glass jar christmas pressie

[samigail]

I'm using a coffee jar spruced up to create a grandparents christmas gift. I thought i'd fill the jar with home-made fudge which I'm going to make with my 4 and 6 yr old.

(back up plan - fill with radox bath salts if the fudge doesn't turn out - never made fudge before LOL)

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq84/samigail-gifts/0015-1.jpg

[greannancrafts]

RADOX!!!!!!!!!

Why not make some your self - they are dead easy:)

Lovely jar

Jane

[samigail]

RADOX!!!!!!!!!

Why not make some your self - they are dead easy:)

Lovely jar

Jane


LOL it is only my back up plan - I am hoping the fudge turns out rather nicely, I've found a recipe in my daughters 'things to make and do at christmas' book and I can't really see how the fudge will go wrong but can't help worrying - I'm a natural born worrier!

[RubyStar]

thats a good idea and I hope the fudge turns out ok.

[krafty1]

Is that the Doewe Egbert coffee jar? That's the ones I used last year. They were perfect for putting the grandparents' sweets in. I would have been buying the coffee anyway, so it was like getting the jar for free.

Love the way you've decorated it:)

[onlyme]

It's things like this that make Christmas special!

Gail

[rach]

loving that idea, gorgeous!!!!

[samigail]

Is that the Doewe Egbert coffee jar? That's the ones I used last year. They were perfect for putting the grandparents' sweets in. I would have been buying the coffee anyway, so it was like getting the jar for free.

Love the way you've decorated it:)

it is :)
I only buy that coffee when it's on offer so it feels like even better - reduced price coffee and knowing I'm going to use the jar in some way :mf:

[bodrighy]

Try pulling the plastic bit off the top and putting something in there as well...perhaps a label saying Gandma or Grandpa then putting it back on. A little bit of PVA glue around it firt makes it watrtight bt you can still pull it off if needed

[samigail]

Try pulling the plastic bit off the top and putting something in there as well...perhaps a label saying Gandma or Grandpa then putting it back on. A little bit of PVA glue around it firt makes it watrtight bt you can still pull it off if needed

lovely idea - thank you.
I've already had the plastic bits off - when i washed the jars (I've been saving them for ages lol) water got in the lid so I had to take the plastic out anyway to dry it all properly, otherwise it looked like condensation - not attractive in a gift :mf:

[bodrighy]

I agree, the plastic bits of themselves are not water proof. Dry out thoroughly first then use the PVA glue. Make sure that the air in the lid is at least warm first. Cold air warmed up ends in condensation so perhaps shove in the oven or microwave for 30 seconds before gluing in place. This will also create a bit of a vacuum. We have done this with dried flowers and they are still OK years later, dried and not wilting or mouldy. Trick is to evacuate as much air as possible make, sure it is as dry as possible and well sealed..

Pete

[vonnash]

I love this kind of thing myself ... bath salts are just perfect for the jars. and of cause fudge for the Grandparents. i think handmade gifts is the way to go , much more personal and more loved than going buying OTT jars with stuff in ( you know you want them jars for yourself,) lol

[Minky Magic]

Good idea, we're doing hand made this year and this type of thing is great for little ones to help make! Maybe if you made something coffee flavoured it wouldn't matter if it still smelt of coffee a bit!

Fudge is quite easy (especially compared to toffee, which I tried to make at halloween and it turned out like tar!). If you or anyone else for that matter, needs a fudge recipe please PM me!

[Moonbeam Angel]

Brilliant idea.

I'm sure the fudge will turn out just fine.

Have to warn you though, when I made fudge (some years ago) it didn't go all chewy like the shop bought stuff, it was more crunchy and creamy. It reminded me of old fashioned sweets (the name of which I can't remember) much better than fudge (and I am a fudgeaholic!!!!)

Love those jars too. I have a friend who drinks nothing but Douwe Egberts and she brought me round loads of these jars (the big ones) and I keep all my broken pottery pieces in them. They look lovely all lined up. Just need a shelf/bookcase now to line them up on rather than the floor!

[AnnieAnna]

Oh I just love those jars. I have all my dried fruit and nuts in them.
I almost cried when I'd filled up my shelves and had to start recycling them.
I love the idea of filling then decorating them with something personal for each member of the family........
AnnieAnna

[Fluffy Squirrel]

Lovely idea... a brilliant gift which I am sure will be loved by your family, especially when they find out the kiddies helped too :D

[enola69]

aww lovely idea

bbc good food website has a christmas muffin mix where you jar up all the dry ingredients for a prezzie.

[samigail]

I made some bath salts in the end to fill my coffee jars with.

The yellow layered one is lemon and the purple one is lavendar. My littley had great fun colouring the bath salts and adding the drops of oil to scent the salts and of ourse - the best bit for her was definitely the mixing!

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq84/samigail-gifts/004-3.jpg

[missie]

Brilliant, they look smashing, well done.

[pollyanna-patchwork]

What a fab idea - they look great too!

[Little Miss Crafty]

Loving the jar idea, i haven't got any pretty ones like that but thinking of using my jam jar whem empty then cutting some nice fabric for top!! ooo ooo oo i'm excited now i'm going to start my xmas crafting lol

[cushycrafts]

Oh wow, we did that last year.

We have lots of empty jars that I re-cycle..... from my DH coffee that he likes!

I won't let him throw them out, instead we use them for all sorts (mainly for his stuff in the garage - screws, nails etc). Anyhow, we kept some for sweetie jars last Christmas. I bought some of those lovely stick on motif's (Jolee's) - we had Gingerbread men and snowmen. I tied some primitive plaid fabric (in Christmas red) around the top and then added snow dust all over the gaps. We filled it with handmade boiled sweets which were a talking point when anyone came around. The sweets didn't last long either.

You can also fill them with large buttons and thick thread (like the one used in beading) for kiddies to play with when it's raining. The large buttons are good because they don't tend to want to put them in their mouth but nevertheless they should be supervised at all times. My girls loved playing with the button tin which is what gave me the idea originally.

Your idea of adding home made sweets (fudge mmmmm) is brilliant - only point I would make is you do have to keep it fairly cold or it will go soft and mark the jar!!

Good luck though.

[clarecrafts]

if you get a sugar thermometer you should be fine, ive never managed to make it winging it!

[clarecrafts]

yeah i use those jars for lentils etc. Theyre cute in a vintagy kitchen

[Eiledon]

I think either gift would be great.

I love to make gifts for certain members of my family (ones who appreciate the time and effort).

http://eiledon.co.uk

[jaydee67]

I did an enterprise at school using jars of muffin mix. The kids had to buy and cost the ingredients, weigh them out, make labels and instructions, decorate the jars and sell them at a fundraising night. Lots were bought as Christmas presents.

I made my niece a 'Journal in a Jar (http://christmas.organizedhome.com/gifts-in-a-jar/childs-journal-jar)' as she loves to write and then the teacher I work with took the idea for the classroom too. We used plastic jars for the kids (eg Ovaltine)

Jams, lemon curd, chutneys and relishes are great jar gifts too and can be easy to make. Homemade lemon curd, for example, only has 4 ingredients and is so much tastier than shop bought!