It’s so relaxing to simply put on the burner with a few drops of your favourite oils, sit back, relax and breathe deeply. Aahh, so much better. As the smell wafts around the room, already you are destressing.

Frankincense is often used for visualisation. In the east, it has been used for meditation for centuries. Thought by the early Christian church to drive away evil spirits - it is used as an aid to reduce nightmares. This lovely fragrance is good for the respiratory system, so it is fantastic for wafting around the home by using a burner. It is always a good idea to use 3 or more essential oils in the burner. One of my favourites for the festive season is orange, lemon and frankincense as a stress reducer. Or try bergamot, lime and geranium – the bergamot is for happiness and prosperity, lime for a weary mind and geranium for balancing moods and emotions.

By putting on the burner especially during that crazy time around dinnertime preparation – it helps to become a sanity saver – helping to put those cranky kids and spouses at ease. It creates a lovely welcoming atmosphere for guests and helps to make your house a "home".

For Christmas gifts with aromatherapy, I always love to make up my bath salts. These are lovely thoughtful gifts that give a lot of pleasure. You can tailor make them for individuals e.g. romance, calming or pain relief. Simply look up your aromatherapy book and choose a recipe. For the bath salts themselves – I use one teaspoon of bicarb of soda; 2 teaspoons of Epsom salts and 3 teaspoons of sea salt – mix together and add 6 drops in total of essential oils. Add food colouring to make a statement or simply to pretty them up e.g. pink for Aunt Martha, blue for Sam etc.

New Year’s Resolutions & Goals

Discover which oils make you feel good and uplift you. Pop a drop or two on paper and write out your New Year resolutions. Then pop the torn off paper with each resolution into a "dream bag". Each night pull out a "new dream or resolution", sniff and visualise and think what will I have….. what will I be when….. and how will I feel …. By the time the odour has faded you will be in the process of establishing new "dreams" or resolutions for your dream bag. Enjoy!!!