The easiest ways to make your home smell like Christmas this year

The festive season is officially upon us!

While we're looking forward to having a warm and sunny Christmas this year, we can't deny that there's something special about curling up in the evening with a glass of mulled wine or a lit Christmas candle. 

Jessica May on Instagram shared her favourite way to spread the festive scent around the house... a simmer pot!

Her recipe is super simple, all you need to do is combine the below ingredients in a pot on the stove, and after bringing it to a boil, let it simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

• Four cups of water
• One sliced orange
• Handful of cranberries
• One stick of cinnamon
• One teaspoon of cloves

You can also make a batch of this to jar up and give as gifts! @SincerelyLegenia on TikTok has a great tutorial on how to do this.

Plus, if you have an air fryer with a dehydrator function you can use that to speed up the process! You don't have to dehydrate the fruit but if you do then these can last up to a year!

If a simmer pot sounds tempting but you don't want to waste the products - mulled wine or cider is a great option! This is our favourite way to make it and you can use your crockpot or slow cooker to make it even easier.

INGREDIENTS

• Bottle of dry red/ white wine or apple cider
• Whole cloves
• Star anise
• Cinnamon quills or bark
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• Brown sugar

METHOD

• Cut the orange and lemon into rounds or wedges. Cut small slits into the orange peel, taking care not to cut through to the edges, and push cloves into the slits.
• Put in as many cloves as you like, based on how much you enjoy the flavour, but 8-10 is usually plenty (you can omit any spices you don't like).
• Combine the orange with cloves, lemon, star anise, cinnamon and red wine or cider in a slow cooker. Stir well. Add brown sugar to taste, depending on how sweet you want your mulled drinks.
• SLOW COOKER: Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn it on to 'keep warm'. Depending on your slow cooker and the amount of liquid you've used, this should be warm in two or three hours, with occasional stirring.
• If you don't have that much time, you can turn it on low initially, keeping a close eye on it and turning it down to keep warm as soon as it reaches the right temperature. Note: If you heat it up too fast all the alcohol will evaporate.
• STOVE TOP: Heat until the liquid almost reaches a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover completely, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.

 Enjoy!