10 easy homemade gifts and packaging ideas for everyone on your holiday gift list this season. Nothing says “I love you” (or at least “I like you somewhat) like homemade.
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Chocolate caramel corn-sweet and salty homemade chocolate caramel corn is the perfect big batch homemade food gift. Make one pan and have several gifts ready to go!
How to package:
I personally like packaging chocolate caramel corn in plastic holiday bags that you can find in the cake decorating aisle at Michaels or Target. I choose a larger bag, one intended for cookies so that you can get plenty of caramel corn in the bag. Then I tie it with some ribbon or baker’s twine and put a gift tag on it. Other ideas for packaging homemade caramel corn:
- A glass jar-fill it with caramel corn and put a pretty ribbon around the top.
- A small cake or cookie box
- A classic popcorn tin
- A fun popcorn box-this would be especially cute if you were pairing it with a Netflix gift card and maybe some candy.
- A plain paper lunch sack tied with ribbon and a pretty tag is also perfect!
Really, the sky is the limit when it comes to packaging. It doesn’t have to be super expensive or fancy, a little ribbon and a holiday sticker go a long way.
Can I mail it? Yes! Caramel corn lasts for ages so if you pack it nice and tight (think popcorn tin rather than cellophane bag) it should arrive in once piece and perfectly delicious for your loved ones to enjoy a bit of your home this holiday season.
Homemade Vanilla Extract-requires only 2 ingredients and a little bit of time. It’s easy to make and cheaper than buying the real thing! (There is also a link to some pretty FREE labels you can print for your jars).
How to package:
- Swing top bottles-no chance of losing the lid
- These bottles with a cork lid look fun, plus they’re small so you can gift to more people
- I’m always a fan of the amber glass bottle-it’s so pretty
- If you want a really tiny bottle, these blue glass eyedropper jars are adorable
- Not a jar, but these flask funnels will make getting your vanilla into your gifting jars much easier. I have a set and I use them for a bunch of things around the kitchen.
Can I mail it? No. It’s a liquid and it’s alcohol. This is a homemade food gift I would keep local.
Homemade salted caramel sauce-this decadent, creamy homemade salted caramel sauce is easy to make (only about 15 minutes) and takes only 5 ingredients. Perfect poured over ice cream, swirled into your morning coffee or drizzled over apples!
How to package: I usually put mine in 1/2 pint jelly jars but really any clean jar with a lid will do. The recipe makes a little more than a cup of caramel sauce. If you’re feeling really fancy, you could gift a flight of sauces and give old fashioned chocolate sauce and honey peanut butter sauce too, maybe each in one of these cute 1/4 pint jars?
Can I mail it? Maybe? I wouldn’t. Again, it’s kind of on the boarder of being a liquid and if you ship it in a glass jar you might be asking for trouble. I would stick to local friends and family for this one.
Peanut Butter Whiskey Truffles-Peanut butter whiskey truffles are creamy, chocolatey ganache truffles spiked with a healthy dose of peanut butter whiskey!
How to package: I like to put each individual truffle into a mini cupcake wrapper (so they don’t stick together) and then place them in a cute tin or box.
Can I mail them? Yes! If you’re mailing them from somewhere cool to somewhere cool. These truffles don’t have a chocolate coating over them (unless you put one on) and so they will be more likely to melt in really warm temps. But if you’re like me and you live in the Midwest and want to ship to someone in the Midwest, no problem because it is dang cold here.
No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls-Decadent no-bake peanut butter balls are a creamy peanut butter filling enrobed in rich chocolate. A perfect treat for your holiday cookie plate or wrapped up as a gift for friends and family.
How to package: I like to put each individual ball into a mini cupcake wrapper (so they don’t stick together) and then place them in a cute tin or box. Since these babies are coated in chocolate though, they are more tolerant to stacking so you could (gently) pile them into a cellophane bag or (like I did in the above picture) a mini bread pan and wrap in cellophane.
Can I mail them? Yes! Again, I would mail them only to cool places since they are covered in chocolate. However they will hold up a little better than the peanut butter whiskey truffles for shipping.
Tropical granola-Tropical homemade granola is the perfect way to get a healthy breakfast and feel a little bit like you’re on the beach! I mean, with the holidays being ALL ABOUT THE SUGAR there is something refreshing about gifting a reasonably healthy breakfast gift. Plus, this recipe makes a ton so you can gift multiple people. Bonus points if you include some Greek yogurt. Not interested in the tropical granola? You could gift my simple No-Refined Sugar Granola instead.
How to package: Sky’s the limit! I am personally a fan of a pint jar but again, any clean jar with a lid will work. Also cellophane treat bags with a pretty ribbon also work.
Can I mail it? Sure can! Just package it in something solid, like a plastic jar or tin so that it doesn’t completely get crushed in transit.
Homemade Turtles-Soft homemade caramel filled turtle candies are studded with toasted pecans and covered in rich dark chocolate. The ultimate homemade food gift. I know I promised you easy and these aren’t EXACTLY easy but they are worth the effort, I promise. Plus one batch makes a ton so it’s worth your time.
How to package: I have made these every year for Christmas and I have found that the most easiest and most economical way to package them is stacking them on top of each other in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon. I usually gift each person about 6 turtles since they’re labor intensive but I end up making mine huge.
Can I mail them? I would proceed with caution mailing these. They are enrobed in chocolate so the risk for melting is there. However, we use melting chocolate that dries hard and the inner caramel should be fine for shipping.
Peppermint Bark-Ok, here’s a super easy one, because I am all about simplifying this Christmas. The hardest thing you have to do is melt chocolate and we’re going to do that in the microwave.
How to package:
- cellophane bag with pretty ribbon
- cookie or cake box
- candy jar
- as part of a cookie plate
Can I mail it? Unfortunately no-this bark is made with chocolate chips and would be more prone to melting in transit. Best to keep it local!
Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Bark-the perfect easy homemade food gift for the peanut butter lovers in your life! Chocolate and peanut butter swirled together and studded with all kinds of sweet and salty goodness!
How to package: I personally would put it into cellophane bags and tie it with a pretty ribbon but you could also pile it in a cookie tin, put it on a cookie plate or even in a candy jar to gift it. How sweet would it be to leave a box of this bark wrapped in a ribbon on your neighbor’s porch?
Can I mail it? No. This bark is made with chocolate chips and will be prone to becoming a big melted mess. I would stick to local gifting only.
Spiced Pecans-Homemade spiced pecans are an excellent homemade food gift during the holiday season and an excellent trail food snack during the summer hiking season so you really can’t go wrong here. You can double or triple the recipe depending on how many people you want to gift.
How to package:
- A glass jar-fill it with spiced pecans and put a pretty ribbon around the top.
- A small cake or cookie box
- A plain paper lunch sack tied with ribbon and a pretty tag is also perfect!
Can I mail them? Yes! Spiced pecans are relatively sturdy, last a long time, and aren’t prone to melting. They are one of the best gifts to mail to your loved ones.
A Note About Packaging:
I have linked to some cute, fun packaging ideas I have found online. However, for the most part, I usually buy my packaging in person at the store because many stores like Michaels and Wal-mart have sales running this time of year on different food gift packaging. I also re-purpose tins and jars and boxes that I have received in the past for packaging food gifts. It makes it way more economically reasonable to make treats for everyone you know and love when you aren’t spending a fortune on the wrapping.
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Happy Baking!
Happy Baking!