Hello Dear Reader,
I received the above jar in my goodie bag at the blog awards. Initially, I had no idea what it was. At first glance, I thought it was bath salts. On closer inspection I noticed chocolate chips and brown sugar.
It had a bar code on top, which I scanned with my phone which took me to an online recipe for chocolate chip buns. I thought this was a really fun idea for a frugal gift.
The recipe instructed me to add 125g of margarine or butter and two eggs and beat together. It was a simple cake mixture but such a lovely idea to put into a jar with a pretty fabric cover.
The results were some fluffy chocolate chip buns which will be a lovely mid morning treat for both of us at work one morning.
Inkjet printer labels are cheap enough and there are plenty of decorative label designs to add to them. A folded piece of paper could go under the fabric with instructions and information about the extra ingredients that were required. To replicate the gift that I received you will need: 125g of SR flour, 125g of golden caster sugar, 25g of chocolate chips. Those were all inside the jar. You will need to add two eggs and margarine. Such a simple but lovely idea and would make fun gifts.
The rest of the fun gifts from Blog awards are being parcelled for Frugal Fairy and will be in the post soon.
Over to you Dear Reader - please leave some recipes (without anything wet or fragile) that could go into a jar and be given as a gift. It would be lovely if some of you could try this and write about it in your blog xxxxx
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs
My nephew made a snowy night hotchocolate for me like this last year. He's 5. He used a cellophane cone which he half filled with hot choc powder and topped up with mini marshmallows. He tied it with beautiful ribbon and a card explaining and popped it in a mug. Really lovely.
I like to layer different colours if old candle wax in jars and make recycled stripey jam har candles.
Penny x
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They kook yummy but the whole idea of that is useless to those of us who have a basic phone!
There are several recipe books out ( at least here in the US) for making up those gift jars..if I find one in a charity shop trip I will send one over….
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Check out Rhondas blog at Down to Earth for last Friday. Among the ideas for home made gifts is a link to other presents in a jar. Sorry have not worked out how to add links to comments yet. Ex
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Gifts in a jar are pretty common in my part of coffee. I've recieved flavoured instant coffee (the milky “international” type), cookies, muffins, soup mixture, and bread. All have had the recipe attached. One quick bread mix came in a clay flower pot to be used as the baking tin.
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I did this last Christmas, but the ones I made were for chocolate chip shortbreads because their mother is allergic to eggs.
http://the-frugal-graduate.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/homemade-gifts-for-extended-family.html
These gift-in-a-jar things seem very popular on the American craft blogs. They are pretty awesome gifts though I think! 🙂 Hope you liked the ones you got!
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I do this with the dry ingredients of biscuits and ginger bread for gifts. I just enclose the recipe. Lovely idea. Thanks x
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These are great, i have also seen cookies in a jar recipes also. I have done the snowman soup in a jar for my son at christmas to give to the teachers, really effective and cheap also 🙂
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Fab idea - I;m sure there is a section on gifts in jars at MSE - found it hope this link works (not very technical minded) http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=571440&highlight=journal+jar. xx
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Froogs, I include these in some of my Christmas gift baskets every year. They're cheap to make up, and are always very much appreciated. Do a google search and you will get tons of ideas. Enjoy your buns.
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These can also be done with items besides sweets. I've seen them with bean mixtures and directions on how to make soup.
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Hi Froogs, I am really looking forward to receiving your lovely and generous gift. I thought that you could put the dry ingredients for biscuits into a jar. To make it christmassie tie a reindeer or snowman biscuit cutter with a ribbon round the lid. Xxx
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I have seen these advertised locally, i think this lady does farmers markets. http://www.katiebakes.co.uk/cookie_mix_jar.htm Really expensive but I guess there must be a market. Not me though, I cant spend anything now I feel you are watching me. It's great!!
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Snowman soup - along with a little poem and printable labels, available at this link:
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/crafts/christmas/snowman-soup
One of my faves xx
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I got one once for Brownies. Boy, were they good! I think these ingredients in a jar are a fabulous idea for gifts. Oh, and yesterday was a no spend day for me. I went to the grocery store today.
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Gingerbread biscuits, you could even put a layer of smarties on the top for decorating.
