Beautiful. Cost effective. Useful. This DIY Holiday gift idea covers it all! Make some Homemade Dry Holiday Potpourri – perfect for stovetop simmering, decor, and it is shelf stable!
Mr. TIDBITS is somewhat of a food preservation nerd . . . and I adore him for it.
He so carefully saved up his Cabela’s point to earn him a free food dehydrator, and it was like Christmas in July for him. He has been happily dehydrating whatever foods he could get his hands on. Pineapples, apples, pears, oranges, jerky . . . you name it. All in our home have thoroughly enjoyed the yummy results of this new obsession.
Once I saw how beautiful the dried oranges were, I knew I wanted to use them to make some kind of DIY Holiday gift for my “Handmade Holidays“ blog series. I asked my email subscribers what I could use them for, and the majority responded with the idea of making potpourri.
So make some potpourri I did!
We also used the extra dried oranges to make “orange sugar” which is basically a process of cutting off the bitter white parts and grounding the orange into powder. SOOOOOO good! Check out this recipe for Orange Almond Cookies where we used the orange sugar.
I remember my grandmother simmering stovetop potpourri, but I had never done it myself up until this point. It is absolutely delightful and the fresh and festive aroma it brings to your home is unmatched by any candle.
You can easily simmer fresh fruit with spices for an even more powerful effect, but to make for a beautiful, long lasting gift, dried potpourri is a great option as well.
The receiver of your thoughtful gift (or yourself), can enjoy the beauty of the dried herbs, fruit and spices for as long as they want to in the jars and then use it up to infuse their home with the smells of the Season.
If you would like a printable to go with your gift so the receiver knows exactly what to do, I’ve made Stovetop Potpourri printables which you can find HERE.
I’ve made up 3 varieties, but feel free to stack and mix any options as you see fit. They all smell wonderfully together!
DRIED STOVETOP POTPOURRI OPTION 1
HOLIDAY BAKING
This mix of dried cranberries, oranges, spices and the “piece de resistance” – vanilla bean – make your kitchen smell like you’ve been baking all day! Combine any amount of the following:
- Dried oranges
- Dried cranberries
- Cinnamon sticks
- Vanilla bean
- Cloves
DRIED STOVETOP POTPOURRI OPTION 2
CHRISTMAS MORNING
This classic mix will ring in the Christmas spirit in no time! Combine any amount of the following:
- Dried oranges
- Dried apples
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star Anise
- Cloves
DRIED STOVETOP POTPOURRI OPTION 3
CITRUS HEAVEN
This unique combo will help your house feel fresh, clean and festive. Combine any amount of the following:
- Dried lemons
- Dried Limes
- Dried Rosemary
(I found a ton of rosemary discounted for .50 cents and bought it all up. We also dried it in the dehydrator. It smells so good in the potpourri!)
HOW TO DRY POTPOURRI
Anything with moisture will quickly spoil and rot if not dried or dehydrated. If you have a dehydrator, drying fruits and herbs are easy and can be done in batches. However, you can also dehydrate and dry fruits and herbs in the oven.
DRYING SLICED FRUIT IN OVEN:
For oranges, lemons, limes and other citrus fruits, first preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Slice your citrus into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook in the oven for about 6 hours or until dry.
DRYING SLICED FRUIT IN A DEHYDRATOR:
Slice your fruit about 1/4 inch thick and lay flat on the dehydrator trays.  Set your dehydrator temperatures from 125 – 135 degrees. Dehydrating time can take anywhere from 6 – 24 hours, so check your fruit frequently until completely dry.
HOW TO USE STOVETOP POTPOURRI
Enjoying simmering stovetop potpourri is very easy. All you need to do is fill a pot about half way with water and dump in your potpourri. Set your range on a low temperature and let the water slowly simmer. The most important thing is to watch and check the water level. As it simmers the water will dissipate which carries the smell throughout your home. However, if the water completely dissipates, the fruit will begin to burn on your pot which will not smell good. You can easily refill with more water or turn off your stovetop.
HOW TO GIFT DRIED POTPOURRI
Simply gifting dried potpourri in a clear class container is beautiful enough! To make it extra special, wrap with twine or ribbon and loop a dried orange, apple or citrus fruit. They could use this hanging string as a Christmas tree ornament as well. You may want to include stovetop potpourri instructions with your gift . . . which you can find the printable for HERE!
BUYING SPICES FOR POTPOURRI
Head to the grocery store to buy cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and star anise and you might drop over because of the prices. I’ve found some more affordable bulk options online. Simply click the images below.
Thank you so much for reading and I truly hope you are enjoying my gift giving series! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or things you would like to see me do!
For another natural gift idea, you may like my DIY Holiday Room Sprays. I’ve also shown you how you can dry lavender and remove the buds from the stems for more fun DIY gifts.
Please enjoy more Christmas DIY ideas, from my talented blog friends below!
