The act of thoughtfully creating a list of people you love and want to share a little gift with on during the holiday season, is quite special. To intentionally make something yourself for others, well that is quite a cherished act. For years I’ve been incorporating handmade holiday decor, but also handmade gifts. From custom home decor, to artwork, baskets of homemade sweets and in most recent years an ornament to add to their collection. But the one gift that instantly became a hit and loved ones truly enjoyed were these Simmer Pot jars. The act of drying citrus, creating custom spice blends that will then fill the homes of others’ with the warmth of winter and the holiday spirit — well, it’s quite lovely.
A special act one can do in an afternoon, and instantly have several pieces to gift for anyone on their list. It’s a wonderful way to repurpose old jars and pretty containers, no longer needed or thrifted, that the recipient can now give a new home too. And you can get creative with the scents and spices used, creating signature and custom ones according to what each person likes {whether winter, spring, summer or fall!}.
I was inspired by Boxwood Avenue’s potpouri gifts from a few years ago, including her beautiful tags seen here. Since I love a more nature inspired approach to my holiday decorating and wrapping, I loved the look {and accessibility} of using parchment paper and twine/yarn to finish off each jar. But this is where you can put your personal touch on decorating each jar, just remember using what you already have on hand at home and making it shine, really is beautiful! And don’t forget to make some for yourself too, as these simmer pots will your home smell naturally festive and comforting!
Below you will find some of my favorite Simmer Pot spice blends you can put together for your gifts, including and easy how to for drying most citrus fruits, and apples/pears. **Please Note :: If you are using Boxwood Avenue’s potpouri gift tags, please make sure you also only use these for personal use! I did create my own labels the last two years, but somehow haven’t managed to take new pictures of my wrapped simmer pot jars featuring my custom tags. Feel free to download these tag designs, which feature the different recipe blends you’ll find below… Dreamery Events Simmer Pot Gift Label Tags
I love that we’re seeing more and more choose to incorporate handmade gifts, and there is a level of refinement and beauty we can achieve with them that buying in a store doesn’t. It’s beautiful to see the holiday honor simple and cherished traditions that celebrate the real meaning of the season….
WHAT INGREDIENTS TO USE IN YOUR SIMMER POTS…
Like a I mentioned above, the beautiful thing about assembling these simmer pots, is you can completely customize the ingredients and scents. I love incorporating seasonal citrus, cinnamon, cloves and herbs like rosemary, as they instantly make your space smell just like a winter forest and Christmas. Here are several blends that are sure to be loved. Keep in mind quantities of each ingredient will depend on the size of your jars/containers…..
Winter Blend {**My Favorite & Featured in these photos}
- Dried Orange Slices — about 5 – 6 {you can also use a mixture of oranges, clementines & mandarins which creates a sweet citrus scent}
- Cinnamon Sticks — about 2
- Whole Cloves — about a teaspoon
- Whole Star Anise — about 3 – 4
- Whole Cardamon Pods — about a teaspoon
- A dash of Nutmeg + Allspice
- Optional :: handful of Dried Cranberries
Chai Spice
- Dried Ginger or Ground Ginger {You can use fresh ginger, if being used immediately}
- Whole Cardamon Pods — about a teaspoon or 5
- Whole Cloves — about a teaspoon or 5
- Cinnamon Sticks — 1
- Whole Star Anise — 2
- Whole Black Peppercorns — 1 teaspoon
Winter Forest
- Cedar Sprigs, about 3
- Spruce Sprigs, about 3
- Eucalyptus Sprigs, about 3
- Cedar Sprigs, about 3
- Dried Pear Slices, about half a pear
- Smoked Wood Chips {Optional for that smokey scent, can be found at outdoor/garden stores}
Spiced Citrus
- Dried Orange Slices or Orange Peels — about 5 or peel from 1 orange
- Dried Lemon Slices or Lemon Peels — about 5 or peel from 1 lemon
- Dried Bay Leaves — 2
- Cinnamon Sticks — 3
- Whole Cloves — about 3
- Optional :: Half a Vanilla bean for the delicately sweet lovers
Apple Spice
- Dried Apple Slices or Dried Apple Peels — about 5 slices or half an apple
- Dried Orange Slices — about 1 or 2
- Cinnamon Sticks — 2
- Whole Cloves — 1 teaspoon
Pumpkin Spice
- Pumpkin Spice — 2 tablespoons {1 T. Cinnamon + 1 t. Ginger + 1 t. Allspice + 1/2 t. Nutmeg + 1/2 t. Ground Cloves}
- Dried Orange Slices — about 3
- Cinnamon Sticks — 2
- Vanilla Bean — 1 cut into smaller pieces
Rosemary Citrus
- Fresh or Dried Rosemary — large handful
- Dried Orange or Lemon Slices — about 5 or peel from 1/2 orange/lemon
- Dried Bay Leaves — 2
- Optional :: Add a few Dried Sage leaves for an extra herbal fragrance
Calming Lavender
- Dried Lavender — 1 cup {Please make sure to use organically grown lavender or lavender essential oil}
- Whole Cloves — 1 teaspoon
- A dash of Ground Ginger
- Cinnamon Sticks — 1
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LOOKING FOR NON-WINTER SIMMER POT SCENT BLENDS, YOU CAN ALSO MAKE ALL YEAR, THESE ARE SIMPLY LOVELY….
