Chex Party Mix has now gone beyond the traditional Party Mix, there are some fun new flavors on Chex Party Mix Change; Hot Buttered Yum with Rum flavoring, Chex Caramel Chocolate Drizzles, and Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast to name a few.

I had fun decorating the take-out boxes and creating some of the recipes, and also coming up with a couple of my own recipes.

Along with the original Chex flavors; Rice, Corn and Wheat, there are some new {to me} cereals, Honey Nut and Cinnamon. The Hot Buttered Yum combines those new flavors with brown sugar, spices, rum flavoring and mini marshmallows for a burst of the season.

The addition of red and green M&M’s gives the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast a festive touch and the melted vanilla chips adds a little chocolate.

While decorating the boxes, I created these fun Santa treat boxes and filled them with Hot Cocoa Chex Mix, a combination of vanilla and chocolate Chex cereal, mini marshmallows and crushed peppermint. Head on over to I {Heart} Naptime, where I shared the recipe.

And if you are interested in learning how I decorated the boxes or for the Original Chex Party Mix Recipe, passed down from my Mother-in-law, head on over to Pocket Change Gourmet. Oh and by the way, we are sharing Gifts from the Kitchen every Friday too!

And now…how about a little giveaway to get you started on these fun treats?

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:

One lucky Hoosier Homemade winner will receive the following from Chex Party Mix Change and My Blog Spark…

• 2 boxes of Chex cereal to create Chex Party Mix recipes
• 5 featured Chex Party Mix recipes
• 10 takeout containers so your guests can take their Chex Party Mix to-go
• $20 gift card to purchase recipe ingredients and decorating supplies

Entries only accepted on this page. Facebook and Twitter entries do not count.

Giveaway will remain open until Friday, Dec 2nd. 2011 at 10 p.m. CST. Winner will be chosen at random, notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

• What is your favorite Chex Mix Treat?

OPTIONAL ENTRIES: Please leave a separate comment for each entry

• Subscribe to Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter and/or Hoosier Homemade
• Follow Hoosier Homemade on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to Pocket Change Gourmet {our new blog}, Follow PCG on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to It’s A Blog Party, Follow It’s A Blog Party on Facebook and/or Twitter

Disclosure: The Chex Party Mix-Change product, information, and giveaway have been provided by Chex through MyBlogSpark.

I’m super excited to be starting a new series today with Tiffany from Eat at Home, Prep & Planning: Steps to a Peaceful Holiday. Now through the first week of December we will be sharing with you party food, make-ahead meals for the freezer, baking tips and a special Virtual Baking Day on Facebook on Wednesday, November 16th. You can bake along in your own kitchen, share recipes, tips and secrets with other bakers. Sounds fun!!

Tiffany and I will wrap it all up with a Cookie Swap that you are invited to also! We will be putting the whole series in a nice little eBook for you to print out and have on hand throughout the holidays.

Since it’s never too early to start thinking about gift giving, we are kicking off the series with Easy Holiday Gift Giving, specifically…Gifts in a Jar.

When I spotted these adorable printables on Positively Splendid last week, I knew right away what I wanted to share for a Gift Giving idea. Kiki Creates designed the gift tag printables…aren’t they just the cutest? Kiki also has an Etsy Shop full of fun and colorful printables. With just a few simple ingredients, you can make these special jars for friends, neighbors, teachers, hair dresser and more, the ideas are endless.

Cocoa Jar Supplies:

• Glass mason jar {available in the housewares department at Walmart}
• Hot Cocoa Mix {recipe below}
• Mini Marshmallows
• Crushed peppermint candy
• Chocolate dipped spoon {Chocolate Almond Bark and sprinkles}
• Gift tags, ribbon, twine

Instructions:

1. Spoon hot cocoa mix into jar
2. In a resealable bag, crush peppermint candy {I used candy canes}
3. In a cellophane treat bag, place a handful of mini marshmallows and add the crushed peppermint candy. Shake to coat. If the peppermint won’t stick to the marshmallows, VERY lightly dampen the marshmallows with a little water, then add the candy and shake.
4. Cut off excess on the bag, place the end in the jar and add the top and ring, seal it tightly.
5. Melt almond bark, dip spoon and add sprinkles. Let dry for about 5 minutes. Then tie onto jar with twine
6. Add the ribbon and gift tag.

The Tea Jar is absolutely no fuss, but perfect for your favorite tea drinker.

Tea Jar Supplies:

• Glass mason jar {available in the housewares department at Walmart}
• Tea bags
• Fabric
• Gift tags, ribbon, twine

Instructions:

1. Place tea bag in jar
2. Cut a circle from fabric, add to the lid and seal
3. Add ribbon, and tags

I was inspired by the way Kiki added the wire for the steam, so I added some to my tea cup. Simply bend a piece of wire and then tape it to the back of the cup, then tie on the snowflakes and hearts with twine.

Tiffany shared some brilliant ideas for Snack Mixes in a Jar. LOVE this Hollywood Mix with a printable tag, pair it with a DVD or maybe some movie tickets and you have a great gift for any age!

A very special Thank You to Kiki for the adorable gift tags!

Mark your calendars!! November 12th is the Virtual Freezer Cooking Party with Tiffany and November 16th. is the Virtual Baking Party!

And join us each week as we share our tips to a Peaceful Holiday!!

Linking to…Show & Tell Friday, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Saturday Night Special, Made by You Monday, Transformation Thursday, Frugal Friday, Sundae Scoop

Even though it’s always great if you can craft or bake for your Gift Giving. But, sometimes, it just is impossible, whether your time is limited or you just aren’t able.

Although these gifts are not homemade, I still wanted to share them with you and give you some ideas for Frugal Gift Giving.

On a recent trip to Walmart, heading to get some dog bones, I came across these gifts, and couldn’t help but take a few pictures. (Sorry, for the quality, they were taken with my cell phone) All of these gifts are under $10. I’ve combined the pictures, so that the post isn’t quite so long.

First up are the gifts for the chef or baker…

1. Ceramic bread pans, 2 packaged together ~ $9
2. Ceramic mixing bowl with a whisk ~ $9
3. Silver bread dish, it says “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” and it’s packaged with a bread mix ~ $5
4. White dishes, plates, bowls, etc. 4 in a box ~ $5 (I bought some of these last year and use them for everyday, they are heavy and well made, a great price)

Next are all from the $1 section, they would be great as stocking stuffers or gift exchange, even as gifts for your children to give their friends

1. Lollipop Soap
2. Lip Gloss
3. Christmas Shaped Soap
4. More Lip Gloss

And last are some Bath & Body Sets

1. Cupcake lotion and assessories ~ $9
2. Lip Gloss ~ $1
3. More cupcake lotion ~ $9
4. Lotion and Body Spray ~ I actually bought these at CVS, they were $4.99 each with $4 ECB (Extra Care Bucks) back, so I spent $2 on both

I hope this gives you a few ideas for Frugal Gift Giving, for more ideas, visit Life As Mom for Frugal Friday.