Walnut & Cranberry Oatmeal in a Jar

In a one quart jar, add the following in the following order:

2 2/3 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Once those ingredients are in the jar, gently shake it to mix it all together. Then add:

1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C walnuts
1/3 C packed brown sugar (as top layer)

Label to attach to jar:

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal

Shake jar to mix together all ingredients.  Add 2 C boiling water to contents of jar. To make 1/2 jar, just make sure to mix entire jar together. Add 1 C boiling water to 1/2 contents of jar (or microwave on high for 2 minutes.)

Yuletide Sand Art Cookies

These posed to be a bit more difficult - the original recipe that I found didn't quite fit in the jar. Once I figured out the measurements and the layers, things worked out better. So I did all the work and here's what I found to work for these 'pretty in the jar' and 'yummy in the tummy' jar cookies:

Dry Ingredients to be Layered in Jar:

1 C flour (bottom layer)
1/3 C green sugar
1/3 C red sugar
1/2 C flour
3/4 C dried raisins
3/4 C white chips

Colored sugar: I just added drops of food coloring to white sugar and used a whisk to mix it thoroughly together.

Use a funnel to pour ingredients in the jar and then 'tap' jar on flat surface to help settle the layers.

Label for the jar:

Ingredients You'll Need:

1/3 C butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Beat the butter until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and continue beating until well combine. Stir in contents of jar.

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Add labels, fabric and an optional bow and there you have it: Yuletide Sand Art Cookies!

Citrus Peppermint Body Scrub

Last year, I did Candy Cane Bath Salts. This year, it's Citrus Peppermint Body Scrub. It's a great body scrub to keep by kitchen sink for those rough hands.

Ingredients:

1 C carrier oil (grapeseed, olive, almond or any combination)
(I acutally used a combination of those three and included vitamin E oil)

1 C sea or epsom salt

1 C sugar*

 *you can just use all sugar or all salt, but the salt is much more abrasive by itself

15-20 drops of lemon essential oil

15-20 drops of orange essential oil

15-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

Combine all the oils in a small bowl. In a seperate bowl, combine the salt and sugar. Add the oil to the salt/sugar mixture and mix everything together. Store in an airtight container (such as a glass jar).

Add labels such as directions for use and ingredients and fabric or a decorative bow and viola! you've got a great (and easy) jar gift!