Scent Memories: 5 Aromatic Christmas Crafts for SEN and All Learners

Why Scent is a Powerful Tool for Sensory Traditions

Close your eyes and imagine. Fresh pine needles. Cinnamon warming in the oven. The sharp, bright scent of an orange peel.

What’s happening? Chances are, you’re not just thinking about those smells, you’re remembering. Perhaps it’s your grandmother’s kitchen, or the Christmas tree lot, or a church service.

This is the power of scent. It’s pretty special. Here’s the thing: unlike our other senses, smell takes a shortcut. It bypasses the thinking parts of our brain and connects right to our emotional center. We don’t analyze a smell before we feel something. We just… feel.

For children with special educational needs, this is a big deal. Especially for those who struggle with language, thinking, or managing emotions. This direct path to memory and feeling is nothing short of magical.

When a non-verbal child with autism leans into the scent of lavender and you see their whole body relax, they’re not following instructions. They’re experiencing direct sensory regulation. When a child with complex needs responds with a smile to cinnamon dough, they’re making meaning without words. When an anxious child makes an orange pomander, the repetitive pushing of cloves becomes both meditation and therapy.

This article looks at five aromatic projects. They are designed with sensory learners in mind, but honestly, they are good for every child. We’ll make orange pomanders, cinnamon dough ornaments, lavender sachets, pine needle bundles, and clove-studded decorations.

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Understanding Your Sensory Learners: The Scent Spectrum

Before we get to the glue (well, no glitter, let’s be honest, we’re keeping this natural), we need to understand something crucial. Not all children experience smell the same way.

Picture three children. Maya barely notices when you bring in orange slices. She’ll put her nose right up to the peel, seeking more input. Her classmate James wrinkles his nose from across the room, backing away. And Aisha? She takes a polite sniff, enjoys it, and moves on.

• Maya is hyposensitive to smell. Her sensory system under-registers scent, so she seeks it out. She needs stronger aromas to engage.
• James is hypersensitive. His system over-registers scent. This makes even pleasant smells feel overwhelming. He needs a gentle introduction and an escape route.
• Aisha falls somewhere in the typical range.

Here’s what makes this unit powerful: we can adapt every activity for all three children. Maya can work with stronger scents and crush lavender with her hands. James can smell cinnamon from a distance and use gloves if the texture bothers him. They’re both engaged and both creating, just in their own sensory comfort zones.

The key is to never force a scent. I once watched a well-meaning teaching assistant hold a pomander right under a hypersensitive child’s nose. That child gagged, cried, and refused any scent activities for the rest of the term. We can do better. Always offer, never insist. Distance is your friend. A child experiencing a scent from across the table is still experiencing it.

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Setting Up Your Scent-Safe Space

Let’s change one corner of your classroom into what I call the “Aroma Studio.” This is a space where scent is the star, but safety is the top priority.

You’ll need good ventilation. Open those windows. Yes, even in December! Fresh air isn’t just nice to have when working with strong scents. It’s essential. Create a clear “neutral zone” at least six feet away. This is where children can go if scents become too much. Mark it with a small rug or special chair. Teach children they can use it anytime without asking. This isn’t a punishment; it’s a sensory break.

Set up individual work trays rather than one big table. Scent travels. You want children to control their own space. Small amounts of materials in many containers work better than one big shared bowl.

Create visual supports. A picture schedule showing today’s scent helps anxious children prepare. Scent rating cards, simple faces showing “I love this,” “It’s okay,” and “Too strong”—give non-verbal children a voice. Have symbols for “more,” “finished,” “break,” and “too strong” easy to reach.

Don’t forget the practical details. A hand-washing station is vital. Some children get upset by scents lingering on their skin. Have unscented soap (the irony!) and towels ready.

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Project 1: Orange Pomanders—Where Tradition Meets Therapy

There’s something deeply satisfying about pushing cloves into an orange. It requires just enough force that you feel it in your hand, your wrist, your shoulder. Occupational therapists call this proprioceptive input. The rest of us call it “good, hard work that feels right.” For children with sensory processing differences, this kind of heavy work is organizing, calming, and regulating.

But let’s be practical. The traditional pomander—a whole orange, 100+ cloves, hours of work—isn’t right for many SEN learners. So we adapt.

For children with limited fine motor control, we pre-poke the holes. You can do this the night before with a bamboo skewer. The child still gets the satisfaction of pushing cloves in, but without the frustration. Some children might work better with just an orange segment rather than a whole fruit.

If fine motor skills are a big challenge, try this variation. Create clove-studded playdough “oranges.” Mix up some orange playdough (add orange extract or zest) and let children push cloves in. They get the same sensory experience—citrus scent, clove aroma, pushing motion. Sometimes the process is the point, not the product.