How to Flock a Christmas Tree at The Happy Housie
DIY Asymmetrical Wreath at Rooms FOR Rent
DIY Christmas Countdown at Lolly Jane
Christmas Gingerbread Cookie Wreath at Sincerely Marie, Designs
Clock turned Holiday Shadow Box at Confessions of a Serial DIYer
How to Make a Fleece Cone Christmas Tree at Happy Happy Nester
How to Make a Holiday Scrabble Letter Board at Tatertots & Jello
Simple & Natural Wire Hanger Christmas Wreath at Jenna Kate at Home
Kringle’s Cookie Co Christmas Kitchen Sign at Tauni Everett
Easy Advent Countdown Calendar at Jamie Costiglio
French Country Christmas Wreath Printables at Designthusiasm
Copper And Gold Mason Jars DIY at Shabbyfufu
DIY Christmas Crackers at So Much Better With Age
Star Christmas Tree Garland at On Sutton Place
Easy Fringe Napkins for Your Holiday Table at Satori Design for Living
DIY Real Christmas Wreath at Clean and Scentsible
Birch Candle Holders at Finding Silver Pennies
Homemade Dry Holiday Potpourri at TIDBITS
Modern Traditional Christmas Countdown Calendar at Rambling Renovators
Embroidery Hoop Christmas Wreaths at Town and Country Living
Quick & Easy Floating Candles for Your Christmas Centerpiece at Home.Made.Lovely
Glass Filled Ornaments at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Ombré Bottle Brush Tree DIY at Modern Glam
Modern Boho Christmas Wreath at Life is a Party
How To Easily Make A DIY Eucalyptus Wreath at Inspiration for Moms
String Art Christmas Stocking Holders at The Turquoise Home
DIY Holiday Pennant- Two Ways at Lemon Thistle
Vintage Christmas Bell Garland at Willow Street Interiors
DIY Modern Christmas Sign at Love Create Celebrate
Easy DriftWood Macrame Christmas Wreath at Place of My Taste
Table Top or Mantel Christmas Tree Made Using Boxes at In My Own Style
Natural Wood Plate Charger Wreath at Taryn Whiteaker
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Where did you buy those adorable jars?
Do you have an article speaking of how you made your orange sugar? Thanks Amy
Did you use fresh or dried cranberries? They look better fresh, but do they last?
can you dry the cranberries in the oven – you listed information on drying the citrus and I was hoping you had input on the cranberries too
How did you dry the cranberries??
I love that everything is dried up. I can make these ahead of time. How do you dry the cranberries?
Thank you so much. I can’t wait to make thee to gift to friends and family xx
Hi again, Cami!
I’m excited to get started on these! Thanks again for sharing. Quick question…is there a way to dry cranberries and not have them look like raisins, or did you just use them fresh? Thanks!
I am wondering the same thing.
Me too.
I’ve been looking everywhere to figure out how to dry cranberries to make them look like round cranberries still- I think I’m just going to add fresh.
Yes, I’d love a printable! Thank you! Also, where are your cute Karan from? Thank you for this wonderful idea!
*jars
I found those jars at Hobby Lobby! They have a lot of great options!
Thank YOU Krista!
So glad to hear you love Ashley! And thank you for pinning! I’ve made even more jars myself and excited to gift them.
Scratch and sniff . . . that’s what we all need 😉 . So glad you like it, thank you!
Just curious where did you get the jars from? They look beautiful and will make wonderful gifts. Thank you for sharing.
Picked them up from Hobby Lobby. They had a lot of cute ones! Glad you liked the idea!
Cami, I have never seen potpourri look this gorgeous. Oh, can we talk about how beautiful your photos of it are? Spot on, ma’am. Cheers and Happy Holidays, Ardith
You sweetie! My heart was having way to much fun playing with all that beautiful dried fruit. Thank you for always being so very kind Ardith!
This sounds wonderful! Have you tried dehydrating the rosemary in an oven as well? I’m wondering if it dries much more quickly perhaps? A printable would be a wonderful gift to us, your readers! ? thank you!
I looked it up and it appears you can. I noticed some of the images made it look a little burned though. If you have time, I would just hang some to dry for a week or so. I bet that would work better than anything. Printable coming at you soon! I wish I would have had it done in time for this post, but alas . . . life.
What is it about the smells of oranges and cinnamon at Christmas time? Great gift idea. Although I don’t have a dehydrator, I would do the oven method. Thanks for providing that option! A printable instruction card would be lovely to include with the potpourri! Thankyou!
Yes, I’ve seen many people dry oranges in the oven and it seems to work great. Printable coming early next week! I hope it is useful! Thank you for visiting!
I can almost smell this through my computer screen! So pretty!
Now where is that scratch and sniff 😉 . Thanks for popping over Kristin!
Cami such a beautiful and USEFUL gift idea, love this. And those clear jars are perfection too 😉
Thank you Jaime!! Glad you liked it!
What a great idea! I have never tried making potpourri but I want to now and what a great gift idea!
I pinned it to my gift ideas board.
xxoxxo
Thank you so much for pinning! I’m excited to gift some too!