My grandfather was obsessed with tinsel. Every year, all of us would drive out to the 'boonies' and walk for hours in the cold to find and cut down our perfect Christmas tree. Then, once back home, fire lit and hot cocoa in hand, we would decorate the tree with the loveliest mishmash of ornaments, each bringing back a memory of a time or place from years of travel, crafts, and shared family moments. We would laugh and reminisce and place each ornament with the utmost care because they each held such precious memories that we wanted them to last forever. Then, once all the ornaments had been hung, it was Grandpa’s time to shine. It was tinsel time. My grandfather would hang each strand of tinsel one by one with such meticulousness that sometimes it would take days for him to finish, but once he did, the everyday Fraser fir that we cut down on the farm transformed into the most majestic labor of love you had ever seen.
We lost my grandfather to Alzheimer’s many years ago, but I still like to put tinsel on our Christmas tree, and I smile as I remember his heartfelt dedication to giving our family the perfect tree year after year. I do not think he would approve of my multistrand application style, but when the light dances off the strands, I feel him here, and it feels like Christmas.
Grandpa's Fragrance Flight
- Lotta Sap (fraser fir)
- Grandpa’s Tinsel (Christmas hearth)
- Gingerbread Ornaments (hansel & gretel’s house)
Lotta Sap - Renaming the Fraser Fir melts 'Lotta Sap' is not only reminiscent of our trips to the tree farm to cut down our family Christmas trees, but also of our favorite holiday movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Every year, we double over in laughter as the Griswolds set out to find their perfect Christmas tree, and then again when Clark takes it upon himself to replace the scorched tree with one from the yard. We have watched it at least a million times, and it never gets old. (And yes, I can attest that there is a 'lotta sap'!)
Grandpa's Tinsel - Renaming the Christmas Hearth melts “Grandpa’s Tinsel” instantly brings back the image of him standing in the family room for hours, placing strands of tinsel one by one. But, not just that, it also reminds me of how the room transformed once the tree was finished. How we would all gather around the fire with hot cocoa, admiring the tree and telling stories from holidays past, while the grandfather clock chimed in the background. In those moments, it wasn’t just a family room anymore; it was pure magic.
Gingerbread Ornaments - Renaming the Hansel & Gretel’s House melts “Gingerbread Ornaments” takes me right back to when my mom had us make gingerbread people from scratch and decorate them to look like family members to give as Christmas gifts. The resemblances were… creative, to say the least, and not many ornaments survived past the first year, but the ones that did made us laugh every time we pulled them out to hang them on the tree.
The custom flameless candle created from this flight was 1 part Fraser Fir + 1 part Christmas Hearth – the perfect holiday blend.