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Brilliant idea. Has set me thinking about more recipes to use. x
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No way!! I had no idea what it was! I only went & threw out the bar code though - duh!!
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Froogs - read your blog for a while now and have heard you talk about utility suppliers and how to reduce costs on those things. What about mobile phones?? Pay as you go or contracts??
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I've never seen one of these but seen them online. What a fab idea!
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I have seen mixes for flavoured rice puddings in jars for sale in “posh” shops-cinnamon and brown sugar,some which seemed to have chocolate in them as well. But you could easily make up interesting flavours-lemon rind or dried apricots, or orange and raisin,nutmeg and dark brown sugar. cheap and easy-just add milk.m
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Forgot to add that if you do bread mixes make sure the salt is separate from the yeast-one on top and the other on the bottom.
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So that is what I was supposed to do with it. I worked out it was sugar but got no further!
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this is such a neat idea and something that people enjoy.
Gill in Canada
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I bought my daughter a hot chocolate treat. Basically it was a 50 g of chocolate poured into a mould with a spoon stuck into as it set. The idea is to warm 200 ml of milk and stir the chocolate through it. The end result is tied into a cellophane bag that is decorated and has the instructions inside.
If you wanted to take the idea further add some marshmallows to the package.
I tend to make gifts in bags as they are so easy to wrap etc.
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I have done this with a soup mix. I used my own recipe and instructions. All the recipient had to add was tinned tomatoes and a bit of water. It is easy to make labels of instructions.
If you go to this site you can get more ideas. http://allrecipes.com/recipes/desserts/cookies/cookie-mix-in-a-jar/ The concept seems to be quite common north America.
It is not always frugal, but it is always easy and thoughtful.
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Smarties!! I love Smarties! Too bad they do not sell them in the U.S. (or at least my part of it). I guess I need to visit England again….
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Go north of the 49th! Canada has Smarties!
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I have a pay as you go phone with O2 and all my family are on O2 as well. This means that for £15 per month I get free unlimited phone calls to other O2 numbers and free texts. I don't use my landline at all now except for incoming calls. It works really well for us. Kay 🙂
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I was fortunate enough last year to receive a package from a dear friend in America…. it was so exciting, I do not often get packages just for me…. and oh how the contents excited me….. within the carefully wrapped pretty tissue inside the postage box was a set of three spiral bound books…… GIFTS IN A JAR (fOR kIDS) - GIFTS IN A JAR (Holiday fun) - GIFTS IN A JAR (cookies)- A nicer gift I can not imagine for me….. guess what EVERYONE that I wanted to give a crimbo gift for got? lol yep… a Gift in A Jar…. the few children that I like to give to received homemade apron and matching chef hats.. the parents loved them as much as the children and they showed their friends and the orders for similar sets havent stopped lol….. every little helps aye 🙂 x
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They were sort of assuming at the awards then that everyone had up to date phones then!!
A lovely idea made more simple with a gift tag explaining how to make up the contents or like you say the recipe tucked under the fabric.
Sue xx
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Love this idea. I am definatley going to give this a try for my friend and her children for Christmas. I know they'll love it.
Did all my grocery shopping for the month today. Will use up the cupboards and freezer items before I shop for anything else. I figure other than some fresh fruit,veg and milk. Fingers crossed I shouldn't need another thing.
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Lovely idea , Froogs. Once I had a gift from an American friend and it was very similar, but not even in a jar. It was a small hessian bag containing a plastic bag ( for freshness) with cake mix. The whole was secured with a piece of raffia and had a small wooden spoon securing the opening, tied in with the gift tag and the raffia. It was really charming. So you don't even need jars!
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I've given a brownie mix out, layered like sand art, for years and is one of the most popular presents I've made (along with salt and oil body scrubs). There are hundreds of “recipes” on the web for sweet and savoury jars. Google sand art brownies and bob's your uncle 🙂
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Last year, I made packages of beer bread mix for my husband's colleagues at his University. I packaged the homemade mix in plastic bags and put them in decorated take-out boxes that I had picked up for a song at a discount store. I included a bottle of nice beer with each and instructions. At the end, I wrote “You can make the bread or just drink the beer and enjoy (we won't tell)” He said they all got a kick out of it.
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