating their potpourri in so that it doesn’t dry out or even worse, burn.

How to Simmer Potpourri

Add 6 cups of water to a pot and add the ingredients from the potpourri jar. Bring to a boil on the stove. Turn down to low and let it simmer, keeping a close eye on the water level to ensure the pot does not dry out.

(as mentioned above, maybe include these instructions on a gift tag when you give out your potpourri jars.) 

Aren’t these just wonderful? Such a fun homemade gift idea and will make your house – and the homes of those that you share them with – smell so fragrant and festive!