How to make pot pourri – for a festive gift pot

Need last-minute ideas? You can make pot pourri as a seasonal scented and decorative gift for loved ones with some dried oranges and scented spices, the put it into pretty pots to give away. Introducing color, fragrance and festive foliage, the pot pourri gift pots look lovely and smell divine.

Making pot pourri is really easy if you follow our simple step-by-step instructions. They are an easy table-top assembly idea for children, too. Then, you can either display in a bowl or give as gifts.

Made with food and store staples, these orange and herb potpourri gift pots are also a great Mason jar craft idea, as well as being a fantastic eco craft for leftover glass pots.

How to make pot pourri for gift pots

You will need:

• Small Mason jars – this 12 pack from Amazon is a great size
• Star anise
• Orange slices – these dried orange slices are Amazon's top choice
• Cinnamon sticks
• Rosemary cuttings
• Bay leaves
• String
• Brown paper or craft paper
• Saucer or small plate
• Pen
• Scissors

1. Fill the jar

You can dry orange slices in the oven easily; then simply assemble the rest of your ingredients. We mixed orange slices with cuttings of rosemary, cinnamon sticks, star anise and bay for a spicy, festive scent. 

Then simply load your pot pourri ingredients into the Mason jars and put the tops back on tightly.

2. Make the paper lid

Lay the brown or craft paper down on a surface, place the saucer on top and draw around it with a pen. The saucer or plate needs to be bigger than the jar lid top and to overlap sufficiently down the sides to tie in place.

3. Cut out the circle

Cut the brown or craft paper circle out from your template shape.

4. Position the paper

Place the paper on top the jar and bring the sides down carefully to create neat folds.

 5. Tie in place

Taking a length of string, tie the paper lid in place by wrapping the string around the jar repeatedly. Knot and snip off string ends. 

6. Decorate with orange slices

Add an extra orange slice to the top of the lid by looping string through the wound tied string then back on itself to keep in place. Knot and snip the ends of the string once more. 

7. Arrange and display

Enjoy the jars in and around your home before sharing and giving as gifts.

How do you make good smelling pot pourri?

Quality, fresh ingredients should make good smelling pot pourri all on their own. However, if yours isn't living up to expectation, you can boost it by adding essential oils to it. Choose oils that match the ingredients: rose or lavender oil for a petal pot pourri; cinnamon and orange oil to a festive pot pourri. Don't add too many oils to the mix or the effect will be lost. Just choose one or two of your favorites.