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The 12 Smells of (Irish) Christmas
CHRISTMAS DAY WOULDN’T be the same without the heavy scents that flood the air throughout the house.
Smells like…
1. Eau de Mam’s ham
Mam’s ham; often attempted, never imitated. It isn’t truly Christmas day until this mouth-watering scent floods the house.
sk8geek sk8geek
2. Christmas tree spritz
NOTHING beats the smell of a real Christmas tree as it slowly dies in your living room. Not even the smell of new car, the pages of a book, or cold hard cash. Nothing.
hodgers hodgers
3. Cinnamon scent
We don’t know when or where this connection to Christmas happened, but we like it. Want to make something smell like Christmas? Throw a bit of cinnamon on it.
CINNAMON VOGUE CINNAMON VOGUE
4. Whiff of wrapping paper
Let’s face it, wrapping presents is a pain. But the smell of that freshly cut shiny paper, mmmmmm.
sealionsrule sealionsrule
5. Musk of attic
All your decorations have been dragged down and the staleness of the attic lives through them. It’s a mixture of those year old newspapers you used to wrap them up and dusty insulation.
Kelseyandkevin Kelseyandkevin
6. Orange zest
Bit’ve orange in everything, now it’s Christmas. Dried orange, orangey chocolate, an orange with little cloves stuck into it. We’ve got notions of Christmas oranges considering we’re past the days when they used to be the only present you’d get in your sock, as your dad will constantly tell you.
robef robef
7. Aroma of despair
Can we leave now? Little dude on the right knows what we’re talkin’ bout.
Mask Mask
8. Burning dust of rad
Has the heat been off for the past week at all? Nothing says Christmas like lounging around uncomfortably full and sweating actual sweats alongside your meat sweats. “Are you warm? Will we turn off that heat?” gets banded around a lot, but nobody ever does.
TripAdvisor TripAdvisor
9. Fragrant frost
It may not be a white Christmas, but it will always be a frosty one. The frosty chill in the air and the crunch under you feet, it doesn’t smell like Christmas without that earthy air.
noii's noii's
10. Cracker singe
After you’ve been pressured into putting your paper hat on, it hits your nose. The card strip inside that snaps leaves a smoky chemical smell that just can’t be good for anyone. Breathe it in deep, it only comes once a year.
dearbarbie dearbarbie
11. Canned Guinness gas
No, not that kind of gas. The actual gas that comes out of the can when you crack open a cold one to accompany the box of Heroes.
Stephen Douglas Stephen Douglas
12. Sweet-box stench
A bit plasticy, a bit chocolatey. All in all, a welcome smell after your mountainous dinner. Choose wisely, choose carefully.
Louise McSharry Louise McSharry
7 things you miss when you’re away from home for Christmas>
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12 days of Christmas Christmas decorations Ham smellmas Smells