-
Mint & Lime
- Use a blend of Dried or Fresh Mint Leaves + Dried Lime Slices from 2 Limes
-
Basil, Rosemary & Dried Flowers
- Basil {preferably Dried Leaves}
- Dried Rosemary Stems
- Dried Flowers {Make sure to choose fragrant flowers, but more importantly homegrown flowers like roses and now commercially bought, as many are treated with pesticides}
-
Calming Lavender Grapefruit
- Dried Lavender — 1 cup {Please make sure to use organically grown lavender or lavender essential oil}
- Dried Grapefruit Slices — about 5 or 1/2 grapefruit
- Dried or Fresh Ginger, about an inch
- Cardamon Pods — 2
…..PLEASE READ BELOW ON HOW TO DRY CITRUS, APPLE & PEAR SLICES…..
HOW TO DRY CITRUS, APPLE & PEARS…
- Slice your fruit of choice into thing uniform pieces – this will make the drying process quicker. Pat the fruit slices with a cloth to further help its drying.
- Set oven to its lowest setting {about 175/200*F}. Spread the fruit slices evenly onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Place in oven anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. This will depend on the size of your slices, and humidity level. I find it best to flip your slices over every 30 minutes during the first 2 hours.
- *** After 3 to 4 hours, if your fruit is mostly dry I found leaving my baking sheets in the oven overnight worked perfectly well, occasionally flipping the slices.***
- **Apples and Pears will take longer to dry**
- Make sure to dry fully so that any moisture is removed which prevents mold from growing when jars are assembled and sealed.
One may think that using dried ingredients wouldn’t produce a strong scent, but in fact dried herbs and citrus can be simmered longer creating a linger comforting scent. Everyone I’ve gifted these simmer pots to has simply loved them, and have almost always asked for more. They’re a natural gift, one that is inexpensive when made in bulk and pair beautifully with other handmade or heirlooms treasures. I know you enjoy making these, I know they’ll be a hit when you make them, just don’t forget to make yourself some too!
Feel free to download these tag designs, which feature the different recipe blends you’ll find above …
Dreamery Events Simmer Pot Gift Label Tags
***For Personal Use ONLY, or Please properly credit Boxwood Avenue’s if using her tag design***
If you grow your own herbs and teas, and dry them, they make wonderful gifts for the cooks and tea lovers on your gift list. I’ve started gifting these in recent years, and loved ones are always appreciative of something that was both homegrown and handmade with love…
Hi there! I love this blog! Do you mind telling me where you got the cute glass jars? The opening width is perfect.
Hi Danielle! I believe I got these from Amazon. I think they’re 4oz Spice/Tea Jars.
In the Winter Blend do you use black or green cardamom?
I use Green, but you can certainly try it with Black, I think it would just as lovely.
if using lavender essential oil in place of fresh lavender… How much?
I’m curious how you package the spices in the recipes with loose spices in them?
