Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Christmas gift bags

For the past 2 years I've made Christmas gift bags for neighbors, friends, some of Tarzan's coworkers & family. They cost more than I should be spending, but the reward is all mine. This is one thing I absolutely LOVE doing! I usually make about 20 of these bags & this year I'm aiming for 30. Undoubtedly there will be someone I forgot or that my kids forgot to get a gift for, so a few extra will come in handy.

1) I use medium gift bags that can be bought at craft stores. I decorate them by gluing a cut-out decoration from previous Christmas cards, or cut-outs from magazines. Pictures of Christmas trees, Christmas candy, etc.

2) Last year, I made handmade soap. This year I'm going out on a limb & will make loofah soap . I don't expect them to come out like this picture, but okay looking & usable are acceptable. Since I've cut the loofah into 'slices', I'm going with orange coloring & an orange scent.

3) One of my favorites but also the most time consuming is homemade marshmallows . (I don't recommend doing this with children as the ingredients must be very, very hot.)Please note, I've used this link for the recipe only. I add food coloring & simply cut them in squares. Tarzan's dad loves these, so he gets a small gift box full of them last year.
I buy clear cellophane bags at the craft store to package these. then I close the bag by folding the top over. I punch holes in the cellophane bag, tie twine through the hole punches & then thru a piece of 2 layered construction paper that says, "Merry Marshmallows". Then I tie them into a bow and attach tiny jingle bells at the end of the twine & tie the bottom of each end in a knot. (by 2 layered I mean I glue a white piece of paper on top of a red or green piece of constuction paper & hole punch it)

4) A very simple addition & one that compliments the marshmallows nicely is hot chocolate mix.
For the marshamallows & the hot chocolate mix, I use the same type of bags. I print the instructions on paper & simply glue or staple them to bag. Using a small stapler, I staple the bag shut. This is Fast Eddie's favorite, so he gets a lot!

5) One of the funner treats to make & one that's LOVED is peppermint bark candy . Almond bark is sold at Walmart & is inexpensive. All you do is warm it up then when it's melted, add either broken up candy canes, peppermint candies or m&m's & immediately pour it onto a cookie sheet with wax paper at the bottom. Let it cool before you break it into pieces. This is Tarzan's favorite, but he likes his with M&M's. I usually buy an entire almond bark bar for him & make him a batch which is kept in the fridge. I simply wrap these in saran wrap.

6) The last, brownies with frosting, is my cheater. It's simply the boxed brownie mix with chocolate frosting on top. The frosting kind of gives it the sense that you put more work than you actually did. Another item I wrap in clear cellophane.

When all is done & it's approx. a week before Christmas, I put all the wrapped treats into the gift bag & add the personalized gift tag. Now, they're ready for special delivery from the North Pole!

Technorati tags: christmas, gift, marshmallows, hot, almond, brownies, candy

posted by jane at 4:03 PM