A Gift You Can Make With Your Children~ Hot Chocolate Mix Jar

Here’s a cute and simple gift you can make with your children this holiday season. I know this year we plan on making more homemade gifts than usual. With all the turmoil in the economy I’d save the money I have.

Here’s a cute recipe for a Hot Chocolate Mix Jar adapted from Ball’s Fresh Preserving(tm).

Hot Chocolate Mix Jar

What you’ll need:

• 1 Ball wide mouth quart jar
• 1 Ball wide mouth lid and band
• 7" square of blue (or holiday) printed fabric
• 1 Grossgrain ribbon 13" long by 1" wide blue
• 1 Grossgrain ribbon 13" long by 3/8" wide white
• 1 Grossgrain ribbon 30" long by 1/8" wide blue
• Paper images (from scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, cards , or stickers) If you want to duplicate the look here you’ll need two snowmen, a small mug image, and a shovel.
• 2 1/8" x 3 1/2" scrapbook paper, for gift card
• 3 snowflake buttons
• Clear 1/4 cup measuring cup
• Craft Glue Dots
• 3-1/4" foam layering circles
• Hot chocolate mix
• Scissors
• Pinking Shears
• Paper Punch
• Ruler

How To Make It:

1. Read all the instructions and gather all of the supplies above before you get started.
2. Assembling the Jar~ Draw a 6" diameter circle on the back of the fabric, and cut out the circle with pinking shears. Fill the jar with the hot chocolate mix. Place the lid on the jar, center the fabric, and twist on the jar band.
3. Cut a 2 1/2" x 3 1/4" snowman (or chosen) image for the front of the jar, and attach it with the glue dots.
4. Wrap the wide blue ribbon around the jar and over the lower edge of the snowman image, securing the ends at the back of the jar with glue dots.
5. Repeat with the white ribbon, centering it over the blue ribbon.
6. Attach the snowman and shovel images to the front of the jar with glue dots.
7. Fold the 2 1/8" x /3 1/2" scrapbook paper in half to form a gift card. Center and attach the mug image to the front of the card.
8. Use the paper punch to punch a hole in the upper left hand corner of the gift card.
9. Wrap the thin blue ribbon around the jar and tie it in a knot.
10. Thread one end of the ribbon through the holes in the measuring cup, and the gift card. Tie the ribbon into a bow to secure the cup and card.
11. Use glue dots to glue the snowflake buttons to the top of the jar as a finishing touch.

You don’t have to use blue and snowmen, you can use green, red, silver, or gold fabric with any Christmas image. You can also adapt this for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother Days, a teacher’s gift, or any other occasion you can think of. Just change the ribbon, and the images you use to fit.

It can be a lot of fun to make handmade gifts with your child. Start a new family tradition, and spend some time together crafting gifts for family and friends this holiday season.

Image via Ball(tm)