Easy Last Minute Gift Ideas

If your over scheduled and don't have time to hit the mall to shop, or the cut off has come and gone for home delivery for online shopping, here are a couple of ideas that are simple to put together and make special gifts.  

I ordered these on Etsy but sites like Personalization Mall may still do overnight delivery.

Personalize this hot chocolate basket with favorites from your grocery store.  Mini marshmallows, hot chocolate, Bailey's Irish Cream, cinnamon sticks, peppermint sticks, and cookies. Craft shops like Hobby Lobby carry a great selection of baskets. 

Do you need a gift for a tea lover?  Cute mugs and festive tea assortment make a great gift to be appreciated all year long.  I bought this tea assortment at Peets Coffee and Tea.

Make a copy of your favorite cookies recipe.  This is a cookie my Mom made every year and now it's passed on to me. It's simple, delicious and smells delightful when baking. Bake a batch and present as a gift on a holiday plate. These can be picked up most anywhere. Stores have holiday items marked on clearance now so it  is the perfect time to pick up a couple of these plates to keep on hand for next year.

This toffee bar recipe looks festive sprinkled with red and green sugars right out of the oven.

May you and yours have a Merry and Blessed Christmas. I appreciate you reading my blog♥

Soup Makes a Welcome Gift

I love "soup days" at our house for so many reasons.  It's a hearty meal to serve, easy to make and smells great as it cooks.  Soupsonline is a website designed to sell speciality soup mixes, as well as breads and dips.  They have dozens to choose from.  I always keep a few in the house for a quick meal.  I often use these as my base, and customize with my own meats, vegetables, canned tomatoes, etc. to make it "my own".  

In the past I have given "soup and corn bread gifts" .  I like to think of them as a "little gift of comfort" .  In each one, I put a soup mix, bread mix, and a package of pretty holiday napkins, topping it off with pretty red and gold confetti I easily shredded from tissue paper.   

I placed it all in gift bags with a snowflake print I found at my local craft store.  And if the bag is large enough, you can put a soup mug inside too.  

A couple of my favorites are bearcreekcountrykitchens Chicken Noodle Soup and cuginos Mama's Minestrone, that are staples in my pantry.  

Check out the bread mixes too.   Makes a great side for any of these soups.

Special birthday wishes to our son in law Mike🎂

Great Hostess Gifts

Here are a few of my "favorite things"


Are you invited to a holiday gathering and in need of a hostess gift?  Need a gift that your friend or family is sure to love that has a personal touch?  One of my sweetest (and so cute) gifts was from my daughter called Mistletoes.  She took a mason jar, filled it with cotton balls, an emery board, seasonal nail polish, and printed a label "Mistletoes" for the lid.  She personalized it with a chalkboard tag and voila!  I have posted it on Pinterest and this has had the most likes and repins of any of my boards!

This year I am putting together small gifts of pancake mixes and maple syrup I found on Vermont Country Store.  A gift everyone can use over the holidays or winter months for those mornings you stay in your pj's and watch the snow fall.  

Beautiful flowering winter plants are always a welcome gift. My personal favorite is the Amaryllis.  It blooms beautifully for Christmas and goes into hibernation until next Christmas.  

Another gift idea I do for hostess gifts is bake small loaves of your favorite bread in holidays tins you can find in any grocery store, wrap in clear wrap and wrap with a beautiful ribbon.  so many different and inexpensive ways of packaging can be found online.
What's your favorite hostess gift?

Happy birthday Ellen!!