There comes a point every November when fall suddenly feels like it’s packing up and winter is knocking at the door.
The evenings get colder, the garden has pretty much called it quits for the year, and I start spending a lot more time inside. I’m not always ready to drag out every Christmas decoration just yet, but I am ready for the house to start feeling a little more like the holidays.
And sometimes all it takes is a pot of water, an orange, a few cinnamon sticks and whatever else I happen to have in the kitchen.
I’m talking about a good old-fashioned winter simmer pot.
There’s nothing complicated about it. You put everything in a pot, turn the heat down low and before long somebody walks into the kitchen and says, “What smells so good?”
That’s when you know it’s working.
A Simple Way to Bring Christmas Into the House
I love decorating for the seasons, obviously, but I’ve always thought a cozy home is about more than what you see.
It’s what you smell when you walk through the door. It’s a warm mug of coffee in your hands. It’s the kitchen light glowing on a dark afternoon. It’s hearing something bubbling quietly on the stove while you’re working on something else.
That’s what I like about a simmer pot.
You don’t have to redecorate the house, buy anything expensive or spend an afternoon turning your living room into the North Pole.
A simmer pot just makes the house feel good.
And you can change the ingredients depending on what you have around the kitchen.
My Cozy Winter Simmer Pot
This is the combination I’d start with because it has all those wonderful scents I associate with the holidays: orange, cranberry, cinnamon and cloves.
You’ll need:
- 1 orange, sliced
- About 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- About 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- Water
And that’s really all you need.
You can experiment with other ingredients too. Apple slices, rosemary and other seasonal additions can create an entirely different fragrance.
That’s half the fun. There’s really no reason every simmer pot has to be exactly the same.
How I Make It
Put the orange slices, cranberries, cinnamon sticks and cloves into a saucepan.
Cover everything generously with water, but leave plenty of room at the top of the pot.
Bring it up to temperature and then reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer.
After that, let it do its thing.
As the water warms, the fragrance starts drifting beyond the kitchen. Before long the whole house begins to smell warm and Christmasy without an artificial room fragrance anywhere in sight.
Just remember that the water will evaporate, so you’ll need to check it regularly and add more as needed.
And, of course, never leave a simmering pot unattended.
That’s especially important around here because I have cats who seem to believe that anything I’m doing automatically requires their supervision.
What About Adding Evergreen?
You’ll often see winter simmer pot recipes that recommend tossing pine, cedar or other evergreen clippings into the water.
They certainly look pretty, but this is one place where I wouldn’t simply walk outside and start snipping branches unless you know exactly what you’re bringing into the house.
Not every plant is suitable for every use, and pet households need to be particularly thoughtful about plants and strongly scented ingredients.
Honestly, the orange, cranberry and spices smell wonderful all by themselves.
Sometimes simpler really is better.
COZY SEASONAL TIP: Before adding plants, herbs or strongly scented ingredients to a simmer pot, make sure you’ve positively identified them and that they’re appropriate for your household, especially if you have pets, young children or anyone sensitive to fragrances.
This Is My Kind of Winter Afternoon
This may actually be my favorite part.
Put the simmer pot on, make a fresh cup of coffee, pull out one of my favorite winter mugs and suddenly I’m perfectly happy settling in for the afternoon.
This time of year, that often means I’m at the computer working on winter designs, writing a blog post or thinking about the next project while the kitchen slowly starts smelling like Christmas.
Nothing terribly exciting is happening.
And maybe that’s exactly why I like it.
We put so much pressure on ourselves during the holidays to do something. Decorate something. Buy something. Bake something. Wrap something.
Sometimes it’s nice to have a little Christmas tradition that mostly involves sitting there and smelling good. 😂
A Sweet Homemade Gift Idea
A winter simmer pot can also inspire a really charming little holiday gift.
Dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and other carefully selected dried ingredients can be packaged in a clear bag or jar and finished with a beautiful ribbon and handwritten tag.
I especially like the idea as a small hostess or neighbor gift because it feels personal without becoming another enormous holiday project.
Include simple instructions so the recipient knows what to do with it, and make sure any ingredients you use are clearly identified.
Presentation doesn’t have to be complicated either. A pretty ribbon and a lovely tag can make something incredibly simple feel special.
A Few Winter Simmer Pot Ideas to Try
Once you’ve made one, it’s hard not to start experimenting.
Orange + Cinnamon + Clove
Warm, traditional and very Christmas.
Apple + Orange + Cinnamon
A softer fragrance that feels somewhere between late fall and Christmas.
Cranberry + Orange + Cinnamon
Bright, festive and especially pretty simmering on the stove.
You don’t need a dozen ingredients. In fact, I usually think a few familiar scents together are nicer than throwing the entire spice cabinet into the saucepan.
Sometimes Cozy Really Is This Simple
I think that’s why I love little seasonal traditions like this.
A cozy home doesn’t always come from buying something new or completely redecorating a room. Sometimes it’s simply noticing the season changing outside and finding little ways to enjoy it inside.
A simmer pot isn’t fancy.
It’s oranges and cinnamon floating around in a pot of water.
But put that on the stove on a cold November afternoon, pour yourself a cup of coffee and wait about twenty minutes.
Suddenly the house feels different.
And Christmas doesn’t seem very far away. ❤️