As a parent of three, the number of gifts I buy at the holidays has multiplied exponentially to accommodate all the wonderful teachers, coaches, caregivers, friends, and VIP’s (very important parents) that help make our year run smoothly. But since my bank account has not multiplied exponentially (ha), I love thoughtful and useful gifts that the kids can contribute to making, like homemade mason jar spa gifts and these affordable food gifts packaged in mason jars of all sizes.
From breakfast jars to spice blends to cookie mixes, mason jars make the perfect stay-fresh vessel to hold each of these homemade treats. And it’s eco-friendly because the jar is reusable, of course.
Plus, a set of a dozen large 32 oz. mason jars will run only about $14 at Target (an affiliate) or your local supermarket, so we can afford to be generous without breaking the bank. So grab some mason jars and the ingredients you’ll need for these fun, thoughtful DIY mason jar gifts, and put all your own little elves to work for all the special teachers, friends, family members and party hosts in their lives.
Top Image: Gingerbread Granola Recipe from Five Heart Home and six different soups In mason jars from Wholefully
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Related: Homemade mason jar spa gift ideas all with safe, edible ingredients. So easy, and SO appreciated!
Breakfast mason jar gifts
Start their day off with a hot cup o’ tea with this yummy chai tea mason jar gift from Five Heart Home. These nicely designed, free printable holiday-themed label even has variations on it. That makes this such an easy gift to pull together for hostesses or something to unwrap under the tree, especially if your kids do all the measuring and mixing themselves. Pair with a small silver spoon and mug if you choose.
Related: Hostess gifts Creative hostess gifts under $50 for foodie friends | Holiday Gift Guide
Whipping up a batch of fresh waffles will be so easy for the kids, and the dry ingredients can easily be turned into a lovely mason jar gift full of homemade waffle mix. At Mom 4 Real, she offers the rest of the recipe (mmm…melted butter and vanilla extract) on some pretty, printable instructions that you can affix to the jar with a festive bit of twine or ribbon. Consider adding a pint of local maple syrup for a very special someone.
Full of crunchy and chewy goodness, this gingerbread granola recipe from Five Heart Home (yes, we loved their chai recipe up top too!) looks like it will smell and taste delicious. I love the red dried cranberries and the green pistachios peaking out, and the free printable Merry Christmas tag is all you need to top off a sweet holiday treat.
Prefer pancakes Christmas morning to waffles? This buttermilk pancake mix in a mason jar recipe from Skip to my Lou will be such a treat for your gift recipient, since they only have to add water to the mix — right in the mason jar — and then shake, shake, shake to bring it all together.
Love the bright red label and instruction tag that you can print on sticker paper. (How cool are all these online crafters and cooks for giving us everything our kids need to make it easy?)
Related: Artisanal Vermont maple syrup gift boxes that go way beyond pancakes.
Make mornings a whole lot less trouble for those you care about with a variety of overnight oats packed in mason jars using the recipes from Ilysia at Haute and Healthy Living. With flavors like chocolate brownie and piña colada, this definitely won’t the same old boring bowl of oatmeal!
I would love to receive a few of these, perhaps wrapped in a new tea towel and tucked into a basket. You’ll need to register with the site (just an email) to access the nicely designed labels, which I think is worth it to support a small business.
Sweet mason jar gifts
With three different recipes and printable tags for each, these three cookie recipe mason jar gifts from Walking on Sunshine Recipes make terrific gifts for kids to help assemble and deliver before the holidays. Check out the site for chocolate chip, oatmeal chip, and triple chocolate chip recipes.
Bar cookies are some of my favorites to make at the holidays because they don’t require as much oven supervision this busy time of the year. It gets even easier when the bar cookies come loaded and ready to mix with this mason jar recipe for toffee blondies from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Love the free printable striped red-and-white tag too, so your lucky recipient knows just what they’re in for!
I’ll admit that these homemade cookie butter ideas from A Beautiful Mess look almost too good to give away, so maybe double the recipe so there’s plenty for you all to enjoy at home. Stick with the flavors above or try this with your own favorite cookie. These jars should be refrigerated if they aren’t eaten immediately, and commenters point out that they benefit from a quick pop in the microwave to soften up the sweet goodness inside. The cookie butters themselves make a great dip, spread, or just eat it with a spoon!
Related: 10 delicious and totally easy holiday food crafts for kids.
More like a semi-homemade mason jar gift, it’s so thoughtful for Hanukkah revelers: A DIY gelt mason jar for Hanukkah. Love this simple, printable set of Hanukkah gift tags from Star Stream Design on Etsy (just $2.25/set), which you can use all season long. Then, just fill a jar with your favorite chocolate coins (affiliate) — buy the fancy ones if you’re just making a few, or by all means, buy in bulk if you’ve got a lot of gifts. And a lot of nights of dreidel-spinning to get through. In fact, add a single dreidel in each one for a fun surprise.
Store-bought nut butters can be pretty pricey so getting a variety of nut butters in small mason jars would be such a treat. Cheap Recipe Blog has tips for getting the best flavor out of the nuts, flavor combos, and even gift-giving suggestions. Kids can help blend the nuts as well as carefully pour them into the jars before getting to work on homemade labels.
Need a gluten-free recipe? Check out the “monster cookies” mason jar mix from Hunny I’m Home with a printable gift tag for email subscribers. It’s a thoughtful way to think of your gluten-free friends at the holidays.
Savory mason jar gifts
What could be better than soup in the winter? How about six different soups In mason jars, all wrapped up for gifting! Using the recipes from Wholefully, these soups come together in layers of ingredients, which look so pretty in pint-sized mason jars. Just cut out the free printable instruction tags and attach to each jar, so that your gift can easily turn into dinner one cold (and possibly hectic) night when they’ll appreciate it most.
Related: 9 easy, delicious homemade food gifts for people who love to eat (i.e., everyone)
A few large mason jars stuffed with this unique gochujang (or siracha) Spiced Chex Mix recipe from Anne Wolfe Postic makes great gifts when they’re topped with along handwritten note tied in twine around the neck. This is also an easy recipe for the kids to help make because they’ll measure everything right into the crockpot where it’ll slowly cook for a couple of hours. And for the recipient? They don’t have to do a thing but sit back, open the jar, and dig in.
Another, open-and-eat gift, this Spiced Holiday Nuts recipe from The Nourishing Home probably won’t make it to the new year, but that’s only because it looks so tasty. Feel free to play around with the recipe to increase the kick of cayenne if you’re gifting them to someone who likes it hot. This recipe makes six cups, so you’ll have plenty of nuts to fill up a few little mason jars or a couple of larger ones, though make sure you set aside a handful or two for yourself.
You can then let the kids get creative with the gift tags and ribbons (love the bells!) before spreading some holiday cheer. Or, if you want to print out sticker labels similar to what you see above, check out these printable chalkboard labels from Isi Designs on Etsy.
Spice blends make the most simple, and always appreciated holiday gifts–even better when it’s homemade from the heart! So stock up on some small mason jars, then get your sous chefs (aka, kids) mixing up some of these nine spice blends like cajun or ranch flavors from Tasty Thin. Tip: For the best spice blends, be sure to use the best quality, freshest spices you can afford. We love everything from Penzeys.
A 32-ounce mason jar of layered 3-bean chili using the recipe from My Heavenly Recipes is a great gift for a family since it whips up such a big batch. And it’s a great mason jar gift for your kids to help DIY — even the little ones, who mainly have to pour beans in a jar, something they’ve probably been doing since preschool. Don’t forget the free printable instructions that you can attach to the jar.
