Smells of Christmas, Old and New

A few weeks ago, my mom asked if I'd like to come rifle through her dozens of boxes of Christmas decorations to choose some things I'd like to use this year.

Free Christmas decorations? Don't have to ask me twice.

We had such a fun afternoon together, digging through her chilly old barn (while the kids whined and complained about the cold--never mind that part), uncovering newer decorations I barely recall seeing and older ones I'd almost forgotten about.

I brought home two big boxes full of sparkly new Christmas decorations--glitzy glass ornaments, rustic baskets, glittery snowmen--and a few of my childhood favorites, too, decorations I'd almost forgotten about, but seeing them again brought back so many childhood memories. And although they aren't the trendiest, most modern decorations, it just feels more like Christmas to have them in my house.

I'd be hard-pressed to recall any childhood Christmas memories that didn't include these wooden Santas. When I was really little, my mom loved craft painting, and one of my favorites of her projects was this group of Santas. They're a little worse for wear now after 20ish years of use--overzealous children have broken a star on one Santa's hat and lost the pieces the Santas on each end once held--but they were brought out religiously every Christmas. I'm so excited to have them in front of my fireplace this year.

And this Christmas countdown--just looking at it, I can almost smell the pumpkin bread my mom would make all winter, and cider simmering on the stove. I can remember arguing with my siblings over who would get to turn over a Christmas light on the tree each day as we counted down to Christmas. And no joke, Forrest asked me on the day after Halloween if we could start a Christmas countdown, so of course I couldn't leave this sitting in the barn. It made its way home with me, and Forrest is thrilled about flipping over a light each day.

I grabbed a few newer decorations too, and I nestled a Glade® Under the Mistletoe candle among them--I've mentioned in other posts that one of the highlights of each new season/holiday for me is choosing new scents to fill my home with, and Christmas is the very best time for scents. Just smelling my mom's pumpkin bread, or real, spicy apple cider, or a fresh-cut Christmas tree, is enough to bring back so many Christmas memories.

When I was a kid, we lived on a quiet, windy street in rural New York. And just up our street, two houses away from us, was a little Christmas tree farm. Every year, we'd visit our neighbors at their tree farm and spend an afternoon choosing and cutting down the perfect tree. It's one of my favorite holiday memories--bundling up in our coats and mittens, the crisp, cold air on our cheeks, the crunch of snow under our boots as we hunted down our tree, and the mingled smells of the cider our neighbors handed out to shoppers with the fresh tree scent.

Sadly, we haven't carried on the tree tradition with our kids . . . yet. We've made do with our artificial tree each year, but I hope there are fresh trees in our future. And until then, this Under the Mistletoe scent will make up for the lack of a fresh tree in our home. It's the perfect blend of that fresh pine scent and holiday berry sweetness. As soon as I smelled it, I felt like I was back at my old neighbors' tree farm. And I'm so glad I was able to bring that memory home with me.

If you need some holiday scent memory-making goodness in your house this season, check out this Cartwheel offer to save some money at Target on the Glade® Limited Edition Winter Collection! May I humbly recommend Under the Mistletoe (available exclusively at Target)? It just smells like Christmas.

What's your favorite scent of the season?

Celebrate the season with festive fragrances from Glade®. Spread holiday magic through the town with the scent of bright holly berries and fresh pine garland, featured in Target’s exclusive scent, Under the Mistletoe.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Glade®. The opinions and text are all mine.