Aromatherapy gifts offer creative and affordable ways to feel and extend
gratitude and connection this holiday season. A unique gift that can nurture
body and soul through the cold, dark, resting season of winter is something
people treasure. Also, if the holidays can make you feel over-extended
or exhausted, consider how exposure to the uplifting or relaxing aromas
will improve your holiday experience as you make scented goodies for your
family, friends and furry companions.
Smell, the most primal of our traditional five senses, develops even
before sight and is integral in connecting us to our environment on a personal
level. On a cultural level, scent has been used throughout the human experience
to create bonds and offer appreciation for a wide variety of different
blessings. For example, most ancient and modern cultures honor their higher
powers and seasons of nature with scented offerings such as clove, bergamot,
frankincense, myrrh, anise, cedarwood, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, chamomile,
sage and mint through food, offerings or incense. Therefore, aromatherapy
gifts can honor or expand holiday traditions in ways that are intuitively
understood as well as physically enjoyed.
As with any gift, it is important to spend few moments thinking about
what would give the receiver pleasure. Are they someone who prefers bold,
rich sensory experiences or do they tend to enjoy lighter, softer pleasures?
Do they travel a lot or work at home? Have you had a particularly wonderful
scent experience that you want to share with them? Questions like these
uncover where to focus energy to create gifts that encourage a warm connection
with your receiver. For giving occasions where the receiver is unknown,
a pendulum or random oil selection can be a fun experiment to reconnect
with your intuition. Imagine someone opening your hand-made bergamot and
sage lotion and saying "I've been craving these scents for weeks":
it happens all the time.
Remembering the power of intention, another fun way to organize your
gift ideas is to consider what might support your receiver at home, work
or in their community right now. Could less road-rage be helpful for Aunt
Maxine's neighborhood? How about fewer runny noses for your sister's adorable
heard of young people? Tired of Nacho, the killer Chiauau, nipping your
toes when you visit Granny each holiday? Seasonal recipes for a clary sage
and cedarwood car hydrosol to calm Maxine, a peppermint hand soap to curb
kid-born germs and an orange, lavender and aloe gel for the bite-bigger-than-bark
situation are valuable to know when coping with all that winter has to
offer. 
Learn more about aromatherapy and the power of your own senses!
Danielle Furman is a Certified Aromatherapist, Massage
Therapist and Energy Balancer in Longmont, Colorado.
She calls her practice Inviting Balance, with the intent
of remembering balance for herself and others.
Holiday aroma-goodies are available at http://www.invitingbalance.com
or learn how to master-mix for yourself at her aromatherapy
classes at Bead Lounge.