Hi Lynne, thanks for reaching out! The key is to use whole spices, like cinnamon sticks, whole cloves or spiced pods. and not crush any dried stems/herbs leave them in tact. But if you wanted to use loose spices if that’s easily available to you, if you don’t have empty tea bags that are sold, you can empty an existing one by cutting the top removing the tea and filling with the spices you want to use. Then tie with some kitchen twine. I can’t say that some of the finer spices won’t go through as I’ve only used whole spices, but this should work very well.
Hope this helps!
Are the recipes you listed out for a 4oz jar?
Hi,
Wondering if the recipe amounts listed above are for 4oz jar?
Hi Chrissy!
I believe I used 6oz jars for these but you can adjust the ingredients and amounts based on your preference, and size of jars you’ll be using.
Hope this helps,
Diana
Where do you get your various sprigs for the winter simmer pot?
Hi Nicole,
Do you mean the dried herbs like rosemary and such…those are from my garden that I dry myself. If your grocery store doesn’t sell they dried herbs on the stem, you can always purchase fresh rosemary or sage, and hang to dry. After a few days in a dark place they’ll be preserved to use as dried.
If you’re refering to cedar, spruce or eucalyptus, it depends I sometimes get them from neighbor with cedar trees. But most times I get them from my wholesale florist that I then tend to wash the leaves from pesticides. During this season you might be able to find these greens in your area you can responsibly forage, at your grocer or even a local florist/nursery make be able to help you source them.
Hope this helps!
Such a great idea. Thank you!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
How much water should these be boiled in?
Hi Melissa,
It depends if you’d like to use the entire jar at once, then I’d say around a medium pot {about 6 cups}. But I think it’s nice to be able to get at least two uses of these simmer pots, the ingredients, especially when dried can be quite fragrant. So if you use half the jar {the ones featured in this post are about 6/7 oz}, then I’d say a small pot/tea pot with about 3 cups of water would be fine.
Hope that helps! Enjoy 🙂
– Diana
Hi Diana,
My class loves dehydrating fruit, so doing the simmer pot is a wonderful gift idea for my parents. I was just wondering how much cups of water do you add to the pot? I have looked at different recipes and they have different amounts. If you could just send me the directions for water, how long to boil the water and how long it last for that would be very helpful.
Thank you
Hi! That’s lovely that you dehydrate fruit. The jars I used are about 6/7 oz}, and I like to get at least two used from them, using half the jar in a small pot/tea pot with about 2-3 cups of water is fine. {if you can to use the entire jar quantity, I’d used about 6 cups of water in a medium pot}.
Typically I will bring my simmer pot to a slow boil, letting it boil on medium-high for about 5 minutes, then reduce it down to a simmer. I don’t like to just leave the stove on for too long. So after about 45 min I’ll turn it off, then repeat. Most will last for 3 hours if you leave it on the entire time, adding more water when it begins to evaporate. A hot pot, or placing it in an electric kettle is great as the water is constantly hot, releasing the scents while being safer than the stove being on.
Hope that helps!
Diana
Hi Diana,
Thanks for the help with how much water to add. I was using the mandolin to cut up my apples yesterday but I was not to sure how thick to make them? Do you use a mandolin to cut yours, if so what setting do you have it on? The apple slices I did look like apple chips.
Thanks again
A mandolin is great for this, I don’t have one, I just cut the slices with a knife, 1/8-1/4″ thick. But if they look like apple chips than that should be perfect 🙂
For the dash of nutmeg and allspice in the winter blend, do you add that with the other items to the jar or provide/package separately?
I would add it into the jar, or if you’re making a tag to go along with the jar you can mention to add the dash when adding the water.
What type of paper are you using at the top of your jars?
Hi Karen! I used Parchment Paper 🙂
Hi there! I am looking at doing a small basket of homemade items for Christmas 2026 – currently in the exploration and planning stage so I’m not doing ALL of it in Nov/Dec…how far out can I make these/how long would you say they are good for?
Hi! If you’re using dried ingredients I’d say you can start as early in the summer, if you’re doing a mixture of dried and fresh pieces then you can start August/September and add in the fresher pieces closer to when you plan on wrapping and gifting. Hope that helps!