It happens to me every year – someone on my Christmas list that I completely forgot about and need to get a gift ready ASAP. Given that Christmas is two days away, I thought it would be a good time to break out my last-minute gift list, with a zero waste twist of course! The following items can be made at home relatively easily in an hour or less for each one. Most of the items you probably already have or can easily find at a health foods store nearby.
1. Cookie Recipe in a Jar
This one is easy to set up and can be gifted to pretty much anyone!
Take a quart size mason jar and fill it with all of the dry ingredients for chocolate chip cookies: flour, baking soda, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and salt. Then seal the jar, decorate with a ribbon, and attach a card with the instructions for adding the eggs and butter and baking!
You can adapt this recipe to different kinds of recipes, as well as suggest alternatives for the eggs and butter for the vegan family members! You can also layer the flour, sugar, and chocolate chips to make a nice presentation or mix them together – the possibilities for creativity are endless!
2. DIY Lip Balm
Cute, colored lip balms can be a great gift or a stocking stuffer! If you don’t have all the ingredients on-hand for this specific recipe, try googling for substitutes. You can substitute the oil (sweet almond oil) for olive oil or avocado oil without changing the recipe at all.
Ingredients:
1 ounce Coconut Oil
1 ounce Beeswax
1 ounce Sweet Almond Oil
1.5 ml Essential Oil (scent)
1.5 ml Flavor
Coloring
First weigh out the ingredients and melt all the oils and beeswax either over a double broiler or in the microwave.
Add in your essential oil, flavor, and coloring. The combinations for this are endless! You also do not have to add all three. I have made some with just peppermint essential oil; rose essential oil, stevia, and mica powder; passion fruit flavor and scent and beet root powder; and vanilla extract! Just be aware that some essential oils may have a stronger kick than others so these measurements are just a suggestion.
Pour the mixture into whatever container you are using for the lip balms. You can purchase empty lip balm containers (either the plastic kind or the metal tins) and pour it straight into there. You can also reuse empty jars or old lip balm containers that have been cleaned.
This recipe made 14 of the metal tins featured in the picture above. I split the recipe in half ounce and made two different colors for a little variety!
3. DIY Shaving Cream
This shaving cream recipe can be combined with a nice safety razor in a kit or just given as a special treat for someone to enjoy an extra fancy bath!
Ingredients:
2/3 cup Coconut Oil
2/3 cup Shea Butter
¼ cup Olive Oil (or alternative)
20 drops of Essential Oils
Melt the coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter over a double broiler or in the microwave.
Let cool for five minutes and add in essential oils. I recommend a combination of peppermint, tea tree, and rosemary!
Put the mixture into the fridge and wait until it is mostly solid (should not be runny but not hard to put a spoon into). Beat the mixture with an electric hand beater until it appears the texture of frosting.
Spoon the shaving cream into a jar and decorate with a ribbon!
What are you whipping up this holiday season at home?