Have you ever noticed how some scents bring back memories of a certain place or time? There’s a reason for that and it’s to do with  something called “olfaction” (our sense of smell).  That ability to sense things through smell is a natural function connected to the part of the brain that triggers emotional memory.

“Before you even have a chance to figure out what the smell is, you have an immediate emotional response,” explains Rachel Herz, a cognitive neuroscientist at Brown University Medical School.

According to Herz, research has shown that the way we respond to smells is actually something that is learned.   How we first experience a smell somewhat dictates how we’ll learn to respond to it in the future.

For instance, think about an early childhood memory and what scents can trigger that memory. The Holiday season is one that is laden with all sorts of wonderful scents that have positive associations for many of us.  Often times Holiday scents remind us of our childhood as the Holiday season has always seemed to revolve around creating a sense of joy and excitement for children.

The smell of vanilla reminds me of a warm house, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on the television and overall anticipation about what’s to come in a few short days.

Here are some ways to complete your Holiday decorating by filling your home with a lovely seasonal scent (courtesy of CraftCentralStation.com)

• Cut a 6″ square out of cotton seasonal print fabric.  Place a vanilla bean, 2 whole nutmeg, 10 whole cloves and 4 cinnamon sticks in the center of the fabric.  Gather the fabrick up to enclose the spices and tie with one end of a 2″ long gold ribbon.  Tie the other end of the ribbon to a doorknob.  Whenever the door is opened or closed, scent will be released into the room.
• Cover the outside of a large coffee tin or other large tin with wrapping paper.  Tie a ribbon around it. Fill it with spruce or pine boughs.  Place the tin on the floor.  Remember to water the branches regularly to keep fresh.  You can even decorate the boughs with Christmas ornaments, lights, ribbon, popcorn strings, etc.
• Simmer spices in a pot of water on the stove.  Use whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and vanilla beans.

It is so wonderful when a scent can make you smile.  There is one perfume that makes me smile like no other…it was the very first perfume of my own that I ever wore and it was on my very first “real” date which  took place close to Christmas during my first year at college.

The perfume was Oscar de la Renta and I nursed that small bottle for what seemed like years!  The scent of that perfume brings back to me the feeling of finally being an adult and being at a stage where I was expected to really dress up, and enjoy an evening of fine dining and the city at night.

That scent and the accompanying memory still makes me smile even though since getting married and having kids, fine dining has become more an evening with Bob Evans than a French gourmet.

Now that’s it’s the Holiday’s what memories are you intentionally and unintentionally creating for the people you love?