Celebrating with the Holidays

The holidays are always a time for wonderful celebrations. And oh, are there parties!!! Office parties, open houses, family gatherings, Christmas parties – there always seems to be a reason to celebrate at this time of year. Yet parties can be a crap shoot; getting the guest list right, finding the most appetizing foods, sorting the decorations out and making sure everyone is happy and harmonious. Sometimes parties flow perfectly, other times they can be arduous at best. By using essential oils, we can go along way in helping our parties out. Just by burning some essential oils in an aroma lamp or else buying pre-scented candles, we can change the energy of our parties to whatever we want to create. So, fear not, your party will be a success with a little holiday aromatherapy advice.

When you are having a party, you might want to create an atmosphere where your house smells inviting and comforting. There are many aromatherapy oils that have a pleasant effect on our limbic systems and that are good for an ambient atmosphere that welcomes and inspires. Some of these aromas are vanilla, cinnamon, peppermint, pine, and orange. Burn these oils before friends arrive and the aroma will greet your invitees, assisting them in feeling at ease.

If you want to kick up the party a little bit more, you might change the oils in the aroma lamp for a more invigorating atmosphere. Oils that will help enliven a get-together are frankincense, basil, melissa, bergamot, rosemary, sage, lemon and any of the mints. These stimulating oils will pep up the energy and encourage a livelier gathering.

Family occasions or office parties can be great fun, but sometimes there is an undercurrent of jealousy or discord, causing the emotional state of the party to get a little frayed or charged. Energy can run high and rivalries can sometimes feel palpable. Using scents like lavender, marjoram, geranium, rose, verbena, clary sage and nutmeg can diffuse possible tensions or can also help to sedate people making them want to head for their beds.

To encourage stimulating conversation and interest in exploring ideas, then the oils to use would be frankincense, rosemary, sandalwood, elemi, black pepper, litsea and neroli. Orange and rose otto can also be considered great oils for creativity and inspiration. You might want to use these oils for something like a ‘games night’ or maybe a bridge party. Or maybe you want people at your festivity to not be so shy. For building self-confidence and a sense of self worth at a party, the best oils to burn are frankincense, cedarwood, sandalwood, jasmine, ylang ylang and neroli. These are what I call the “feel-good” oils that inspire and uplift the psyche and heart. They help to center the mind and allow access to deeper, inner confidence, allowing better expression at a party.

Another way of helping a party is to keep the environment healthy for the guests. For cleansing and detoxifying the party area of germs, the best oils are*tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender (only if mixed with a stimulating oil like rosemary), lemon, juniper and cedarwood. So much sickness is spread through airborne germs and essential oils in a diffuser can kill off these bugs to promote a healthier setting.

So don’t fear a flop at your party this year. With the help of essential oils, you can influence the mood of the festivity and encourage a sense of joy, merriment and goodwill to all.