

The cutest are the candles poured into adorable snowman and penguin shaped vessels. Who could resist them? I liked the Slatkin & Co. 9 oz. Snowman Candle $35.00 in “Evergreen” (5.50z version $16.50). Remove the top, which is his top hat, and find a white candle in “Evergreen” scent – a fresh green fir balsam blended with sparkling mint, cool pine and spicy clove, with a smoky touch of white birch and dark woods. 8 1/4″ height x 8″ diameter Snowman jar can hold other decorative items after use (not for food consumption) There’s a matching mug $7.50 and a cookie jar $25.00. Another version features a white and silver penguin in a spicy, uplifting “Cinnamon Stick” scent redolent with spicy cinnamon plus pink peppercorn, clove buds and nutmeg. It’s sure to delight z”boys and girls,” of all ages.

I also like the medium-sized, The 4.5 oz Decorated Votive Candles $10.00 Holly, Wreath, Christmas Tree, and silvery Snowflake designs (wreath shown in the photo). These make any atmosphere festive and they’re strongly and nicely scented with holiday scents of Tree, Frosted Cranberry, Winter, and Spice. The set of four would make an impressive gift for a boss or hostess.

For something that you don’t have to light with a match to enjoy, Slatkin & Co offers Wallflowers $15.00. These fragrance diffusers have self-contained fragrance bulbs. They’re perfect for the office party gift bag, for a stocking stuffer, a hostess gift, or just to bring a smile to someone special. The most festive versions for the holidays feature a cute penguin, or a Santa. These are not ordinary diffusers…they light up and feature a glittery “bubbler” that sparkles when plugged into an outlet. Even better, these are refillable and can be used in vertical or horizontal outlets simply by twisting the prongs to the right or left. The clear, cello covered box looks like a “snow globe” so all you need is a bow and a gift card to get them ready to give.

My personal favorite scented item from Slatkin & Co is another version of the Scentport–the Scentportable $5.00. This circular plastic clip has a non-refillable scent packet in the middle. No electricity is needed for this scent diffuser and you can clip it to just about anything. Right now I still have a bit of Pumpkin scent from Halloween, but soon I’ll switch to one of the holidays scents, such as “Evergreen” which arrives in a cheerful, holiday-worthy red, white and green-striped version. These truly inexpensive items last about a month, and diffuse a light scent that won’t overpower, but still smells yummy. There are about nine scents if I counted correctly, but for the holidays, try the more unique, limited edition Cinnamon & Clove Buds, Evergreen, Tree, and Cinnamon Stick. TIP: Mine is always clipped to the visor in my car, to make it smell wonderful.
Even more low-tech are The Perfect Christmas Concentrated Room Sprays $5.00 1.5 fl. oz. These holiday spray scents come in mini, silvery cans with pretty red, silver or green metallic tops, and in amazingly wonderful scents like Frosted Cranberry (white cranberry, juicy peach, wild strawberr, sparkling Raspberry) and Winter (pine, bay leaves, cinnamon and warm Winter woods); Tree (douglas fir, sweet musk, warm vanilla) or Spice (cinnamon, spiced orange peel, an sweet vanilla cream). One of two spritzes of scent will significantly and immediately scent your area. They also also perfect stocking stuffers TIP: Leave one of these near your bedside to help fuel dreams of Christmas sugarplums! Be sure to put one in your bathroom to feel the holiday spirit no matter what you are doing (and to sweeten the air when you leave, too).
Another nice gift is the Wallflower Pluggable Home Fragrance Set $12.50 or 2/$20.00 (refills available). This electronically-assisted scent diffuser doesn’t light up or bubble, but the graceful, frosted glass, amphora-shaped fragrance bulb starts to dispense your chosen scent into your room within minutes 24/7 from 6-8 weeks while plugged into a functioning 120 volt electrical outlet. It isn’t quite as strongly scented as the other products, so if you crave a more subtle scented area, this works wonderfully. Mine was in the Evergreen scent, but there are more than a dozen others to choose from. TIP: Having guests? Plug it in near the cat box or Fido’s food bowl.
No one creates a seasonal fragrance with more artistry and integrity than Harry Slatkin. The scent is always pure, authentic, whether it brings to mind the South Seas or, in this case, a lovely winter’s day. This Winter candle from Slatkin’s The Perfect Christmas Collection has all the freshness of a walk through the woods – the aroma is a blend of pine and bay leaf with a touch of cinnamon. It’s brisk yet warm, relaxing. The candle is white, pure as newly fallen snow and housed in a handsome heavy silver glass container while the gift box is decorated with silver snowflakes and pine boughs. It takes all the bluster out of Old Man Winter, leaving instead a pleasing outdoors fragrance while we’re snuggled warm and safe indoors.