Tweaked from aricle posted on ListMy5
You can make a holiday journal jar for those hard-to-please and best loved people on your list. Journal jars are one-size-fits-all gifts that appeal to all ages. People like handcrafted items because they appreciate your thoughtfulness in creating a gift especially for them. A journal jar is inexpensive and fun to make. It will give the recipient many happy hours.
In these trying financial times, we need to get inventive about holiday gifts, but still please the recipient.
Find a Jar
Find a decorative jar that your recipient would bond with or decorate a quart-sized Mason jar with paint or stickers. Think about your recipient’s tastes – for instance if they love cooking – use stickers with pictures of foods. After you make the gift journal jar, you can tie a pretty ribbon around the neck.
It’s easy to personalize the jar by writing “Bonnie’s Journal Jar” on a decorative stick-on label. If you know calligraphy, all the better, you can make the jar look fancy.
Journal Jar Theme
Here comes the fun! There are dozens of themes to choose from when creating your holiday journal jar. Here are a few suggestions: Quotes from various famous people, from one person, such as Mother Teresa or Bible study verses. Recipes and cooking hints are another. Think about the person you are gifting – for instance if they are into genealogy, you could fill the jar with questions about their ancestors or tips about interesting web sites. “Firsts” make a wonderful theme – “Write about your first date.” Or, kiss, child and so on.
The holiday journal jar makes a nice “together” gift for a couple. Or, you and a close friend can create a journal jar and exchange them.
The idea is to encourage the person to ponder on the prompt and journal their thoughts.
Journal Prompts
This is the “make” part of your gift. Are you going to handwrite or type prompts? If you’re writing the journal jar prompts, you’ll need precut blank paper. Some people roll the prompts and tie a ribbon around them, like a scroll. Or, you can just fold them.
You can either write questions, quotes or interesting facts related to the theme you have chosen. For instance, a sample question for a book lover journal jar: “What do you most admire about your favorite author?”
Finishing Tips
Remember to allow several weeks to work on this project. It does take time to write the prompts. The two-quart sized jar will hold a sizeable amount of prompts,
about 150-200.
If you want to pretty-up the journal prompts, write them on colored paper and cut them with pinking shears.
If you get stuck for questions or quotes, look on the Internet.
Consider using cardstock instead of plain paper, especially if you’re going to roll and tie with ribbon in scroll fashion.
Additions
Depending upon how close you are to the person you’re gifting the holiday journal jar, you may want box it with other items. Suggestions: a blank journal, a box of colored pens or pencils, a small Bible for referencing bible study prompts or a book of quotes, colored paper for making their own prompts.