I am not crafty and I don't know how to knit. That is why most of my ideas will come from the kitchen. If you have any others, I would love to hear them!
1. Whole Wheat Beer Bread
You can include a 6 pack of a good local beer, or if the recipient isn't really drinker, just one bottle. To package with just one bottle, try this idea I saw at a *baby shower years ago. Cover a Burger King drink holder with fabric or wallpaper scraps. (Ask at the wallpaper store for their old sample books and the wallpaper is free!) The Burger King drink holder only has two section, so put the beer in one section and the canning jar in the other.
Mix and package in a quart sized canning jar:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Make a tag with the following instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease
a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Empty jar into a large mixing bowl and pour in beer. Stir until a stiff batter is formed. (It may be necessary to mix dough with your hands.)
3. Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
2. Fudge!
This is my standard gift. You can package it in tins or you can try Meredith's idea of using a wicker paper plate holder.
3. Handprint Poem
Perfect for grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. I made this as a surprise gift for Marty when the boys were very young. He loved it!
4. Dish Garden
Check your garden centers for terracotta containers because many of
them are marking down this time of year. A shallow pot or tray that is anywhere from 8-12 inches round will also work well (other shapes are fine too.) Also, small garden ornaments can be used along with the plants. Just use a saw or wire cutters to trim the metal post, if needed.
5. Snowman Kits
This would be a cute gift for a family with young kids.
- Winter scarf (6' long) - You can make your own using pieces of inexpensive fleece. Just cut "fringe" into the ends, and it will look just like a scarf.
- 2 sticks (for arms)
- A pair of mittens (could be mis-matched or thrift store finds)
- 5 big buttons (to go down the belly)
- 7 lumps of charcoal (2 for the eyes, 5 for the smiley mouth)
- A carrot for the nose (Or you could take another stick of about 8" and paint it orange)
6. Scented Rice Bag
Fill a new tube sock 2/3 full with white rice. (Do not use instant rice!) Add lavender buds to the rice for a nice smell (and lavender is calming.) Sew the end of the sock closed - you want the rice to be able to shift around some. If you don't want to use a tube sock, any fabric would work, but would require more sewing. To use: First you need to test the heating time by starting at 1 minute. Once you know how long it will take to heat, make a tag with heating instructions.
7. The Twelve Days of Coffee or The Twelve Days of Tea
I made these years ago and they were a big hit.
8. Oreo Cookie Truffles
I made these last year and they are good! Instead of dipping in chocolate you can roll them in coconut (they look like deranged porcupines!), sweetened cocoa, or chopped nuts.
9. Cinnamon Peanut Brittle
This would look nice in a tin or a cellophane bag tied with ribbon.
10. Saltine Cookies
I know, something called saltine cookies shouldn't taste good, but I promise you they do.
*And no, there wasn't beer given at a baby shower! They had covered a cardboard six pack holder with fabric and put six bottles in it to give as a gift.
1 comment:
Thank you for these great ideas. I appreciate the fact that they aren't super crafty (I can't so much as thread a needle!). I like your ideas so much I linked to them!
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