Holiday Gifts in Jars

You guys all know that I like preserving things, and I think the way food that I made looks in a sparkly mason jar is just so pretty!  Each holiday season, I like to make some “things in jars” to gift to friends, co-workers, and family members.

Today’s post talks about the jars I like to use, the recipes I like to make, how I like to decorate them, some ideas for the non-canners, and also some fun packaging ideas to turn your jars into more complete “gift packages” if you choose to do it that way!

Homemade Goods as Holiday Gifts

I have a mustard addiction. I admit it. There are SO many things I like to eat mustard on.  I think the weirdest thing I put it on is Tater Tot Casserole. This goes all the way back to when I was a kid. Tater Tot Casserole is a bit of a Midwest staple dinner, and I have put ketchup AND mustard on mine for as long as I can remember. My mom always thought I was weird. I think she still does.

So, the main thing I like to make to give as holiday gifts is yep – mustard! You can check out the Mustard Mania blog post I published last year for all of the details, but I’m also posting the recipes I like to use below.

Jam and preserves are also really fun to make and gift.  I always make Christmas Jam, which is a really fun spiced fruit jam that smells like the holidays when you make it. It has cranberries, strawberries, orange zest, spices, and more!

Things I Like to Preserve for Holiday Gifts

• Blueberry Mustard
• Cranberry Mustard
• Beer Mustard (I usually make two kinds, I like to use Bock and Porter)
• Tarragon Dijon Mustard
• Christmas Jam

Some Other Flavor Ideas

• Strawberry Balsamic Jam
• Apple Butter
• Tomato Jam
• Spiced Pear Jam
• Cranberry Rum Sauce

The Holiday Gift Jars

I prefer to gift my goods in 4-ounce jelly jars. Canning is hard work, and everyone’s tastes are different. I hate to think of giving someone an 8-ounce jar of something I worked hard to make, have them dislike it, and toss it out.  Just because I like everything I make, doesn’t mean the person I gift it to will.  I prefer to give someone 2-3 different things to taste in 4-ounce jars.  This is just my personal preference. If you are only going to make one or two things, and want to use the 8-ounce jelly jars – that’s totally fine too!

There are lots of different varieties of jars, some fancier than others. I usually just use the ball-quilted style of jars like the ones I linked in the previous paragraph. Target seems to always have great prices on their canning jars. Otherwise, your local Walmart or farm/hardware supply store usually has them as well.

Ideas for Non-Canned Things You Can Gift

Not a canner? Scared to try it? Don’t have time to mess with it? That’s ok!  If you like the concept of gifting things in jars, there are lots of other things you can make and gift too – without having to can it!

There are lots of ideas on Pinterest too, but here are some suggestions:

• Hot Cocoa Mix
• Local Honey (buy a big jug and separate into small jars!)
• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Spiced Pecans
• Cookies
• Spice Mixes
• This post from That One Mom also has some great ideas!

Decorate the Jars

When it comes time to get ready to gift your items, I like to decorate my jars up a bit. I usually put some sort of fabric or paper on the lid and fasten it lightly with the ring on.

You don’t actually want to store your canned goods with the ring on for long-term storage, but if you put it on loosely for the purpose of gift presentation, it’s okay.

You can use cupcake liners for this, burlap fabric, holiday-themed or other patterned fabric, wrapping paper, newspaper … you get the idea.

I also like to fasten a gift tag of some sort, and if what you are gifting is a bit unique (ie. Blueberry Mustard), some suggested uses on a recipe card is also fun.

You can use a variety of things to fasten the tag on as well – my favorite is jute twine, but you can also use curling ribbon or raffia. I think it’s fun to fasten a miniature ornament of some sort on the jar as well. For my beer mustard, I have some beer cap magnets I made, and it’s kind of fun to put one of those on top of the lid.

Honestly, I usually try to hit the clearance aisles after the holidays and snag some things I can use the following year for making my jars pretty.  But, if you don’t have anything on hand and want to prepare for this holiday season, Amazon has quite a few options for reasonable prices too.

I looked some things up and am posting below. Don’t be afraid to get creative with it – use my suggestions as a starting point and do some browsing of your own to find the combination of items to get the look you want for your jars.

Packaging Cookies for Neighbors

Cookies don’t really fit in jars, but I wanted to mention them in this post anyway. My husband and I do quite a bit of holiday baking every year, and we gift cookie trays to our neighbors. You can check out this blog post for some more details and recipes we like to use. For packaging the cookies, I like to keep an eye out at thrift stores and/or yard sales for nice white plates (bonus if they are holiday plates.)

When you put your cookie platter together, you can use these plates – instead of having to buy the plastic or tin holiday plates/containers from the store.  Your neighbor gets a nice plate with their cookies, and you don’t have to buy plastic.  It’s actually cheaper to buy the real plates second-hand anyway – most of those plastic and tin holiday containers are $3-5 each!

I’ve also found that most of the time, my neighbors bring the plate back to me anyway – ha!

Then, just wrap it up with a Cookie Tray Bag and some pretty ribbon.

Jar Decorating Supplies for Holiday Gifts

• Brown Craft Paper Bags
• Burlap Gift Bags
• Variety Pack Tissue Paper
• Holiday Tissue Paper
• Plain Brown Gift Tags
• Handmade Gift Tags
• Natural Jute Twine
• Holiday Raffia
• Set of Mini Holiday Ornaments
• Mini Pine Cone Ornaments
• Mini Wooden Ornaments
• Wilton Elegance Muffin Papers
• Christmas Muffin Papers
• Burlap Fabric
• Red Plaid Fabric
• Cookie Tray Bag

Holiday Gift Package Ideas

Gifting a jar or two of your homemade goods is a great small gift for co-workers or party hosts, but if it’s a gift for someone else you might want to create more of a “gift package” out of it.  Here are some suggestions!

• Two Kinds of Jam + Scone Pan + Scone Cookbook
• Orange Marmalade + Bundt Pan + Hand-Written Recipe
• Mustard, Locally Made Bratwurst, Cast Iron Skillet
• Hot Cocoa Mix + Fun Mug + Snuggly Blanket
• Local Honey + Fun Mug + Selected Teas
• Apple Butter + Bottle of Whiskey + Cocktail Glass(es)
• Tomato Jam + Cheese Variety + Crackers + Cheese Board
• Raspberry Jam + Cookie Sheet + Apron

I think that should give you a good start to thinking about what you want to gift in jars this holiday season, and how you might package them up. If you gift any of your holiday gifts in jars this year, please share about it in the comments below!

Disclaimer: You may wish to refrain from gifting food products to recipients with special diets or allergies.

Interview on the Let’s Talk Shop Show

I had an interview with the Let’s Talk Shop Show about preserving things for holiday gifts if you want to check it out!