Make Christmas Gifts in a Jar
Edited by Graciela Franchesca Rosario, Eng, Lynn, Graeme and 7 others
14 Parts:
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Christmas is a time of gift giving. Sometimes you may want to think 'outside-the-box' and create something truly special. Jarred gifts are just one of the many ways that you can make a gift for that special someone by hand.
Contents
- 1 Steps for Making a Gift Jar
- 2 Gift Ideas Using Jars
- 3 Walnut, Honey, & Dried Fruit Topping Mix
- 4 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 5 Sewing Kit in a Jar
- 6 S'mores in a Jar
- 7 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 8 Bath Salts
- 9 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 10 Bath Fizzies and Bombs
- 11 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 12 Oatmeal Scotchies in a Jar Recipe
- 13 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 14 Comments
Steps for Making a Gift Jar
- 1Decide if you want to use glass or plastic. Jars that you use do not necessarily have to be made of glass. In some cases, it is better if the item or items are put into plastic. Many companies today make plastic replicas of the older glass canning jars and these are a great way to give gifts in a jar and make them unbreakable.
Advertisement - 2Choose a gift. You may want to ask yourself about the recipient. What does he or she like?
Advertisement - 3Fill the jar.
- 4Close the lid tightly.
- 5Choose a way to decorate the lid.
- 6Decorate the lid.
- 7Add stickers, labels, or tags to the jar.
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Gift Ideas Using Jars
Below you will find several ideas of the types of gifts you can make using jars. The instructions are also included so that you can make them if you choose to.
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Walnut, Honey, & Dried Fruit Topping Mix
This may be the perfect gift for anyone who likes to go camping, fishing, hunting, or hiking. It is easy to pack and easy to eat. Of course, it is also a good gift for anyone who likes, and isn't allergic to, the ingredients. The recipe can be refrigerated in the jar for up to one month.
Things You'll Need:
- Large bowl
- 6 ounce (360 ml) wide mouth jar with lid
- Spoon
- Measuring cup
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cup (about 40 grams) dried cranberries
2
½ cup (about 60 grams) toasted walnut halves
3
½ cup (125 ml) good-quality honey.
4
¼ cup (about 50 grams) dried apricots, cut into ½-inch pieces
Directions:
- 1Mix. Combine the dry ingredients and mix.
- 2Add honey.
- 3Mix again. This is so the honey will be evenly distributed on the dry ingredients.
- 4Pack into a 6-ounce (360 ml) jar.
- 5Close jar tightly.
- 6Decorate or label the jar.
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Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Serve with toast, oatmeal or yogurt.
- Customize it. Substitute in other ingredients in lieu of cranberries, dried apricots, or walnuts.
Sewing Kit in a Jar
Turn an old-fashioned mason jar into a sewing kit. Included is a built-in pincushion above the jar's cover. Could be the perfect gift for the seamstress who is short on space.
Things You'll Need:
- Clean mason jar. Any size you wish to use.
- Fabric.
- Glue Gun
- Fiberfill or cotton
- A pencil.
- Scissors, an x-acto knife, or other tool to cut fabric with
- Glue stick for glue gun.
Instructions:
- 1Plug in the glue gun.
- 2Lay the lid of the jar onto the fabric.
- 3Use the pencil to draw a circle, which should be at least an inch (2.54 centimeters) larger, around the lid.
- 4Cut out the circle with implement of choice.
- 5Lay fabric backside up. The darker or prettier side of the fabric should be face down.
- 6Place the lid, upside down, onto the fabric. You should be able to see the underside of the lid.
- 7Make the letter 'C' on the lid. Do this on the inside edge of the lid where the lid is slightly concave.
- 8Push the outer edges of the fabric into the glue. You may want to use the pencil to do this, as the glue should be hot. Gather the fabric as you push it into the glue.
- 9Stuff the slack fabric pocket you've made with fiberfill or cotton. You should be left with a wide enough area to allow you to add stuffing.
- 10Glue the opening shut. Place hot glue on the lid where the opening is at. Push the edges of the fabric into the glue while gather it to make a tight, smooth, pincushion.
- 11Turn the lid's outer ring upside down and bead a line of glue into the inside of the outer ring.
- 12Push the pincushion part through the outer ring.
