DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

Ok folks, Christmas is right around the corner and you still don’t know what to get your Mom, Dad, Significant Other, Spouse, Sibling, Grandparent, Friend, Co-Worker, Supervisor…  I am here to help you. 

There are some super quick and easy gifts that you can either make OR purchase that will leave your recipient quite happy. Almost of these involve essential oils.

Personally, I prefer to give homemade gifts. It is part of my love language; Acts of Service. I like putting some effort into the gifts I give. For me, it is like giving a little part of myself to the other person. I feel the same way about cooking for people. YES cooking can be an act of love! (So DON’T dog your girl’s hard work on dinner – Choke that shiz down and smile while you do it… Just kidding… Sorta)

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE:

Bath Salts – Difficulty - EASY

 2 cups Epsom-salts

10-15 drops of Essential Oils of your choice. (Lavender, Serenity, Rose)

Optional:  ½ cup baking soda, ½ cup powdered milk)

Sticky Labels (I use Ball Canning Labels)

Canning Jars

Pretty Ribbon

Add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Pour into small canning jars (4oz – 8oz work best for gifts). Place lid on jar and tie a pretty ribbon of your choice around the neck.

Sugar Scrubs - Difficulty – EASY

2 cup Granulated Sugar

Essential Oils of your choice (Lavender, Peppermint, Breathe, Deep Blue)

½ c Base Oil (FractionatedCoconut Oil, Olive Oil)

Sticky Labels (I use Ball Canning Labels)

Canning Jars

Pretty Ribbon

In a large mixing bowl pour 2 cups granulated sugar, ½ cup of your base oil and add 10-15 drops of your essential oil of choice. Mix well. Pour into small canning jars (4oz – 8oz work best for gifts). Place lid on jar and tie a pretty ribbon of your choice around the neck.

Massage Oils – Difficulty – EASY

1/2 cup base oil (I prefer Fractionated Coconut Oil)

Essential Oil of your choice. (Deep Blue, Lavender, Serenity, Peppermint are some favorites)

Glass container of your choice. (I prefer amber or blue glass stopper bottles, but even a 4oz canning jar with a pretty ribbon will work)

Sticky Labels (I use Ball Canning Labels)

Blend your oils in a glass mixing bowl and carefully pour into your glass container. Wipe down glass container and when clean and dry add your label.

The three items listed above combined make a really nice homemade spa set. Put them in a small gift basket or other packaging and you have a winning gift!

Peppermint-Chocolate Dipped Spoons – Difficulty – MODERATE

If you have a flavored coffee lover or hot chocolate fan out there, this is a great little stocking stuffer.

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips, white vanilla baking chips or mint-flavored chocolate chips

1-2 drops Peppermint Essential Oil 

18 Plastic Spoons

Wax Paper

Plastic Wrap or Cellophane

Ribbon
(Optional: Crushed peppermint sticks)

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. In heavy 1-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips over lowest possible heat, stirring constantly (or use a double boiler). Be careful not to over heat. Once melted add Peppermint Essential Oil and stir it in.

Tip saucepan so chocolate runs to one side. Dip bowl portion of each spoon into chocolate. Sprinkle with candy decorations or crushed peppermint sticks. Place on waxed paper. Let stand about 10 minutes or until chocolate is dry and hard.

Wrap spoons in plastic wrap or cellophane. Tie a ribbon on each one to secure and for flair.

Sampler Basket – Difficulty – MODERATE to DIFFICULT

This is where your canning skills can really shine. Imagine a gift basket filled with tasty treats made by you. Chocolate Dipped Spoons, Marmalade, Salsa, Jams, Jellies, Applesauce, Pickles, Soup, Chili, Massage Oils, Sugar Scrubs, Bath Salts, Soaps, and other goodies… Again ALL made by you. You can also throw in items that people are always in need of and never seem to have on hand - think travel sized.

I generally use 4-oz and 8-oz canning jars for these baskets because it is a Sampler Basket. I get my baskets on sale at the craft stores and load them up with goodies to give a Christmas. They are ALWAYS a hit. I have found many people really and truly appreciate homemade gifts and it seems to becoming a lost art.

If you are interested in learning more about the Essential oils listed on this page CLICK HERE to check out my Oil Page.

Green Bean Casserole – A Family Recipe

One of the things I wanted to do is share some recipes on this blog. I mean I like food … who doesn’t (ok so besides the picky 2-4 year olds out there). Anyway, there are some family recipes that are in high demand around the holidays and there are some holidays coming up so I thought I would share one. This is in no way healthy… at all. But man, it is ALWAYS a hit and there are never left overs so enjoy! Warning: If you make this and bring it to Thanksgiving, you may find that you are asked to bring it EVERY year… you were warned.

