Christmas Gifts in a Jar

Edible Christmas Gifts in a Jar

• Cakes, cookies, and brownies are the most popular Christmas gifts in a jar.
• You can include all of the dry ingredients required to make a tasty soup.
• Hot chocolate mix will be a welcome gift in the cold winter months. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
• Colorful and interestingly-shaped pasta is another option. You can also include the dry ingredients for a favorite sauce.
• Create special herbal cooking oils and vinegars by steeping spices and herbs in plain olive oil or vinegar.
• Jams and jellies are gifts you can make yourself and present to your friends, family members, and neighbors.

Most of these gifts are presented in large-mouthed canning jars. The main exception is oil and vinegar creations, which should be presented in a bottle intended for pouring.

Health and Beauty Jars

• Layer multi-colored bath salts in a jar. You can make your own with Epsom salts, or buy several boxes in different colors and scents.
• Infuse bath oil, baby oil, or mineral oil with flowers or potpourri. The floral accents make an otherwise plain oil beautiful while adding scent to the mixture.

While the edible Christmas gifts in a jar are typically presented in canning jars, health and beauty-themed gifts require a more visually pleasing presentation. Collect interesting jars over the course of the year, or visit your local craft store for more options. Even dollar stores often carry a selection of jars in decorative shapes.

Creating a Gift in a Jar

• As their name suggests, these gifts start with a jar!
• Choose the type of gift you would like to give, and gather the required ingredients to pour into the jar.
• Presentation is everything with Christmas gifts in a jar. With the right layering, these gifts can look almost too pretty to use. If it’s possible, select the materials with color-coordination in mind. When adding dry ingredients, a steady hand will also help you create uniform layers of sugar, flour, and so on.
• Use stickers or paint to decorate the jar itself. This can be a fun craft for kids. However, this can detract from the natural beauty of the materials inside the jar, so you won't want to use it for every gift.
• Create a decorative gift tag and tie it around the top of the jar with a pretty ribbon or decorative twine. These gift tags are especially useful when they include a recipe or other instructions for enjoying the contents of the jar.
• If the jar has a wide-mouthed metal lid, consider replacing the lid with a piece of fabric for gifts using dry ingredients. For smaller lids and liquid ingredients, a cork can look classier than a metal cap.

Finding Recipes Online

While you can always use a favorite family recipe, numerous websites provide recipes that have proven successful as Christmas gifts in a jar:

• Allfreecrafts.com offers an extremely thorough listing of recipes, including baked goods, soups, and bath salts.
• Razzle Dazzle Recipes focuses on food-based Christmas gifts in a jar.
• Christmas-Cookies.com provides recipes for cookies, brownies, and cocoa, with each recipe rated by site users.

Why Choose Jars?

Many people bring cookies and candies during the holidays, but these gifts allow the recipient to enjoy a treat after the Christmas season.

With so many options, you can find a gift for every taste and lifestyle. If you know the recipient never cooks, then you should stay away from the recipe-based ideas when creating their gift. However, even the worst cook can usually enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate! Some of your gift recipients may have special dietary needs. If you know someone is on a special diet, give him or her a bath product instead of a brownie mix, or create a jar filled with ingredients he is allowed to eat.

They can be great gifts to keep on hand for unexpected guests. At the end of the holiday season, you can use the extras yourself.