Creative Gift Ideas for Christmas
Christmas is coming! Have you started making your to-do list? How about all of those homemade Christmas gifts you have been wanting to create? Today I have the most adorable Creative Gift Ideas for Christmas that your friends, co-workers, teachers, neighbors – really everyone on your list will love!
First, a little backstory on these Hot Cocoa Kits. Last year, I posted this idea in our 100 Days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration. I loved the idea and knew it would be fun to give as Christmas gifts. But…then it happened…it went crazy on Pinterest and Facebook. Which first of all is a great thing, BUT everyone wanted to know immediately where to find the tubes to make the kits. On the original post, she talked about the tubes but never said where she found them. So we hunted around and found them this year. You can find the tubes on Amazon.
I couldn’t be more excited with how they turned out. They make a darling Christmas gift, and depending on what you add to the tubes and how you decorate them, they are also around $5, making them an inexpensive homemade Hot Chocolate gift idea as well. So let’s get started…
First, you need to find your supplies, here’s what I used…
Hot Cocoa Kit Supplies
(links for supplies below)
Bottles or Tubes– you can purchase the tubes with metal caps like the original post on Amazon!
- Glue or Glue Dots – I like using glue dots when working with small items, like attaching the ribbon, because then I don’t burn my fingers with the hot glue gun, but you can certainly use that if you like.
- Ribbon or Twine – anything you like, any size you like
- Rubber Bands – you don’t have to have these, but it did make it easier to hold the bottles together
- Ornaments or Decorations – decorate your Hot Cocoa Kit any way you like – Grab your FREE Printables HERE
You can grab everything you need to create your own Hot Cocoa Kit —
Next you will need to get ingredients to fill the bottles.
Hot Cocoa Kit Ingredients
- Hot Cocoa Mix – you can buy store bought packets, or make your own – we like this Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe
- Mini Marshmallows – we used Micro Mini Marshmallows – you can also get colored marshmallows
- Candy – any variety you like – we used Christmas colored Sunflower Seeds, Mini York Peppermint Patties and Almond Joy Pieces
- Peppermint Balls or Sticks – you could also use candy canes and crush them
Now it’s time to fill the bottles. As noted in the comments, be sure to wash the bottles first, the dish washer is best so they are sterilized. You can find the supplies here…
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I’m going to “Easter-ize” this for the adults Easter baskets. Most of us aren’t real big on candy but you can’t go wrong with hot chocolate. I’m going to do a few for my Mom with flavored coffee powder that she uses every morning. And some with loose leaf tea with cinnamon sticks etc for husband. This idea is just so versatile!!!! Use Easter printed ribbon, and for the top piece decoration, there’s TONS of little Easter bunnies, eggs, etc at the dollar stores. This is going to be so much fun!!!! Now I just have to figure out what else to put in the baskets with them!!! Lol
Hi, if you do not intend on making your own hot cocoa recipe, how many packets would you think to put in the tubes? Thanks, Skylar.
What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing!
This is a great idea. But how many tubes do you actually need for a “set”? You put 4 together but it looks like 6 or 8 tubes would complete the “set”…
Hi Leah, I put 4 together, the bottles I purchased come 2 to a package. You can use as many as you like.
~Liz
Although I love your idea, after going to HobbyLobby and looking for the composition of the bottles, there was no mention of the type of plastic they were made from. It is not safe to assume that all plastic is food grade. So I would caution anyone putting foodstuff in un-documented containers. When we make gifts, we should make sure the containers are food safe. This is the same as using pretty plates found at yard sales, DECORATIVE plates from places like the dollar store are marked with a paper label saying saying NOT to be used with food, but these paper labels are soon washed away and the dishes now have no warnings. My pet peeve is that these should be marked with a permanent label.
Love these Liz!
I have some old spice jars around here somewhere…. they would work great for this too!
thanks for sharing!
pinning!
gail
Thanks so much Gail! They are definitely fun to make!
~Liz
Liz, if anyone is concerned about the food in the bottle, just put the cocoa in a plastic zip lock bag and then in the bottle, the cookies too. Really cute idea! I wish I had this idea when my boys were young and I needed little gifts for teachers. Maybe I’ll have my grandson help me make them and give to his preschool teachers.
Thanks again for the posting!
I am wondering if there are any instructions that go with the mix? Amount of cocoa and water/milk to use?
Hi Cindy, here is the link to the Hot Cocoa Mix we like >> http://pocketchangegourmet.com/hot-cocoa-mix-and-mug-cozy-gifts-from-the-kitchen/
You can use 1 tablespoon hot cocoa mix to 1 cup of hot milk.
~Liz
Mason jars would be EXCELLENT for this idea.
LIz:
Thanks so much for the great idea. We have the 12 days of Christmas at work and each day we give something small to our teams co workers and I have been looking high and low for different things than what I gave last year. This will be a great addition.
Where do you put the oreo cookies?
Hi Karleigh, do you mean what tube or where do you use them? I like them sprinkled on top of my cocoa.
~Liz
Love this. I’m going to try it! Thanks
Hey, Liz! Thank you so much for this wonderful craft, I found it on Pinterest. Could you please tell me the height/diameter of the tubes? I would like to try to find them online in bulk… Did you mean you paid 5 dollars for each tube?
Thanks,
Mariia
Hi Marila, no the tubes were $1 each at the store. I have searched every where and talked to lots of online companies this week. You can find them online, but they are over $2 each.
~Liz
Question on the bottles as I think this is a great idea. Are they food grade or just craft grade as there is a difference In what you can use them for. Thanks for hunting them down as that is the challenging part finding all the components.
Hi Holly, the bottles are craft grade. I would not be concerned about them not being food grade unless you are going to be putting liquid or food that would be stored for a long time in them. That is my opinion though, as I’m not an expert in the plastic field.
~Liz
Thank you for your response
Working in the food industry I’d just make sure they (the bottles and lids) are washed, rinsed and dried good before putting items in them. Just in case there is any residue left inside them from being made.
I truly think it’s a great idea and I really like it. 🙂
Craft bottles are not food safe. I love the idea but unless the bottle is specifically marketed as safe for food, I wouldn’t give them to anyone.
Hi there, yes we are aware of that. We sterilized the bottles first in the dishwasher. Also, none of the food in the bottles are liquid and will be used rather quickly.
~Liz
This is such a great idea. I absolutely love it and plan to make these as teacher gifts for Christmas. Love it!
Thanks for stopping by Kelli! I’m so excited you like the Hot Cocoa Kit!
~Liz