For your sensory seekers like Maya, provide multiple oranges. Let them squeeze the orange to release more scent. For children like James who find scents overwhelming, start with orange slices at arm’s length. Let them use tongs to handle cloves.

Autistic learners often thrive on predictability. We can create a visual sequence for them. Choose orange. Push one clove. Push another clove. Continue until… and here’s the key: we set a clear endpoint. “Ten cloves” marked with a visual counter is achievable. “Keep going until it’s covered” is overwhelming. Show pattern options in pictures: rows, spirals, circles.

The beautiful thing about pomanders is they last. Three weeks from now, that orange will have dried into a hard, spice-scented ball. Your students are literally creating scent memories that will last.

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Project 2: Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

If I could choose one material that works for almost every SEN learner, it would be cinnamon dough. It’s endlessly forgiving. There’s no wrong way to work with it. It smells divine. It’s naturally calming. You can pound it, roll it, tear it, or smooth it.

The recipe is beautifully simple:

• 1 cup ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons white glue (for strength)

Mix it together, and you have a dough that smells like Christmas morning. The scent alone is helpful. Cinnamon is known to reduce anxiety and increase alertness.

For children with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), forget about making ornaments at first. This is purely for sensory exploration. Place the dough in their hands using a hand-under-hand approach (your hand under theirs). Describe everything: “This is cinnamon. It feels soft. It smells warm.” Watch for any response. That’s communication, and it matters.

If you’re working with a child with physical disabilities, adapt your tools. Rolling pins can be changed with foam grips. Cookie cutters can be adapted with larger grips.

For children with sensory processing disorder who find direct touch uncomfortable, tools are the answer. Provide rolling pins, spatulas, and stamps. They can create entire ornaments without their hands ever touching the dough. Or, some children work well with thin medical-style gloves.

One of my favorite adaptations is for children with visual impairment. Use raised-edge trays to contain the dough. Provide tactile cookie cutters and work on a high-contrast surface.

The magic moment comes when children add texture. Press lace into the dough. Press bark, fabric, or burlap. Some children will spend twenty minutes just exploring. This is learning. This is therapy disguised as craft.

When the ornaments dry (after about three days), they harden. They will scent a room for years. I still have cinnamon ornaments I made with a class in 2019, and they still smell beautiful. Your students are creating something that will remind them: “I made this. I was capable. I belonged.”

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Project 3: Lavender Sachets—Comfort in a Bag

Lavender is amazing, honestly. Scientific studies show it can reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, and decrease stress. For children with anxiety, autism, ADHD, or trauma histories, lavender isn’t just a nice smell. It’s a real tool. And we can sew it right into a small fabric bag.

The beauty of sachets is their simplicity. You’re filling a small bag with dried lavender and tying it closed. That’s it.

But the implications are profound. You’re creating a portable calm-down tool. A sensory comfort object. A link between school and home. It’s a real thing they can hold to remember they have ways to feel calm.

I always make sachets personal. Each child decorates their own bag first—fabric markers on muslin work great. The point is ownership. This is their sachet, made for their needs.

For children who need heavy work—those sensory seekers—have them pound the dried lavender with a mortar and pestle. This releases more scent and provides that organizing body work.

If you want to create weighted sachets, combine the lavender with rice. A 2:1 ratio of rice to lavender creates a bag with a pleasant heft. These are great as lap pads during story time.

Teach children to use their sachets. Keep them in the calm corner. Put them in sensory toolboxes. Practice the routine: “When you feel worried, get your sachet. Hold it. Smell for three counts, hold for three, breathe out for three.” This pairs the calming smell of lavender with structured breathing. It’s a powerful combination for self-regulation.

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Project 4: Pine Needle Bundles—Bringing the Forest Inside

You know what? There’s something basic and deep about the smell of pine. It speaks to something old in us. Think about it: the forest as shelter, and evergreen trees as a sign of life in winter. For children who thrive on nature, working with fresh pine needles is grounding.

The first part of this project should happen outdoors if possible. Take your students out to collect pine needles. Make collection multisensory. Feel the texture of pine bark. Listen to the wind. This isn’t just collecting materials. It’s nature education, sensory integration, and mindfulness all rolled into one.

Once you’re back inside, the bundling can be simple. For some children, you’ll bundle the needles while they hold them. For proprioceptive seekers, pulling the twine tightly around pine bundles provides excellent resistive work. Show them how to really tug and pull. This is organizing input.

Pine needles are sharp. This is a safety concern, but it’s also a sensory input. Some children are fascinated by the slight prickle. Others will need gloves. Supervise closely.

Here’s an unexpected extension: pine needle tea. Yes, really. Fresh pine needles (from a safe source) can be steeped in hot water. It makes a pleasant tea that is rich in vitamin C. For children who are hesitant to try new foods, this is often intriguing enough to try.

