DIY Christmas bath bombs recipe with 6 decoration ideas.
Christmas is a very special time. For many, these holidays mean time with family, gifts, and lots of love.
A good way to celebrate Christmas is by making handmade gifts.
In them, you can put all your love, make them personalized with a lot of details that remind you of them, and show with your effort how much you love your family and friends.
To do this, I have an easy-to-make bath bomb recipe, with common ingredients, which you might have at home, and which is also perfect to make with and for children.
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After the recipe, you are going to find six ideas to personalize your bath bombs so you can give them a Christmas touch or personalize them to the taste of your loved one.
DIY Christmas Bath Bomb Recipe
The following amounts will make about five or six bath bombs or so. It all depends, of course, on the size of the mold, you decide to use.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups of baking soda
- 1/2 cup of citric acid
- 1/2 cornstarch powder
- 3 teaspoons of water
- 15 drops of essential oil or fragrance oil (fragrances typical of Christmas are an appropriate choice for these bath bombs)
- 2 tbsp of oil (avocado oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or if you don’t have any of those, you can use olive oil)
- food coloring or mica powder
- bath bombs molds
How To Make It
NOTE: Before you start preparing your bath bombs, make sure that you or your loved ones (whoever will be using the bath bombs) are not allergic to any of the products you will be using.
Some (like essential oils, for example) might cause slight skin irritation.
Try a few drops first on a small, controlled area of your body before getting into the bathtub.
1. Preparation of dry ingredients
In a bowl, you should mix the dry ingredients.
- one and a half cups of baking soda
- half a cup of citric acid
- half a cup of cornstarch powder
To make sure there are no lumps, you can use a strainer to sift through the three ingredients.
In this step, you can also add salt.
Some people use Epsom salt, sea salt, or Himalayan salt.
These salts have exfoliating and wound-healing benefits and can also relieve muscle or joint pain.
Mix the ingredients very well until it is homogeneous.
You can use your hands, the spatula, or the spoon.
If you use your hands, it is a good idea to wear gloves: If you have a skin wound, the acid could sting you.
If you wear nail polish, the baking soda could strip your nail polish, so wear gloves just in case.
2. Preparation of wet ingredients
In another cup, mix the water, the colorant, and the three teaspoons of oil. You can use the oil of your preference.
- Add the essential oil.
- Use the essences that you prefer.
- If you add it by counting the drops, count about fifteen.
- If you do it by teaspoons, count a couple.
- If your coloring is liquid, add it here, but only a couple or three drops.
- Mix it with a spoon or spatula.
Make sure the mixture is homogeneous and the food coloring doesn’t precipitate to the bottom of the cup.
3. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones
Very carefully pour the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture.
Very carefully means that if the dry mix is soaked too much, it will start to fizz.
In this step, you will have to mix all the ingredients very well so that a perfectly homogeneous dough remains.
Make sure that the color, the essence, and the salts are well distributed.
The final texture should be like wet sand.
4. Make the bath bombs
In the molds you prefer, place the dough.
Make sure to press the dough to make it very compact, otherwise, it will break.
If you are using ball-shaped molds, fill both sides over the edge.
When you put them together, squeeze them very hard, and drop the excess.
If you feel like the dough is getting too dry and is not getting the right consistency to adhere to the mold, use a water spray to re-moisten it.
Do not pour the water directly because it will activate the reaction.
Finally, let it dry for a few hours in the air so that it gets the right consistency.
It can also be done overnight in the fridge or in a few hours in the freezer.
If you make them well in advance and you want them to maintain the aroma until Christmas, you can wrap them with cling film and store them in tightly closed glass containers, which hold the odors well.
6 Ideas To Decorate the Bath Bombs For Christmas Gifts
1. Sugar Decorations
With homemade or supermarket-bought sugar paste you can make small decorations and add them to the bath bomb.
Before adding them, let them dry so they don’t lose their shape when placed in the mold.
You can make small snowflakes, sugar pearls, or Christmas trees and place them in the bottom of the mold so that the bath bomb dries around it, integrating the decorations.
Another idea is to hide sugar confetti inside or add it creatively. The sugar will melt into the water with the rest of the bath bomb, so it won’t bother you when bathing.
2. Scents & Dried Flowers
One of the main characteristics of bath bombs is the aromas that essential oils provide.
You can use the ones that most remind you of your loved one, their favorite scents, or the most characteristic aromas of Christmas, such as the scent of cinnamon.
Another way is to add dried flowers or scented seeds so that when the bath bomb falls apart, it floats on top of the water with the bubbles.
For the tutorial, go to DIY essential oil bath bombs.
3. Food or soap coloring
The most representative colors of Christmas are usually red, green, and white.
You can play with the combination of these three to make very nice bath bombs.
You will only have to separate a part of the dough before adding the coloring, and thus you will achieve different colored masses.
Combine them by mixing them, in layers, or with a surprise inside!
4. Use Mica Powder
To add the fun factor to your bath bombs, mix 96º alcohol with cosmetic-grade mica powder.
Paint the bath bombs with the mixture and a brush.
Don’t be tempted to use craft glitter because it will catch on your skin and will be very difficult to remove.
In the bath bombs below, I have used gold mica powder.
5. Molds With Shapes
The most common shapes are ball-shaped because they come in round molds that look like Christmas balls.
Those are very useful to hang on the Christmas tree and, at the end of the night, ask the guests to take the one they like the most.
But there are also shaped cookie cutters, perfect for making Christmas bath bombs.
To make these cute bath bombs follow the first recipe, add the color you want, and use shaped cookie cutters to create them.
6. Presentation is important
If you make the bath bombs with ball-shaped molds, one idea is to leave the mold on and decorate it with stickers on the outside, paint it, or wrap it with wrapping paper and a bow.
Other ideas include:
- Hang them from the Christmas tree
- Offer it in personalized boxes
- Add cards with the essential oils and colors you have chosen for that particular person: knowing why those remind you of them will make them feel great!
DON’T MISS THIS: DIY skincare recipes
DIY Christmas Bath Bombs
Here you have six great ideas on how to decorate bath bombs for your loved ones this Christmas.
Plus with the detailed instructions, you no longer have an excuse not to try to make them!
In addition, they are crafts that you can do with children because all the ingredients are safe!
Other handmade recipes that make perfect gifts for Christmas:
- 3 Christmas DIY sugar scrub recipes
- 5 easy to make sugar scrub recipes for the body
- coffee sugar scrub cubes recipe with honey and cinnamon
- lavender and rose sugar scrub cubes
- Sugar scrub cubes with orange and lemon
- moisturizing lotion bar recipe with Shea butter
- rose lotion bar recipe without beeswax
- 3 massage soap bar recipes with essential oils
