Laundry Soap and Other Great Gifts in a Jar

Did you forget someone on your Christmas list? We all do it; it happens. Don’t sweat it, however, even if you only have a few hours to whip up an amazing and thoughtful gift before you see that person you forgot and you aren’t sure how you’re going to do that. Sure, you could regift a gift card that you received for the holidays, but it’s something that doesn’t seem overly thoughtful. Of course, we don’t understand that at all. We love a gift card because it means you’re getting someone that someone took the time to give you and you get to pick out whatever you want with it. But that’s not the point. The point is that you can make gifts yourself with things you have at home and it won’t take you more than five minutes to do it. We love the concept of making our own unique gifts because they seem so thoughtful and considerate. No one has to know that your DIY gift in a jar took approximately 5 minutes to create after a brief moment of panic that you have absolutely nothing to give to someone you accidentally forgot during the holidays.

DIY Laundry Soap in a Jar

What you’ll need is a bar of regular soap, borax and Arm & Hammer washing soda as well as a lovely mason jar (we love the slightly colored glass jars) and some decorative ribbon. Start by grating your bar of soap into small pieces and then add a ¾ cup of borax and the same amount of washing soda. Mix everything together very well. You will want to ensure that it’s all together and not partially mixed before you pour it into your mason jar and wrap it up. What a thoughtful and inexpensive gift to give to others.

Body Scrub in a Jar

Again, you’ll just need a pretty mason jar, maybe a pretty sticker and some ribbon and a few simple ingredients. We like sugar, olive oil and your favorite essential oil. Any scent will do; it’s all up to you. Mix it together based on the consistency you like. We like to pour two cups of sugar into a bowl and add olive oil until it’s all mixed together but still a bit breakable and then add a few drops (10) of our favorite essential oil. If you’re doing this during the holidays, may we suggest adding peppermint?

Cookies in a Jar

Beautiful Christmas cookies stacked together and placed in a jar makes for a beautiful gift for anyone during the holiday season. You can make any kind of cookie you want, or you can actually buy the cookies and place them in the jar. You’re going to want to decorate with lovely ribbon, a sticker or a card and probably a candy cane. This is a lovely gift for someone who loves sweets, and it’s very thoughtful because now they have a pretty container to keep when they are done with their sweet treat. Go ahead and use this as your office gift because it’s frugal and fun, and everyone loves a decadent treat and a little something useful they can keep around the house.

Cookie Mix in a Jar

Sometimes people prefer the taste of their own wonderful cookies fresh out of the oven, and who can blame them? Instead of putting whole cookies into a mason jar and giving that away, give away the recipe. Here is how to do it; just gather your favorite cookie recipe ingredients and place them all in a jar layer by layer. Then add a sweet card to the top of the jar, perhaps attached with a gorgeous ribbon that goes with the holiday. On that card should be the mixing instructions and the instructions for which liquid ingredients to add to the mix. Then the cooking time and temperature should also be included. It’s a fun way to make a gift for someone who loves something sweet and wants to make it themselves.

Hot Cocoa in a Jar

For this DIY gift, we love to use glass baby food jars. What you are going to do is use three of these and decorate them like a snowman. Now, you will need to pay careful attention so that you know what to do. You’re going to want to add the cocoa mix to one baby food jar. To the next jar you will add marshmallows. To the final jar you will want to add chocolate chips to mix into the cocoa to make it just a bit more chocolatey and delicious. But here is where it gets a little tricky. You will need to attach these jars to one another very carefully. Choose which order you want to stack your jars (marshmallows on top, please) and get some hot glue. You will want to glue the bottom of the middle jar to the top of the bottom jar’s lid. You will want to glue the bottom of the top jar to the top of the middle jar’s lid. You will then screw everything together and tie a pretty ribbon around the top of the middle and bottom of the top jars as a scarf. A little black hat on top and a face drawn onto the top jar like a snowman is going to finish up this creative project for you.

A Gift Card in a Jar

If you just want to make a gift card seem a bit more exciting, and who can blame you, put it in a jar and then fill that jar with wonderful treats. We recommend filling the jar with Hershey kisses and adding a cute note about sharing hugs and kisses for the holidays. It’s a fun way to personalize your holiday gifts just a bit more than usual and to ensure that your recipient will get what he or she wants in the way of a gift card while still believing that you spent a great deal of time working on this little craft.

Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for International Culinary Center Catering & Events