There’s a reason home sellers bake cookies before an open house. And why luxury hotels have a signature scent that whisks you in as you step into the lobby.

They’re in the business of making people feel at home, and they understand the power of scent.

Scent can help you tell a story, create an experience, and make any space feel like home—even if you’re in a home that’s not yours.

So take these fragrance cues from the real estate and hospitality pros to turn your holiday gathering into a 5-star retreat for your family & friends.

Here are three holiday party ideas to create the ultimate at-home experience for your guests through scent.

1. Scentscape Your Home

Scent-scaping is the art of decorating a space or room with scent.

Much like you choose a paint color for a room, you can choose a scent and create an olfactory experience in a zone or space of your home. Scent-scaping is also referred to as fragrance zoning and can be an intentional at-home self-care practice, too. But first, the party. 🥳

Common areas like the living room, dining room, and kitchen will be the main gathering spaces for your holiday party. But think about the bathroom and hallways, too.

As we shared with modern real estate brokerage, Redfin, you can scentscape several spaces in your home.

Consider a seasonal, gourmand fragrance for the main dining area and crisp, wintery notes for the bathroom.

RELATED: Take your guests through a dreamy winter forest with this candle ›

With scent-scaping, the goal is to create an experience through every step of your home. For your guest, it’s like walking through an enchanted forest, never knowing what scent lies at every turn.

If you have the space, perhaps a hallway is the transition between where one scent fades and another is introduced in a new room.

This level of detail and intention through scent is how you elevate the ambiance at your holiday party and guide your guests through a fragrant experience in your home.

After that, you’d only need to collect your 5-star reviews for creating such an epic and immersive sensory experience at home!

2. Complement the Menu: Choose Your Home Fragrance Wisely

The home fragrance at your holiday party should not compete with what’s on the menu. So choose candles and scents that complement the food you intend to serve.

Floral notes such as rose and jasmine can be too much for the dining room. So instead, choose herbs, spices, or sweet “foodie” fragrance notes like vanilla, star anise, or fig.

Stimulate your guests’ appetite, cue up dessert, and balance your savory menu with these fragrance notes.

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3. Don’t Underestimate Your Stovetop (or Countertop)

Commercial spaces go as far as to push fragrance through their HVAC systems. But infusing scent can also work on a smaller scale in your home.

Your stovetop (or even a warming tray for those with a smaller kitchen space) can amplify the natural aromas of seasonal fruit, herbs, and spices.

Think rosemary, cranberry, and orange slices simmering in a pot of hot water.

Top New York City real estate agents even recommend muted and simpler methods like “placing a bowl of fresh herbs infused in olive oil out on the kitchen table for a subtle fragrance.”

And don’t forget a generously scented candle, which can double as beautiful home decor and as a source of scent—and adds light and ambiance to your holiday party. That’s a win-win-win.

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Holiday Party Ideas That We Can Learn from the Pros

Ah, the old ‘baking cookies before a showing.’ Of course, it’s no secret that cookies (or freshly baked bread) at an open house are for the aromatics.

“The point is not really whether someone is going to take a cookie and eat it or not; it’s more about the aroma, the story that I’m telling, and the experience created that makes the place feel like it could be home,” shared one luxury real estate agent.

You can create this same story and experience for the guests at your holiday party, too.

No, you’re not trying to get them to buy your home, but to simply feel at home—or in a winter forest retreat!

No matter the theme of your holiday party, you can use scent to curate and host an intimate and memorable holiday party for your family and friends.

Be the host with the most incredibly scented home this holiday ❄️

Treat your family and friends to an olfactory experience in every corner of your home.

Happy scent-scaping!

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Bonus tip: How to pick a candle scent for a gift

So a candle gift set meets your needs, but you’re not sure what scents they like 😟 Pro tip: consider an unscented candle or a gift set that offers a variety of scents.

The unique thing about Spoken Flames’ Trio Sets is that each candle gift set has a variety of scents with great range—from woody, citrus and floral in our F, Yes Collection, for example.

Your gift recipient would never get bored, and it increases your chances for satisfaction with a broad range of scents in their hands.

Because Spoken Flames candles are message-driven, our motivating candle statements (even without scent) mean that you’ll still win big with this meaningful gifting choice!