This is Somerset --It's the woody invigorating scent of pine needles that always captures the spirit of Christmas for me.
It conjures up a memory of the ritual of lugging the spiky tree home, followed by the smell of mulled wine, fragranced by cinnamon and reminiscent of cheery wintry gatherings.
Those smells are as integral to the seasonal celebrations as the presents and the decorations. But you don't have to have the real thing. We can conjure those atmospheric aromas with home fragrances.
"Scented candles are so much more than just decorative objects these days," agrees designer, Sophie Allport, who has her own range which includes seasonal scents.
"They can add something special to your home and have gone from being a utility object to a lifestyle feature. Candles also provide ambient lighting."
Home-scenters now think outside the box and have signature home fragrances, just as they wear signature perfumes.
"Fragrances are intrinsically linked to our memories and emotions, so choosing one will help you cast your mind back to a special memory," says John Fontana, president of specialists Yankee Candle Europe.
"Choosing the right scent for your home needn't be difficult. It's a little known fact but flavours are the combination of smells and tastes, so if there's a particular flavoured ingredient that you like to cook with, this will probably also appeal in a fragrance. But many people simply gravitate to floral, fresh scents, while others prefer sweeter notes, like vanilla, or spicy or fruity tones"
There's a nose-boggling range on offer this season but at the end of the day, it's the classic scents that we all yearn for, according to Rosey Barnet, artistic director for Shearer Candles.
"At Christmas, people love to go back to traditional scents and trends fall away," she says. "Fragrances of cinnamon, clove, fig and sandalwood, and candles in rich reds, oranges, gold and silver, will instantly impart that celebratory atmosphere."
Follow your nose and fill your home with scents that suit the season.
Festive fragrances
STRESS BUSTER Earl Gray Tea Luxury Candle, £35, Urban Apothecary London. If you haven't got time to stop for a cuppa during those hectic preparations, summon up the aroma of the famous leaf tea instead. This refreshing scent has dry notes of tea mixed with soft bergamot and lemon to bring calm.
SCENT SAVER: Beefayre Bee Calm Scented Candle, £7.50, One Brown Cow. A blend of geranium, lavender and ylang ylang.
WINTER WALKS Scent For Living Alpine Forest Scented Candle, £26, OKA. Fresh, herbal top notes of pine, fern and thyme, underpinned by cinnamon, clove and black pepper, and earthy, woody tones of patchouli, amber and musk.
SCENT SAVER: Evergreen Large Candle Tin, £7, Shearer Candles.
PARTY PERFUME Fornasetti Flora Ortensia Scented Candle, £99, Selfridges. Fill your home with the aroma of an elegant white floral bouquet, inspired by the hydrangeas which fill the gardens at the Fornasetti home in Milan.
SCENT SAVER: Marcel Wanders Forbidden Fruit Diffuser Sticks, £25, Marks & Spencer.
HOLIDAY ZEST Premium Fragrance Lamp Gift Set with Christmas Spice oil fragrance, £32.99, Ashleigh & Burwood. A Yuletide bouquet of scents, combining spices and woody undertones.
SCENT SAVER: Red Apple Wreath medium jar candle, £16.99, Yankee Candle. Apples, cinnamon, walnuts and maple have a heady, sweet scent, ideal for a welcoming area such as a hall.
FEAST OF AROMAS Laura Ashley's Christmas Mulled Spice range includes a Scented Pillar Candle, £16, Diffuser Set, £20, and Boxed Candle, £14. This scent is evocative of mulled wine, cloves and cosy gatherings.
SCENT SAVER: Wax Lyrical Christmas Fig Boxed Candle, £6, Tesco. This conjures the seasonal aroma of warmed figgy pudding.
BREAK AWAY A View Of New York – The Loft, set of three travel candles, £50, from A Life With A View. A break away might be impossible during the festive season but raise your spirits by capturing the atmosphere of a far-flung city, with New York's Central Park. This scent claims to encompass it, with green notes of chamomile and thyme, rose and cedarwood, sandalwood and vanilla.
SCENT SAVER: Escapology Seville Orange Reed Diffuser, £19.95, Ashleigh & Burwood. Sweet and bitter orange, and orange blossom with a woody touch, could transport you to the orange groves of Spain.
TREE FRAGRANCE Pine & Eucalyptus Home Candle, £39, Jo Malone. Even if you have a faux tree, you can have the heady fragrance of pine needles.
SCENT SAVER: Eucalyptus Scented Candle, £22, Sophie Allport.
CITRUS SPICE Cinnamon & Orange Scented Candle, £22, Sophie Allport. Conjure memories of the Christingle tradition of an orange and a candle, and mulled wine.
SCENT SAVER: Winter Warmer Candle in a Tin by Isle of Skye candles, £7.95, Iapetus. A scent of orange and cinnamon, topped with a hint of cloves.
FOLLOW THE KINGS Gold, Frankincense & Myrhh Candle, £39, Willow Organic Beauty. A sweet, warm, balsamic aroma of frankincense is blended with the rich, smoky scent of myrrh.
SCENT SAVER: Tu Frankincense & Myrrh Patterned Multiwick Candle, on offer at £5.33 until Christmas (normally £8), Sainsbury's.
CHRISTMAS DAY Villeroy and Boch Fragrances, Esprit De Noel Deco Home Fragrance Spray Set, £43.25, Amazon. Sweet spices, home baking and a delicate hint of woodland infuses this fragrance.
SCENT SAVER: Season Of Peace large candle in jar, £19.99, Yankee Candle.
Scented sources Reported by This is 12 hours ago.