The art of the festive bath - our team shares the luxurious products and rituals they use for the ultimate Christmastime tub

December, while full of cheer, is a stressful month. Even if you get all your shopping and prep done within plenty of time, even just the social gatherings and general merriment can become draining. But for whenever that pre or post-Christmas slump hits, our team has the perfect festive remedy...

Combining scents of verdant fir trees, rich spices and warming amber, with foaming bubbles and oils that quench thirsty and tired skin, our answer to the holiday season and all its demands is a merry ol' soak in a 'festive' bath. So, what sets a festive bath apart from your average tub? Well, simply put, it's been drawn with all the festive trimmings. A luxe bath oil, for instance, ambient lighting supplied by a Christmassy candle and a pot of one of the best-smelling body lotions waiting beyond the steaming waters, ready to be slathered onto perfectly clean and pampered skin. It's a bath, but simultaneously so much more than a bath.

It's a blissful escape, a pause from the Christmas countdown or the in-laws who have come to stay. It's an hour (or more) of perfect, cosy bliss that will either recharge your festive spirit or serve as the ultimate outro of yet another busy December passed. And our beauty team has truly mastered it, with 12 products that will help you do the same.

Unwind in the most festive and luxurious bath you'll take all year

While a bath, especially one with bubbles and all your favourite body products, is already a lovely and effective option for when you're feeling frazzled, a festive bath offers a whole other level of pampering. Well, the way our team does it anyway.

Now you might be wondering how we coined the term 'festive bath.' It came about one fateful October day, as our beauty team gathered to plan their December content. Somewhere between discussing short Christmas nails, tinsel nails and gifts for perfume lovers, the topic of baths came up - and as did the discovery that we all, collectively, love a Christmassy soak. Indeed, we found that we all tend to elevate our bath routine slightly when the holidays hit, be it with a limited-edition Christmas candle, a fir-scented bath oil and or a cocktail.

So, if you're also someone who loves a luxurious bath or are perhaps looking for an excuse to escape the festive fun, even just for an hour, we've laid out all the elements and products we love to use when running our festive baths.

Fiona's full-body pamper festive bath

"The festive bath is one of those concepts that doesn’t really need explanation," says our Digital Beauty Editor, Fiona McKim. "As soon as those two words were raised in a beauty team meeting, I could picture the scene: After the late-night merriment of the festive run-up, and early morning chaos of the day itself, I block out at least an hour, lock the bathroom door and do nothing more than wallow.

"My festive bath formula: Very warm (probably too hot) water, the kind where you have to do a hokey cokey in-out with your feet before you fully submerge. Bath oil - Olverum to be precise, a 1930s recipe with a bracing fir tree, rosemary and juniper aroma that’s at once enlivening and relaxing. A body scrub and a hair mask - whatever’s to hand and smells nice - to force me to bathe for longer than my busy brain wants to, plus a good podcast, because I’ve never mastered reading in the bath without getting the pages wet. Strong festive cocktail optional but definitely preferable, a Negroni with one giant ice cube is the elite choice."

Naomi's amber & almond festive bubble bath

"I look forward to a bath like most people get excited for a trip or meal out. Once the idea of having a bubble bath is in my head, nothing will stand in between me and that tub of steaming water - especially during December," says Digital Beauty Writer, Naomi Jamieson. "There's just something so soothing about even the ritual of drawing a bath; the lighting and placing of the candles around the room, lining up all your products on the side, and then pouring in that bubble bath and watching it froth up.

"While my ordinary baths are very bubbly (I like to be completely enveloped in foam, a no limb left in sight sort of situation), I pull out all the stops for my Christmastime soaks. For starters, I slip into my favourite red dressing gown and light my Diptyque Ambre candle, which I reserve for festive baths and festive baths only, thanks to its chic, warming notes and luxe price tag. I then dip a heaped helping of Laura Mercier's indulgent Ambre Vanille Honey Bath into the tap stream, layered over a splash of this budget-friendly Sainsbury's bath soak, as the sheer volume of bubbles it creates is unmatched. I'll then grab my book, before perhaps setting a little glass of prosecco on the bath shelf, before submerging, having also lined up all my bodycare essentials, from my makeup remover to my L'Occitane almond shower oil, within easy reaching distance. I, for one, really associate the smell of almonds with Christmas, and when mingled with the scent of the honey bath and the amber candle, it's a true treat for the senses."

Aleesha's forest-inspired festive bath

"I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to bath products, for me it's all about creating a spa-like scent, feeling and atmosphere - no jazzy bath bombs or shimmery gels crossing the threshold over at Casa Aleesha," explains Digital Beauty Ecomm Editor, Aleesha Badkar, "So my version of a festive bath is all about Christmassy, winter-like aromas and elevated indulgent products, think earthy oils, luxury formulas and woody candles.

"I'm a big fan of Aromatherapy Associates' bath and shower oils, and while my go-to scent is usually their famous Deep Relax, for its sleepy vetiver, chamomile and sandalwood blend, Forest Therapy, with its cypress, juniper berry and pink peppercorn notes, is a great pick for a December bath. Paired with Neom's velvety and utterly addictive lavender, jasmine and sandalwood bath milk, and a room filled with Maison Francis Kurkdjian's irresistibly chic forest-evoking Mon beau Sapin candle, it makes for a festive escape full of luxury, indulgence, and all the best bits of winter."

Sennen's spa-like festive bath

"I think a bath is very much like Marmite, you either love them or you can’t stand them - there’s no in-between," quips Digital Beauty Writer, Sennen Prickett. "But, if you know a thing or two about me, then you’ll know how I firmly fall into the former category. Being one of the only ways I can truly relax, I’ll take a bath over a shower any day of the week, and even more so during the winter season. So, it’s only natural that I give my bathing routine a festive touch during the Christmas period. This involves lighting The White Company’s luxury Fir Tree candle, which smells exactly as it is labelled, on the edge of the bath to set the scene. Before popping a few drops of a relaxing essential oil into the water, I’ve been reaching for NEOM’s Sparkling Joy scent throughout December, which boasts notes of Ginger, Lime and Vetiver.

"As for my body care routine, a foaming shower gel is always a stellar option to ensure a gentle yet thorough cleanse, notably Rituals’ limited-edition Intuitia - a velvety, hydrating formula with a warm, woody scent of sandalwood and vanilla. Personally, the only other way I could possibly elevate this regime is by having a Baileys Hot Chocolate (with squirty cream and all the trimmings) to sip on."