- 13Press the lid and the outer ring together firmly so that the pincushion will be secure.
- 14Let it dry.
- 15Fill the jar with sewing materials such as needles, thread, button pack, measuring tape, thimble, needle threader and other items as you see fit.
- 16Screw lid onto jar.
- 17Add any finishing touches like labels or wrap the gift.
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Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Instead of bunching the fabric, cut slits every 1/2 to 1 inch all the way around but not all the way to the lid, just cut to within 1/4 of an inch from the lid. This way the fabric should lay flat instead of bunched up and lumpy.
S'mores in a Jar
S'mores could be the perfect snack. They are sweet, crunchy, gooey, fun to make, and eat. They are not for 'just camping' anymore.
Things You'll Need:
- Wide-mouth canning jar with lid. You can use any size you wish to use.
- Rolling pin or metal meat tenderizer
- Food storage bag
- Measuring cup
Ingredients:
- 11 canning jar with ring and lid
- 21 sleeve graham crackers (about 1 ½ cups of crushed crackers or 10 crackers)
- 31 package of mini marshmallows
- 41/3 cup brown sugar
- 51 ¼-cup chocolate chips or other chocolate pieced candy of your choice.
Instructions:
- 1Place graham crackers in a zipper freezer food storage bag. Use a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to crush crackers into crumbs.
- 2Pack the graham cracker crumbs into the quart-sized canning jar. Use a meat tenderizer to pack the ingredients tightly into the bottom of the jar.
- 3Pack mini marshmallows into the jar. Press them into the sides of the jar. Pressing gently create a well at the center of the jar.
- 4Place brown sugar into the well created in the marshmallows.
- 5Press the brown sugar down gently.
- 6Add the chocolate pieces.
- 7Close the jar tightly.
- 8Make your own tag or print a gift tag. Include in the tag the ingredients use to make S'mores mix, and the following directions.
Information to Include on the S'mores in a Jar Tag
Ingredients: Chocolate pieces, mini marshmallows, graham crackers, and brown sugar. Additional ingredients needed :2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- 1Put the content of the jar into a large bowl.
- 2Stir to mix the dry ingredients.
- 3Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add it to the bowl along with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- 4Mix well.
- 5Press gently into greased 9-by-9 inch pan (22.05-by22.05 centimeters).
- 6Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Additional Tips and Suggestions
- An easy alternative is to add the whole components to a jar. For example 2 bars of chocolate, 4 large marshmallows, and 8 graham cracker squares. This should be enough to make 4 smores.
- Use a microwave safe jar. To be able to heat the smores in the microwave and eat directly from the jar. Just create smaller repetitive layers with the ingredients so that each layer can be easily accessed with a spoon.
- Make a cold version. Use chocolate pudding, marshmallow fluff, and graham crackers crumbled up to fill the jar. Create thin layers of each in the jar then refrigerate.
Bath Salts
Give the gift of a relaxing bath this holiday season by creating one of a kind bath salt gift jars. Sure, you could purchase a bath gift set, but it would be more fun making it yourself.
Things You'll Need:
- Skin safe essential oils with pipette (in fragrances of your choice)
- Large bowl
- Whisk
- Glass jar with lid
Ingredients:
3 cups Epsom Salts 2 cups Sea Salt 1 cup baking soda 2 tsp skin safe essential oil food coloring
Directions:
- 1Mix together the dry ingredients using a whisk.
- 2Add food coloring.
- 3Add essential oil of choice.
- 4Mix with a whisk until fully blended.
- 5Fill your glass jar and secure lid.
Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Don't add too much food coloring. The more food coloring you add makes your bath water darker.
- Make different colors and layer them as if it were sand art.
Bath Fizzies and Bombs
Bath fizzies are almost exactly the same as bath bombs. Bombs are usually much larger than fizzies. They both may help you relax while softening your skin.
Things You'll Need:
- Whisk
- Large bowl
- Plastic molds
- Glass jars or clear bags
- Newspaper
- Small spray bottle of Witch-Hazel
Ingredients:
- Baking Soda
- Citric Acid
- Cornflour
- Epsom Salt
- Witch-Hazel
- Skin safe essential oil
- Food coloring
Directions:
- 1Decide how many fizzies and bombs you want to make. This step will help you determine measurements of the ingredients.
