November is here and we are finally allowed to talk about Christmas, hoorah! I am a big fan of the gentle build up, the gradual introduction of a little music here, a dash of spice there and a flick through a magazine filled with sparkle. I like plotting a few special days, planning a menu or two and starting off the Christmas flowers in a cupboard under the stairs. I also like to get ahead with any homemade Christmas gifts and these beautifully fragranced, easy homemade Christmas bath bombs are a good place to start!

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Homemade Bath Bombs for Christmas, scented with satsuma oil and decorated with a star anise.

 

 To Make Homemade Bath Bombs You Will Need:

  • 300g Bicarbonate of Soda 100g Citric Acid (You can get this from the pharmacy, some wholefood stores or online)
  • Essential Oil (I used Satsuma and Spice)
  • Water in a misting bottle
  • A few drops of cosmetic colour or food colouring (I used Sunshine Orange from Bee Beautiful)
  • Bath Bomb Moulds
  • A pie tray or Muffin tin to store them in while they dry
  • Packaging and decorations if you are giving them as gifts!  

Homemade Bath Bombs in paper cups alongside a satsuma.

How to Make Homemade Christmas Bath Bombs

  1. Combine the bicarbonate of soda and citric acid in a large bowl.
  2. Add a few drops of your essential oil* and stir well.
  3. Carefully add your colour a drop or two at a time, combining well with each addition until you get your desired colour. You must do this gradually to avoid the fizzy reaction between the bicarb and the citric acid from happening in your bowl rather than your bath!
  4. Once you are happy with colour and scent you can begin to add water. Once again it is important to do this gradually. The mister means that you aren’t adding water too quickly to one part of your mixture and setting off the reaction.
  5. Stir after each addition.
  6. Your bath bomb mixture is ready when it will just hold together when pressed in your hand. It mustn’t feel damp and it is far better for it to be too dry and not work in your moulds at first than too wet. You can always add a bit more water, you can’t take it away!
  7. Press your bath bomb mixture into your mould, one half at a time. Pile extra mixture into each half so that it is overflowing and then press the two halves together firmly brushing away the excess as it crumbles out.
  8. Carefully remove one half of the mould and then the other and gently place your bath bomb into your pie tray.
  9. Leave to dry and firm up.

Presenting Your Bath Bombs

Bath bombs make such lovely plastic free Christmas gifts! I’ve presented mine in gold cup cake cases with a star anise as decoration and, when I give them away, they will be popped into paper bags and tied up with pretty ribbons.

Once you’ve got the hang of basic bath bomb making you can start experimenting a bit. You could add a few dried flower petals to your mixture but not too many, think about the person who has to clean out the bath! For a more luxurious bath add a few drops of almond oil to your dry mixture and experiment with glorious colours and scents or try making them in different shaped moulds for different occasions.

Tips for Making Bath Bombs

Getting the water quantity right can be a bit hit and miss to begin with and you may end up with some bath bombs which seem to have ‘grown’ because the fizz started while you were making them or which sink a bit because they are too wet and collapse before they have time to set. This only means that you can’t give them away as gifts, they still work so you just have to have lots of baths to use them up yourself – this is no hardship for me! I had a set which grew a bit when I made them with the children – we decided that they look like snowballs now and make PERFECT gifts for Christmas! You can see how we made snowball bath bombs here.

Children love making bath bombs in ice cube trays which are simpler to use than the moulds in two halves. For a lovely tutorial on making bath bombs with small children (and without citric acid) do have a look at Red Ted Art’s blog post, a lovely Christmas gift for teachers!

*Please note, if you are giving bath bombs as gifts to someone who may be pregnant you should suggest that they check with their midwife whether the essential oils you have used are suitable for use in pregnancy.

If you make my recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Please leave a comment and a star rating below and share your pictures with me on social media. Tag me @thinlyspread and include the hashtag #thinlyspread so I can see them!

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Homemade Christmas Bath Bombs

Easy DIY Christmas Bath Bombs - perfect as plastic free Christmas gifts!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Drying Time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 30 minutes
Keyword: Christmas Craft, Homemade Christmas Gifts, Plastic Free Christmas Gifts
Servings: 6 Large Bath Bombs
Author: Chris Mosler

Equipment

  • Bath Bomb Moulds
  • Pie Tray
  • Water Mister
  • Cup Cake Cases
  • Decorations

Ingredients

  • 300 g Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 100 g Citric Acid
  • Essential Oils
  • Water
  • A few drops of cosmetic colour or food colouring

Instructions

  • Combine the bicarbonate of soda and citric acid in a large bowl.
  • Add a few drops of your essential oil* and stir well.
  • Stir in some cosmetic glitter if you are using it.
  • Carefully add your colour a drop or two at a time, combining well with each addition until you get your desired colour. You must do this gradually to avoid the fizzy reaction between the bicarb and the citric acid from happening in your bowl rather than your bath!
  • Once you are happy with colour and scent you can begin to add water. Once again it is important to do this gradually. The mister means that you aren’t adding water too quickly to one part of your mixture and setting off the reaction.
  • Stir after each addition.
  • Your bath bomb mixture is ready when it will just hold together when pressed in your hand. It mustn’t feel damp and it is far better for it to be too dry and not work in your moulds at first than too wet. You can always add a bit more water, you can’t take it away!
  • Press your bath bomb mixture into your mould, one half at a time. Pile extra mixture into each half so that it is overflowing and then press the two halves together firmly brushing away the excess as it crumbles out.
  • Carefully remove one half of the mould and then the other and gently place your bath bomb into your pie tray.
  • Leave to dry and firm up.

Notes

*Please note, if you are giving bath bombs as gifts to someone who may be pregnant you should suggest that they check with their midwife whether the essential oils you have used are suitable for use in pregnancy.
I used Satsuma and Spice Essential Oil and Sunshine Orange cosmetic colour.

 

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Satsuma spice bath bombs in a baking tray.

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