My mother used to tie dried lavender flowers into squares of cloth to make little lavender pouches and then she tucked them into her shoes. Not only did this freshen her footwear, it also meant that every time anyone opened her closet door, the lovely, calming scent of lavender drifted out into the room. This botanical shoe-freshening method was a charming fix for her professional office shoes, but wouldn’t have been enough for the boots and shoes I wear to work in my yard or to go hiking in. At the end of a long winter day outside in the Western Oregon rain and mud, my rubber homestead boots and hearty hiking boots need more than a freshener; they need a deodorizer. That’s where this time-tested, natural boot and shoe deodorizer is a godsend. It works on the same principle as the lovely lavender packets my mother used, but brings the deodorizing power of baking soda, rosemary, and sage to the task.

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. 

By the time winter rolls around, I usually find myself seeking cozy comfort, uplifting cheer, and robust wellness support. While fuzzy blankets, social gatherings, and immune-boosting herbal teas are tried and true, I also look to aromatherapy as an essential wintertime ally.

Gift-giving can be difficult, especially during the holidays. Finding the right gift at the right price is hard enough, but then layer on crowded parking lots, long shopping lines, and inclement weather, and you have yourself a recipe for holiday stress! We just don’t need that added pressure in our already hectic lives.

With this in mind, I curated a simple list of budget-friendly gift ideas that you can have delivered right to your doorstep. You’ll find the perfect gifts for the health enthusiast, foodie, tea lover, or fragrance connoisseur in your life. (Or for yourself; you also deserve it!)

I love rosehips. I love the way they look on rose shrubs and how they remain bright points of color as the gray of winter approaches. I love how they feed wildlife when it’s cold. I love the nutritional and healthful gifts they offer. And I particularly love how those tart little hips are perfect for jellies, jams, and syrups. I don’t always have time in the fall to harvest and clean fresh hips, so I am always grateful for dried rosehips when winter finally arrives and I can slow down and do some cold weather nesting. Now I have the time to pull luscious dried rosehips from my apothecary closet to make rosehip jelly for my family. However, said family firmly believes that rosehip jelly season also means cookie season, because homemade jellies and jams are the best for thumbprint and/or frosted sugar cookies.

Although goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) was used by First Nations peoples for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in the Americas, the first written source regarding goldenseal appears in an 1801 series of essays by botanist and physician Benjamin Smith Barton titled Towards a Materia Medica in the United States. Early colonists found a well-established trade network already in place for medicinal herbs, including goldenseal. Indigenous people used it as a dye and also for a variety of health issues, including as a bitter to support digestion, as a skin and eye wash, and as a dental rinse. By the 1830s, goldenseal was also a favorite of practitioners of Eclectic medicine, and demand was increasing exponentially. That demand has never let up and today goldenseal is considered to be one of the most at-risk herbs on United Plant Savers' At-Risk Medicinal Plants List. There is, however, a potentially bright future for goldenseal thanks to innovations in cultivation.

Homemade perfumes are wonderful for a myriad of reasons. From the ability to try new things without an enormous price tag to the pleasure of crafting something both beautiful and useful, perfume making is a pastime that I’ve grown to truly love. I custom tailor fragrances to match my mood or emotional needs or to harness the energetics of certain plants. But I also have a fondness for crafting blends that match the seasons.

This is the time of year when we start thinking about how to best support our bodies as our diets shift to heartier winter eating and those inevitable holiday meals that are just around the corner. Digestive function is a key factor in our overall health and wellness, and can be thrown off by a number of things that are part and parcel of this time of year: not just hearty cold weather meals, but also changes in our routine, less sun and exercise, the stressors (both positive and negative) of family gatherings, holiday travel, etc. This seasonal dietary and energy flux impacts our bodies in a wide variety of ways, and can particularly play havoc on our digestive system. Fortunately, when we pay attention to our own unique rhythm, we can get ahead of these factors and be prepared when our normal balance is off-kilter. There are three herbal actions that are particularly helpful: bitters, aromatics, and demulcents.

Candlelight is good anytime, but during the winter holidays, it’s part of human traditions that date back thousands of years. This year, as the cost of everything, including candles, has skyrocketed, it makes more sense than ever to make our own. I’ve made candles for fun over the years, including holiday candles, but I’m definitely not a candle-making artisan. Fortunately, we don’t have to be experts to produce simple, lovely poured candles. Making our own gives us the freedom to customize the scent with pure essential oils. Candle making is also a wonderful activity with kids, so the winter school holidays are a great time to pull out the wicks, wax, and your favorite upcycled jars. Developing some old-fashioned skills like this one means inflation doesn’t have to put a damper on what you love most this time of year: traditions and family.

Burnout. Most of us at one time or another have felt fatigue, jumpiness, irritability, lack of concentration, hopelessness, occasional digestive and bowel disruptions, difficulty sleeping, headaches, and muscle soreness to name a few. It feels like we are always working to keep it at bay. Adopting nourishing nervines and adaptogens into our lives can be immensely helpful to support and balance our nervous systems.* And when I say adopt the herb, I really mean embrace them and they will embrace you back! They work best when used daily over time. If your life includes a lot of stress and/or discomfort, these herbs can help you increase your capacity and resiliency. I’ll share the ones I use most in my work as a community herbalist.