- 2Mix dry ingredients with a whisk in a large bowl. Citric acid, cornflour, and Epsom salt are half of the baking soda measurement. So, If you use 6 cups of baking soda you'd need 3 cups of citric acid, cornflour, and Epsom salt.
- 3Add food coloring.
- 4Add essential oils.
- 5Mix well with a whisk until everything is well blended.
- 6Add Witch-Hazel. The amount of Witch-Hazel you will need to add may vary based on the humidity of where you live. People who live in warmer climates will often need to use more.
- 7Check the mix.
- Scoop up an handful.
- Make a fist.
- Open your fist. If the mix crumbles when you open your fist you need to add more Witch-Hazel.
- Scoop up an handful.
- 8Pack molds. Once the mix stays together well you can begin filling your molds.
- 9Let molds sit for at least 20 minutes.
- If you are making a bomb, lightly tap on one side of the mold and carefully remove the top part of the mold. Leave the bomb in the bottom mold and set it aside to dry.
- 10Remove fizzies or bombs from the molds.
- 11Turn the molds over carefully and lightly tap to loosen the fizzies from the mold.
- 12Place in packaging of your choice.
Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Witch-Hazel is used instead of water because the fizzies and bombs react to water. The less you use while making them the better the reaction will be when they are used in the bath.
- If you want to make a large bomb add Kaolin Clay to the mix. Using the ratios of baking soda and other dry ingredients to determine how much to use in tablespoons. For example if you used 2 cups baking soda and 1 cup of other dry ingredients you'd want to use at least 3 tablespoons of Kaolin Clay (2+1=3). Kaolin Clay helps keep the larger bombs from falling apart.
- If you use a cupcake tin or silicone muffin tray to shape your fizzies or bombs, it may be a good idea to use cupcake liners or wax paper to line them with. Some people have trouble removing the dried products from them without breaking them.
- The better the packaging is at keeping air out the longer your bath fizzies can be unused and still fizz when their day finally comes.
Oatmeal Scotchies in a Jar Recipe
Oatmeal scotchies in a jar may make the perfect homemade gift. All you have to do is purchase canning jars with rings and lids for each recipient, enough of the 'jar ingredients', and follow the directions below.
Ingredients Needed For a 4-Quart Wide-Mouth Jar:
- ¾ cups brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cups butterscotch baking chips
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup sifted flour, all purpose
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
- 1Mix together similarly colored ingredients. Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, white sugar, salt, and baking soda. This way you should have four layers.
- 2Layer the ingredients. Keep in mind that thick layers are best, as there may be some mixing as the jar is moved after sealing. You can layer the ingredients in this order: oatmeal, brown sugar mix, white sugar mix, baking chip pieces. Repeat this order as many times as you want with in the jar. You can even create your own individual design.
- 3Seal the jar. Using a vacuum sealer may extend the storage life of the jarred ingredients. However, for a regular storage period, up to 3 weeks for this recipe, close the lid tightly.
- 4Add a decorative touch to the lid. This can be accomplished in many ways. You can cut out a piece of wrapping paper to fit the lid, use white glue and glitter after the jar is properly sealed, or cover the lid with a decorative fabric.
- 5Attach tags or labels. These can be printed or handwritten.
Oatmeal Scotchies: Direction Label Information
Be sure to add this information to your labels. If it doesn't come with directions for use the recipient may not know that additional ingredients are required or the proper baking times involved. This may lead to expectations not being met and a hungry stomach.
Additional Items Needed:
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup softened margarine or butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
This jar makes three dozen cookies.
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190.5 degrees Celsius.
- Beat the egg, softened butter or margarine, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the contents of the jar.
- Mix until well blended with a wooden spoon.
- Form 1-inch balls and place them about two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Alternatively, you may use a teaspoon to place appropriate amounts onto a cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 7-8 minutes if you like a chewy cookie. Or bake 8-10 minutes for a crunchier cookie.
- Let cookies cool for at least five minutes before serving. Or two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Pack the ingredients in tightly.
- A metal meat tenderizer is a useful instrument to use to tamper the ingredients.
- A rolling pin can also be used to tamper the powdery ingredients before layering.
- Have left over dough? Spoon it onto wax paper, roll into a 1-inch to 2-inch diameter, and freeze. Use just like store bought cookie dough.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
