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Essential oils are my teachers. I’m in love with them in the same way that a fresh bouquet of flowers brightens a dark winter home. When the ground is blanketed in snow, essential oils provoke a nostalgic memory of spring and the budding of fresh herbs and flowers. And most importantly, essential oils—cold pressed or steam distilled—remind me of the harvest and the old-school practice of preservation.

I use them as a go-to for maintaining my family’s year-round health and wellbeing. Each night after their shower and with our prompting, my kids rub their bodies down with organic sunflower oil infused with an essential oil du jour. We’ve also grown accustomed to lubing our nostrils and sinuses, as well. In my family, the results are proven: strong immune systems, soft skin (no winter reptiles here!), and a lymph that is supple enough to rid the toxins in our bodies, keeping us healthy and strong.

This holiday season, I invite you to bring oils into your life—either with an essential oil diffuser, by mixing them into your bath, or by diluting them and applying them to the skin. The oils listed below will do much more than instill a little cheer into your holiday season. And soon, you’ll be trading in your favorite holiday candle for essential oil blends that fill your home with a different type of seasonal tradition.

Lavender

Lavender oil is a year-round must-have for me. It’s ability to eliminate nervous tension, reduce pain and inflammation, and aid the body’s immunity puts it at the top of my list. I dilute it with a carrier oil like sunflower or olive (no need to get fancy) and add it to my deodorant protocol the week before menses. Not only does it boost my mood, but the antibacterial properties assure all-day protection and have a soothing effect on anyone who may get a whiff. Lavender oil is also found in one of my favorite winter LimeLight by Alcone products, Forty Cure Cream. Dry scaly skin and chapped faces are a thing of the past with this product in our home.

Sweet Orange

If the cold temperatures and lack of light affect you, then add sweet orange oil to your daily winter routine. In warmer climates, oranges and citrus are the seasonal fruit of choice. Their sweetness is grounding and their scent invigorating. Sweet orange oil is a mood lifter that reminds us of the freshness of the outdoors, at a time when cabin fever can set in. It’s also a prized cholagogue, helping our glands secrete the fluids needed to regulate hormones, menstruation, and digestion (for pushing through that large holiday feed).

Frankincense

In my loose Catholic upbringing, I was taught that the wise men presented Baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh on his birthday—all standard gifts for a king. Scholars suggest that these three items were chosen because of their spiritual symbolism, while others believe that they were presented as gifts of practicality. Either way, frankincense was used for centuries as an effective remedy for, well, basically anything. The resiny sap that drains out of the bark of the Boswellia tree was chewed like gum or burned in rituals. Today, frankincense is touted for its ability to combat inflammation, arthritis, and joint pain—a game-changer for those of us who live in the mountains. Dilute it and rub it on creaky joints before and after hitting the slopes. Or use it to fight cavities and treat wounds, scars, and wrinkles

Lemon

Ever heard of the concept, “detox to re-tox?” That seems to be M.O. this time of year. With food sensitivities, I tend to stay away from corn, eggs, and aged cheeses during certain seasons. Yet I turn myself loose around Thanksgiving and Christmas, only to reboot in between. That’s where lemon essential oil comes in. This detoxifying oil cleanses and nourishes the cells. It pulls out impurities, while uplifting the senses and disinfecting at the same time. A little on the wrists or the soles of the feet helps ease your body into a full reboot, readying it for the next indulgence.

You can find lemon peel oil in one of my favorite scrub masks—LimeLight’s Skin Polish—a vital step in my anti-aging protocol. By sloughing away old cells and impurities, skin polish creates a clean slate for antioxidants and nutrients to move in. Think of it as a New Year’s resolution.

Palmarosa

Never heard of it? Yep; me neither. That was until I started diving into the intricacies of essential oils and skin care. Now, palmarosa leads my charge on dry skin remedies! This oil, also referred to as “Indian geranium oil,” offers rose lovers a way to infuse their baths and body oils with a rose-like essence, but for a fraction of the cost. Palmarosa is gentle enough to use on the face, while it’s cell-renewal and anti-inflammatory capabilities transform aged and damaged skin. Find it in LimeLight’s Must Dew serum—my “must do” nightly moisturizer. You can also massage this tropical grass oil into tired feet, use it to treat wounds, or add it to a diffuser to promote relaxation and well-being.

Cinnamon

A holiday no-brainer, cinnamon oil warms us up by promoting circulation, removing stiffness from aching muscles and joints, and resupplying oxygen to the body’s cells. Used internally, cinnamon oil acts as an antibacterial and antiviral agent, as well as a blood sugar regulator. (Note: I don’t condone the use of ingesting essential oils. Check out Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Essential Oils.) My family and I like to use it in a blend to ward off school germs during cold and flu season. And if the flu does grab ahold, a few drops on the feet help the body hasten it quickly. Always dilute it and use thoughtfully.  And if you tend to run hot, choose peppermint oil as your seasonal soother instead.

You don’t need to be an herbalist to give essential oils a go. Start small by purchasing a diffuser and using one of the common varieties, like lavender, listed above. The use of essential oils brings freshness to the typical wintertime doldrums and uplifts your family at a time when the natural world is asleep. Plus, your skin will look and feel radiant and you just might make it out of flu season unscathed.

** Choose high-quality organic oils; not all oils are created equal.