Christmas Is Coming: Homemade Mixes

I often give my own homemade mixes as Christmas presents. They are always well-received. Everyone has to eat and food gifts don't usually stick around long enough to collect dust or become clutter.

One mix that I've given in previous years that the recipients loved was Baked Oatmeal. This is easy to layer into a jar or mix in a bag. Others that I've given as gifts are mixes for Sweet Corn Muffins and Orange Ginger Scones. Bean soups, pancake mix or your favorite homemade spice blend also work very well! Be sure and include the recipe so that they can make it again later!

There are so many options for homemade mixes! A quick Google search for homemade mixes or gifts in a jar will give you hundreds of ideas. I learned the hard way to always try out a recipe before giving it as a gift so now I go through our own favorite recipes and pick ones that would work well as mixes.

To create your own mixes, simply mix dry ingredients together and then add a label or tag with instructions on how to prepare the recipe. 

I like to choose recipes that don't require a ton of add-ins and will not be too expensive or difficult to prepare. Also, think about whether the recipient would actually want to cook or if they would prefer an already prepared food item instead.

Hot Cocoa Mix

These can be given by themselves or grouped together in a  basket to create a larger gift.  A jar of homemade jam or apple butter would be a nice addition to a bread mix. Or create a "Breakfast Basket" with a pancake mix, some kind of syrup or topping(whether homemade or not), a couple of cute mugs and a drink mix such as hot chocolate, tea or spiced cider.

Because these kind of gifts are made from items I already have in my kitchen, they are very inexpensive and easy on the Christmas budget, yet always appreciated!