Ingredients

3-4 Cans of French Cut Green Beans (depends how many people you are feeding)

½ cup of Sour Cream

1 ½ cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (your preference – I don’t actually measure this)

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 Tbsp of butter

Can of French fried onions

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Drain the green beans before placing them in a large mixing bowl.

Add butter, garlic powder, sour cream, cheese to the beans and mix well. (Add more cheese or sour cream if desired).

Place in microwave & oven safe dish for 20-30 minutes stirring well half way thru.  (if you are traveling, cover and hold off on the microwave until you arrive to your destination and then continue with instructions)

Remove from microwave.

Add a layer of French fried onions. (You can use as little or as much as desired).

Place in oven until French Fried Onions are golden brown and crisp.

Let cool for 5 min before serving.

The nice thing about this is if you are traveling for a holiday and you are supposed to bring a dish this is one you can bring and heat it up in their microwave and just pop it into the oven right before serving. Also, you probably will be bringing home a clean pan too.

Personally I prefer to use a 9x13 pan and the oven method. I just cook the whole thing in the oven from start to finish. Basically once it is bubbly and cooked evenly, give it a stir and add your french fried onions and pop it back into the oven until golden. Done.

OMG We had a baby!!!

Baby has arrived! I have been pretty MIA these last 6 weeks due to spending some very precious time with our new little bundle of joy. “Mr Meatball” joined us at the end of October and has been a wonderful addition to our family unit. He is a chunky one for sure!

I had forgotten how consuming having a newborn can be. Getting 2 meals in a day while nursing and going on very little sleep was a serious accomplishment for my husband and I in those first couple of weeks for sure! But among all of that was the abundant snuggles and heart melting coos and baby noises and precious bonding that made every moment worth it. 

Actually there were a few things I had forgotten about. So here is a list of the top 5 things I did not anticipate:

How much we would NEED premade meals. I mean we had meals in the deep freezer but I didn’t realize how important they would be. If you know someone who just had a baby in the last 3 weeks, make them a meal or two. The kind that they don’t have to do anything other than heat up. Drop it off, and then just leave. (Parents of newborns do not want to entertain you – they are too tired and their time is too precious.) Cooking an entire meal was out of the question.   

Post-partum care packages can be great – they can make a new mom happy because it means she doesn’t have to go to the store to get things AND it makes hubby happy because he likely isn’t thrilled at the idea of having to shop for these items either... Just Sayin…  (Ideas: mesh panties… yep super sexy (stock up on them at the hospital). Ice packs for south of the border, Witch Hazel, Large pads, peri-bottle, numbing spray, Epsom salts, LavenderEssential oil, other random toiletries.)

How messy a house can get in that first week – you will not have time to clean it. Period. The up side of that is you will probably be too tired to care (or notice). And then there is the laundry (OMG the Laundry!) I went from doing a load of my personal laundry 1x a week to 1x a day. Not to mention the rest of the family’s laundry (Thank goodness my husband handles that like a boss!)

Nursing Tanks… These are GOLD. You want these. You need these. You just don’t know it until after the fact. Can we say hello Boob-City? Yes, you may as well just change your address to this.

Colic… So I sorta scoffed at this when I had my first baby. He was SUPER easy. Yeh… not a joke. I now understand why it has been called “The Witching Hour or The Arsenic Hour” by some. Lucky for us, he is beyond cute and he has trained us well on what he likes so Daddy and Mommy know the routine now… Sorta.

Slowly but surely life has returned to a more normal routine and pace. I began canning again (ahhh happy place), made a bunch of baby food pouches, went to appointments, and visited with family.

OK funny story (rabbit trail here) I had made a dentist appointment scheduled for what ended up being a week after Mr. Meatball was born (what was I thinking?!). I was SO sleep deprived (he nursed every hour that first week) that I fell asleep during my dental cleaning. How do I know I fell asleep? I woke myself up snoring. Yep. I was pretty embarrassed and apologized profusely. To which the lovely tech said “Sweetie you just looked so tired I just let you sleep and kept working. Your teeth are all set and you are good to go. It actually happens more often than you would think but usually with our older patients.”... Best nap I had in a week. So that happened.

Life with Mr. Meatball has been a wonderful, snugly, heart captivating, roller-coaster of joy full of blessings.  I wouldn’t change a thing.

Merry Christmas!!!