The pine bundles will scent your classroom for weeks. Every time your students encounter that sharp green scent, they’ll remember: we went outside, we collected, we brought the forest indoors.

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Project 5: Clove-Studded Everything—Pattern, Precision, and Peace

We’ve already explored cloves in pomanders, but they are so versatile. For children who love patterns, who find comfort in repetition, and who need that organizing input, cloves are perfect.

You can stud cloves into apples, pears, lemons, and limes. You can push them into cinnamon dough stars or salt dough shapes. You can create pattern cards showing simple designs—rows, circles, grids.

For children with autism who thrive on patterns and numbers, clove work is perfect. “Can you make five rows of three cloves each?” “Can you create a symmetrical pattern?” You’re teaching spatial awareness, counting, early math concepts, and pattern skills. It’s all happening through a simple craft.

The repetitive motion of pushing cloves is meditative. I’ve watched anxious children visibly calm as they work, their breathing slowing, their shoulders dropping.

For children who struggle with fine motor precision, create “clove guides.” Use thick cardboard templates with holes punched through. Place the template on a fruit or dough shape, and children push cloves through the pre-made holes. They get to join in fully without the frustration.

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The Scent Stories: Connecting Past, Present, and Future

Beyond the crafts, the most powerful part is what I call “Scent Stories.” This is about connecting a child’s sensory experience to memory, identity, and family traditions.

Interview families about meaningful holiday scents. Send home a simple questionnaire: “What smells remind you of winter holidays in your family?” You’ll get beautiful responses. One parent might describe the smell of a special curry. Another remembers balsam fir trees.

Bring these scents into your classroom when possible. Create a “family scent museum” with small, safe containers of spices from your students’ homes.

For non-verbal children, create scent-based communication books. Attach small samples of dried herbs to pages. A child might point to the lavender page to tell you about their day. For children with PMLD, offer two scent choices and watch their response, leaning toward one, leaning away. This is communication.

Document these moments. Take photos of their faces as they first smell cinnamon. Record their words: “It smells like my nana’s house!” These quotes, paired with photos, create powerful learning stories.

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Supporting Different Needs: A Quick Reference

Sometimes you need fast answers. Here’s a quick guide:

• If a child is overwhelmed: Move them to the neutral zone. Offer fresh air and a break. Don’t push them to return. Observation is enough.
• If a child isn’t engaging: Is the scent too weak? Hyposensitive children need stronger input. Offer more concentrated materials.
• If a child is over-excited and seeking more, more, more: Give them safe outlets. Extra materials, bigger projects, or heavy work (like pounding spices) can channel this energy in a good way.
• If fine motor tasks are too frustrating: Strip the activity down to its sensory core. The goal is the experience, not a perfect product.
• If a child is having a meltdown: Remove sensory input first (get away from scents). Then provide regulating input (deep pressure, a movement break).

The Lasting Impact

Here’s what I know: these memories stick. Years later, former students tell me they still have their cinnamon ornament. That they still use lavender when they’re anxious. That the smell of orange and cloves takes them right back to that December when they felt capable, creative, and calm.

We’re not just making crafts. We’re building brain connections. We’re linking scent with safety, with skill, and with belonging.

For children with SEN, who so often face tasks that are too hard or expectations they can’t meet, these projects offer something rare: guaranteed success. There is no wrong way to fill a sachet. There is no incorrect way to push a clove into an orange. The process itself is the goal.

That’s the real magic. Long after the ornaments crumble, the memory remains. It’s tucked safely in their emotional brain, ready to transport them back to a December when they were seen, supported, and celebrated exactly as they were.

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Materials Resource List

Essential Oils (Optional):

• Lavender (calming)
• Orange or sweet orange (uplifting)
• Cinnamon leaf (warming)
• Pine or fir needle (grounding)

Dried Materials:

• Lavender buds
• Rose petals
• Chamomile flowers
• Mint

Spices:

• Whole cloves
• Cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Star anise (for older children only—choking hazard)

Natural Materials:

• Fresh pine needles
• Orange, lemon, lime peels (dried and fresh)
• Cedar sprigs
• Rosemary sprigs

Craft Supplies:

• Muslin or cotton fabric bags
• Organza pouches
• Ribbon and natural twine
• Bamboo skewers
• Cookie cutters
• White glue

Sensory Support Items:

• Disposable gloves
• Tongs
• Small scoops and funnels
• Non-slip mats
• Raised edge trays
• Visual communication cards

Safety Note: Always check for allergies before beginning. Some essential oils should not be used with very young children or those with specific medical conditions. When in doubt, stick with dried herbs and whole spices.