RazzWorks

It’s that time of year again when we start wondering what to give to everyone on our Christmas list while still paying all our bills and not going into debt. It can be tricky but with a little imagination and very little money you can make everyone on your list happy.

For starters, we need to get over the commercialism of Christmas. My family is quite a crafty, creative bunch so it wasn’t hard for us to get used to giving homemade gifts, my mother always did it anyway. We might give something crocheted, knitted, sewn, painted, or built with wood. Regardless, you know the giver spent time making it for you and it just feels more special.

My favorite things to give now are consumables – things that everyone needs and uses like toiletries or a gift they can eat. We all struggle to keep our clutter at bay so more stuff isn’t necessary or even wanted.

This year I’m going to make jar gifts for both adults and kids. Some kind of homemade mix in a jar with a pretty ribbon and the recipe for baking. Depending on the recipe there could be a cookie cutter tied onto it or a small spoon or whisk – little things I can pick up at the dollar store or a thrift shop. I have a good-sized collection of mason jars so I hardly need to buy anything since I always have lots of baking supplies in the cupboard.

There are so many recipes for mixes in jars online and so many different types of foods you can try from cookies and cakes to granola, soups, spice mixes and so much more. I haven’t decided exactly what I’ll be putting in the jars but I have a few recipes I like the look of.

Of course, you can always turn your own tried and true favorite recipes for baked goods into mixes. Simply gather the dry ingredients, put them in a jar either mixed all together or in layers, and add a recipe card or label with the wet/moist ingredients listed, their amounts, and full instructions. Many of the recipes I found offered free printable labels but I prefer to make handmade labels.

So here are some of the ideas I came up with:

Gingerbread

Most children love to decorate gingerbread men. Gingerbread cookie mix with a small gingerbread man cookie cutter tied on with a gingham ribbon.

Chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are always a hit. Layer the ingredients in a jar but in some of the mixes (for kids especially), I’d put in M&Ms or Smarties instead of chocolate chips. Maybe in some white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (very festive and delicious) or a combination of chocolate chips and chopped nuts. They all sound so good it makes me want to bake some right now.

Cake in a mug

Who doesn’t love a quick cake in a mug or as I like to call it a ‘cup’cake? This one is so simple to make it’s crazy. You just combine two boxes of cake mix, one chocolate, and one angel food cake. Mix them together really well and fill a jar. To make your cake you use 3 Tbsp mix, 2 Tbsp water, and a bunch of mini chocolate chips, Mix it up in the cup, drop the chips in last, and microwave for 1 minute – Just 1 minute! How easy is that? I think my daughters and sisters would love this! I’m imagining it now, topped with a scoop of ice cream. I’m getting hungry. LOL

Cake mix

The other idea is a homemade cake mix in a jar. All the dry ingredients are mixed together in a jar with a label explaining how to use it. No boxed mixes here. And you can even make it without the requirement for eggs.

I learned a long time ago that soy flour works very well as an egg substitute in baked goods. I’ve used it for years with no issues. 1 tablespoon of soy flour and 1 tablespoon of water equals one egg. I usually heap the spoon with the flour and use 2 tablespoons of water to replace a large egg. In a mix, you simply add 1 tablespoon of soy flour for each egg in the recipe and put the required amount of water on the instruction label/card with the other wet ingredients like oil and vanilla.

I didn’t include the recipes here except for the seriously easy ‘cup’ cake because I’ll be trying recipes that aren’t mine to share. Search the internet for ‘mix in a jar’ and you’ll find tons of great recipes.

Which one would you love to receive as a gift? Do you have any other ideas for frugal edible Christmas gifts? I’ve done lots of baking, candy, and fudge to give as gifts in previous years so I thought I’d do something a little different this year. I’d love any ideas you might have for decorating the jars too. Leave a comment.

Roze