The holidays are the best time of year to enjoy homemade treats and indulge (just a little) in our favorite snacks and candies. Giving these all-time favorites as a gift will warm hearts and tummies.
Cocoa Singles
You’ll need to purchase canning jars or mugs, dry milk, unsweetened cocoa, chocolate or mint chocolate chips, creamer, sugar, marshmallows, ribbon, peppermint sticks, and holiday fabric for these tasty and heartwarming gifts. After mixing the cocoa mix, tie each jar with fabric and ribbon, add a peppermint with a hot glue gun, and enjoy giving. This entire project is under $20 if you shop for bargains. A cute extra touch is to add a plastic spoon covered in melted chocolate for stirring. This gift is perfect for kids and kids at heart.
Cocoa Mix
Use about 1/2 of dry milk for each mug or canning jar
1/8th cup of unsweetened cocoa
Lots of chocolate chips and marshmallows (really go crazy here)
1/5 cup of creamer
Sugar or sweetener to taste
Christmas Breakfast
Anyone who has children will love this part of your gift. It makes the holidays more relaxing and enjoyable. Give the gift of Christmas breakfast. You’ll need small baskets, pancake mix, baggies, jars with lids, fruit, nuts, a nutcracker, and holiday fabric and ribbon. In total, this gift is under $30 and makes four baskets. This gift is perfect for families with children.
The Pancakes
This is the easy part. I divide the mix into the plastic baggies, insert instructions on how much water to add and tie the top of each bag with ribbon after vacuum sealing it.
The Fruit and Nuts
Place the fruit and nuts along with a nutcracker into the basket with the pancake mix. If you can jams or jellies at home and have extras: add a small jar of jam or syrup for the pancakes. If you prefer to use nuts that are already shelled such as almonds, you can sprinkle them with sugar and toast them for a sweeter treat.
Chocolate Truffles
I love giving these truffles to friends and family on the holidays to make them feel spoiled. You’ll need semi-sweet chocolate chips, vanilla extract, sweetened condensed milk, and toppings such as nuts and coconut.
Making the Truffles
Melt the chocolate chips with a 14 oz. can of condensed milk. Stir in one tablespoon of vanilla and pour into a glass bowl. Cover and put into the fridge to cool. Give the chocolate a good two hours. Spread wax paper and roll the chocolate into balls. Finish these easy treats off by rolling in nuts or coconut. This gift is under $15 and makes approximately 24 truffles. This gift is perfect for giving at the office or to any chocolate lover.
These gifts are all extremely simple and wonderful to give on the holidays. Your friends and family will adore the gift and love the fact that you took the time to make them.