Each year I like to bake up some goodies to give to neighbors, friends, and to have handy for that occasional “oops! we didn’t get them anything” moment.
For creative, frugal packaging I shop my own Christmas stash first. As a teacher I received all sorts of Christmas tins and sturdy boxes filled with gifts. I’m still reusing some of those, plus other containers I’ve collected or found at garage sales for pennies. Right now I seem to have a few extra Christmas baskets.
Here’s what our neighbors will find in their baskets this year:
- Poppy Seed Dessert Bread
- Christmas Bark
- Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
- Chocolate Pecan Crumb Bars
- Cut-out Shortbread Cookies from the C&H Cookie Swap page
I ran out of time, but would’ve liked to include these:
There is no need to spend lots of money on packaging! Use what you have, what you found on clearance last winter, and the steals that are to be had at garage sales. You can even think inside the box, like Toni did.
Thank you to Domino Sugar for the $20 gift card that bought a lot of the ingredients for this year’s Christmas treats! Visit Domino’s website for creative holiday homemade gift ideas.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I love doing treat baskets/boxes!
Being frugal goes hand in hand with being green. I never buy wrapping paper. I’ve endured too many Christmas celebrations, wedding showers and birthday parties that ended with a mountain of gift-wrap trash. Some Martha Stewart types save it all for crafts projects, but I am allergic to crafts projects. Instead, I put presents into those gift bags that are two for a dollar at the Ninety-nine Cent Store. I don’t write on the message tag, so the bag can be used again and again and again. Anyway, if I try to wrap a package myself, it comes out looking like the work of a four-year-old, so the bags save me a lot of stress.
Hi Amy,
Just wondering–when did you start your baking for your neighbors? I, too, planned to do that, and I knew it would have been good to start several weeks out, but I wanted to wait ’til closer to Christmas so everything would be “freshest.” Well, ofcourse, I realized, it is not actually a good idea to wait until Dec. 23rd! So just wondering what you suggest to get it done with minimal stress! Thanks, Cheryl
A few of my items freeze really well, so I start several weeks in advance. I think I made the poppy seed bread even a month ahead. It tastes better after being frozen! December 23 wouldn’t have worked for us, either.
I’d search for recipes that freeze well to lessen your holiday stress!
What a thoughtful gesture! We didn’t give out cookies/goodies to our neighbors this year for Christmas, but maybe we’ll stop by with some “Happy New Year” baskets in a few days…
Thanks for the inspiration.
We did Easter treats one year because I totally “whiffed” at Christmas-time!