If you live in the South, you already know that to host a gathering of any sort--and particularly a holiday one--without feeding your guests is a crime against humanity. I always try to make at least one homemade baked treat, and my guests invariably compliment me on how wonderful it smells when they walk in the door. As you probably know, our sense most strongly tied to memory is the sense of smell, so a pleasant scent wafting through your home will not only help create pleasant memories in your guests' minds, it may also bring up past memories of good times.
But sometimes you might want to give that memory-jogging-aroma just a little extra punch. So here's my secret: I keep an arsenal of food-scented candles on hand to coordinate with some of my favorite holiday goodies. When I bake cookies, I light up my "Christmas Cookie" Yankee candle, and the whole house smells like Santa's Kitchen. For my favorite butter cream cake with carmel icing, I burn my Wood Wick caramel candle. And when my pumpkin scones are in the oven, I let my pumpkin spice candle waft its delicious fragrance all through the house. Mmmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
What? You don't have time to make holiday cookies from scratch? You'd rather just pick up a batch of cookies from the market on your way home? That's okay, too. Use your fabulously scented candles, and cheat. Arrange the cookies on a nice tray, light up that candle, and let your guests' noses convince them that those cookies are homemade. You don't have to correct them, and your secret is safe with me.
