Gingerbread is a nostalgic aroma for me. It takes me back to my childhood in New Jersey, where I grew up appreciating our family holiday celebrations and traditions. One of the many fun memories of my childhood was decorating gingerbread houses and people. I even carried that seasonal practice into college, where my best friend and I crafted some pretty over-the-top gingerbread houses. Now, being three thousand miles away from my family and my closest friends can be difficult, especially around the holidays. But bringing in nostalgic elements of these precious childhood memories helps me to feel closer to them. One of the most transformative ways I have found to do this is through aromatherapy. 

Many of us now know that our olfactory senses can transport us to moments in our past and can have physiological effects and even affect changes in the chemicals and hormones in our brains. It’s incredibly fascinating to me that scents hold so much power, and it’s why I chose to craft this fun and playful blend that brings me back to those very precious moments of my life. 

This blend is a delightful one to use in your essential oil diffuser, but for the sake of making this craft even more festive, I created homemade wax melts with it.

You can of course play around with this blend if there is a scent you’d like more or less of. The world is your oyster when it comes to aromatherapy. Maybe your grandmother used extra ginger or clove in her homemade gingerbread. I encourage you to call in your memories of holiday gingerbread and tweak this recipe so that it smells like “home” to you.

Frosted Gingerbread Essential Oil Blend

Ingredients

• 2 drops organic sweet orange essential oil
• 6 drops organic fresh ginger essential oil
• 2 drops organic nutmeg essential oil
• 2 drops organic clove bud essential oil
• 5 drops organic cinnamon bark essential oil
• 3 drops organic benzoin essential oil

Directions 

1. Add all oils to a glass bottle and roll bottle to combine.
2. Label your bottle with the oils used and the date made.

To Use In Your Diffuser: Add pre-blended oil in accordance with the manufacturer’s suggestions for your device. 

Pro Tips 

1. You can skip the “frosting” part of this blend by omitting the benzoin resin essential oil.
2. Keep in mind that oils continue to meld over the course of a few days so the scent will evolve a bit. If you choose to alter the recipe, I’d recommend waiting a couple of days to do so. 
   

Frosted Gingerbread Wax Melts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup beeswax pastilles
• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. organic clove powder (optional)
• 5 drops organic sweet orange essential oil
• 28 drops organic fresh ginger essential oil
• 5 drops organic nutmeg essential oil
• 7 drops organic clove bud essential oil
• 18 drops organic cinnamon bark essential oil
• 10 drops organic benzoin essential oil

Directions

1. Combine beeswax, carrier oil, and clove powder in a double boiler. 
2. Heat for about 15 minutes until the wax is melted and the clove powder has some time to infuse into the 
   mixture.
3. Turn off the burner and remove from heat.
4. Pour off mixture, keeping in mind the following tips: The powder will mostly fall to the bottom of the double
   boiler. Pour off the top of the oil without a strainer as you want some of the speckles and coloring of the
   clove powder. Only use a very fine cloth strainer or unbleached paper towel for the bottom where it is very 
   gritty.
5. Wipe any debris out of double boiler and pour mixture back into double boiler. 
6. Add essential oils, mix well, and pour into the molds of your choice. 
7. Store in airtight glass containers to maintain optimal scent. 
8. Label with blend name and ingredients and the date made. 

1. The clove powder helps to give the wax melts a brownish hue and a speckled effect. I make these for joy and really appreciate that part, but you can leave that step out and then skip steps 3-5 in the directions above. 
2. If you don’t have molds, you can pour dots of wax on parchment paper and scoop some of the drops into your wax melter.
3. After continued use, the aroma will begin to dissipate. When this happens, you can freshen it up with some new essential oils. Simply let the warmer do its melting magic and add essential oils as desired.

Fun Tip: You can use that leftover clove power to make a couple of herbal fire starters!

Want to make more wax melt recipes?

Try this DIY Pumpkin Spice Wax Melt Recipe

You may also be interested in:
Autumn Breeze Wax Melts
Cozy Cabin Diffuser Blend
Best Essential Oils for Winter + Diffuser Blend