Homemade Mulling Spices for Christmas Gifts with Free Printable Tag

If you know me, you know that I love making handmade gifts for the holidays. They are seriously the best!

Sometimes we make bigger things, like this key and mail organizer or step stool. And sometimes we make smaller gifts that we can make for a bunch of people at once, like these homemade mulling spice ornaments or leather keychains.

These gifts were so fun to make and super easy, meaning that I was even able to get the kids to help me!

Related – Want more gift ideas? Check out all of our gift ideas here!

We spent a lazy Saturday afternoon huddled in the kitchen creating the mulling spices. And you better believe that there was Christmas music playing in the background.

The orange peels smelled so good as they were dehydrating and then the other scents of the mulling spices filled the air when it came time to put the ingredients together and fill the mulling spices into the clear fillable ornaments.

Mulling Spices Meaning

To “mull” means to heat, sweeten, and flavor with spices. Mulling spices with traditional and festive ingredients, like cinnamon, orange, clove, and allspice, are typically used with either wine or apple cider to make a warm and cozy drink.

Primarily made during the holidays given the warm and familiar holiday tastes, however, it can be enjoyed all year round if you’d like.

Where does the tradition of mulled spices come from?

If you wonder who the first people were to think up mulled spices for cider or wine, the tradition dates all the way back to medieval times.

The Germans and English called their version of warm spiced cider “wassail” and it was used to keep Christmas carolers warm as they sang.

How To Use Mulling Spices

Are you wondering what are mulling spices used for? Traditionally, you add mulling spices to either wine or apple cider to make hot mulled wine or hot mulled apple cider.

You can also use mulling spices in baked goods, with sangria and cocktails, in bath salts, infused into maple syrup, or as a stovetop potpourri. Here are 20 great recipes that use mulling spices to get you started!

How To Make Mulling Spices Gifts: Video Tutorial

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This homemade mulling spices tutorial contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t recommend wholeheartedly. Read my full disclosure here.

How To Make Mulling Spices: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Dehydrate orange peel

You can totally buy chopped dried orange peel, but it is pretty easy to make yourself (and much cheaper).

All you do is peel oranges with a vegetable peeler, focusing on just the orange part and leaving behind the white pith.

Next, coarsely chop the peels and dehydrate them at 200 degrees for a couple of hours or until fully dried. You can dehydrate the peels in either a dehydrator, like we do, or the oven.

Step 2: Crush cinnamon sticks

Now, this part is pretty fun and the kids can help too!

Put the cinnamon sticks in a gallon ziplock bag and crush them using either a mallet or a rolling pin. You can also use your hands to break them apart too.

I used a combination of all three methods to crush the cinnamon sticks.

Step 3: Combine mulling spice ingredients.

Next, measure your ingredients out and combine them in a large mixing bowl.

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Mulling Spices Tea Bags

You can totally put the mulling spices directly with the liquid while you heat the cider or wine and then strain it out when serving, but we find that it is easier to put the mulling spice in tea bags or a mesh tea ball.

Disposable tea bags, like this, work great and are easy to include with your gift.

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How To Make Mulled Spice Wine

To use this mulled spice mix with wine, put 2 tablespoons in a tea bag. Combine with one bottle (750 ml) of wine in a pot.

You can also add 2 tablespoons of sugar, honey, or syrup if you’d like to sweeten it. Additionally, feel free to add in 1/4 cup of Brandy or orange liquor if you’d like.

Heat until just before a simmer, but don’t let it simmer or boil. Continue heating for 10-20 minutes.

Serve warm in mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick for an extra touch.

A bold, full-bodied wine like Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Zinfindel works well for mulled wine. You can get away with using an inexpensive red wine for this too!

Although mulled wine is typically made with red wine, you can also use white wine if you prefer. Try something medium-sweet and fruity, like Moscato, Riesling, or Chardonnay.

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How To Make Mulled Apple Cider

To use these mulling spices for cider for a non-alcoholic version, put 2 tablespoons in a tea bag. Combine with 1/2 gallon (or 8 cups) of apple cider.

Heat until just before a simmer, but don’t let it boil. Continue heating for 10-20 minutes.

Serve warm in mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick for a little something extra.

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How to Give Mulling Spices Mix as a Christmas Gift

There are several different ways you can give the mulling spices mix away as a gift during the holiday season.

Option 1: Put mulling spice in fillable ornament

These fillable ornaments from the Dollar Store are a great way! You simply remove the top of the ornament and pour the mulling spice into the top of the ornament using a funnel.

To finish off the ornament, I tied on 8 disposal tea bags and the printable tags with instructions.

Option 2: Use clear treat bags (great for mailing mulled spices)

I was also sending some of the mulled spice mix as a gift in the mail, so I wanted the packaging to be flatter and not in danger of cracking during shipping.

To ship the mulled spice mix, I simply put a small amount (1/2 cup to be exact, which would be three 2-tablespoon servings) in a clear treat bag and used the included twisty tie to secure it.

To make the clear bag of mulling spices look prettier, I added a dried persimmon attached with white yarn and then added a cinnamon stick tied under a bow with the same yarn.

In the top of the clear bag, I placed three of the mulling spice tea bags to be used when making the mulled wine.

Other ideas for gifting homemade mulling spice

• Use small mason jars or clear jars from Dollar Store (this is what I used for our stovetop potpourri gifts)
• Recycle jars from your kitchen (just remove the labels). The small Oui yogurt jars or baby food jars work great too!
• Use small muslin bags, like this
• Use glass test tubes with stoppers, like this
• Use small plastic containers with lids, like this
• Put in a gift basket with a bottle of wine, 2 warm & cozy mugs (or a funny “This might be wine” mug), and some tea bags for a complete kit for making mulled wine

Since everything is fully dehydrated for these mulling spices, they will last 8-12 months. The only thing that will happen over time is the flavor will diminish.

Mulling Spices Gift: Free Printable Tags

Adding this free printable tag with your mulling spices gift is the perfect way to finish it off. There’s even space to sign the tag with your name if you want.

By attaching the tag, the person you’re giving the homemade mulling spices to will know exactly how to use them.

If you need an easy gift idea for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life, mix together these ingredients to make homemade mulling spices. They are sure to love it!