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Food Gifts for Christmas are so simple and easy, I am surprised everyone's not doing it already. I mean, if you look at Pinterest, you'd think they are – but I've never received a food gift in a jar at the holidays … at least not yet! They're practical, affordable, unique, and handmade. That's about all I could ever ask for in a gift!
I've gotten many emails over the years asking for tips for those that use food stamps. This is one of those posts that will help you out a ton! These are all gifts that will require minimal purchases such as glass jars, ornaments, etc. The items to go inside the jars can all be purchased on food stamps. If you get creative and shop at CVS or another place that gives catalinas, gift cards, ECBs, etc you can actually purchase your jars with those, after shopping with food stamps – so you'll have little to no out of pocket costs at all! Super frugal? Save your pickle jars and you won't even have to buy any! ;)
NOTE: This is a HUGE POST! To find a specific word or type of recipe, hit CTRL+F and type it in the search box. For example, if you're looking for gluten free, type in “gluten” — and all of the gluten-free recipes will be highlighted. Looking for chocolate? Do the same. Using one word instead of a long phrase will yield the best results.
Creative Food Gifts
— Hot Cocoa Mix Ornaments – You can usually get ornaments like these for $.50 a piece – less if you're using coupons, or shopping at Goodwill. There are tons of gifts you can give, using supplies you have on hand, but the hot cocoa mix is something you can buy with SNAP/food stamps and is super cheap. Can't afford the ornaments? Dump the hot cocoa mix into little sandwich baggies – they're literally pennies a piece. Tie with a twist tie, a piece of string, or even some twine.
— Christmas Light Sugar Cookies Box – This gift is a bit more extensive, and would be great for an entire family rather than just an individual. You can purchase the cookie dough, sprinkles, etc all using SNAP – and again, the ornaments will only cost a few bucks. The box, well, you can use an old Amazon box or any shipping box. If it's ugly, cover it in duct tape, paper… anything you have on hand!
— Bake cookies and put them in a Pringles canister! Cover the canister in duct tape, craft paper… anything really. Make sure when you're baking the cookies, you make them small enough to fit and stack inside the can.
Easy to Make Treats
- Easy Chocolate Peppermint Bark Recipe
- Chocolate Coffee Bark
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Brownies
- Cinnamon Roasted Cashews
- Easy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Buckeye Bark
Gifts in a Jar
Butters, Jams, Syrups, Sauces
- Maple Walnut Butter from Driftwood Gardens
- Homemade Apple Butter from This Girls Life Blog
- Cinnamon Honey Butter from The Food Charlaton
- Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce from I Save AtoZ
- Root Beer BBQ Sauce from A Mom's Take
- Homemade Spicy Garlic Rub from Five Spot Green Living
- Hot Fudge in a Jar from Say Yes
- Peppered Jalapeno Jelly from This Lil Piglet
- Homemade Garlic Confit from Kalyn's Kitchen
- Strawberry Jam in a Jar from Pickle Bums
Cookies in a Jar, Desserts, Bread Mixes, Etc
- “Kiss”mas Gift In A Jar from A Mitten Full Of Savings
- Peppermint Hot Cocoa Gift In A Jar from Midwest Modern Momma
- Rocky Road Pudding Gift In A Jar from Summer Scraps
- Apple Pie in a Jar from Reluctant Entertainer
- Chocolate Chip Cookies In A Jar from Coupons & Freebies Mom
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread from A Few Short Cuts
- Candy Cane Bark Gift In A Jar from The Frugal Girls
- Reese's Pieces Cookies In A Jar from The Freebie Finding Mom
- White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Gift In A Jar from Coupons & Freebies Mom
- Lemon Curd in a Jar from 52 Kitchen Adventures
- Banana Bread Mason Jar Gift from Study At Home Mama
- M&M Mason Jar Cookie from A Cultiated Nest
- Choconut Cookie In A Jar from Thrifty Jinxy
- Easy Peanut Brittle from The Frugal Girls
Bailey's Hot Cocoa In A Jar from Krystals Kitsch- Espresso Cocoa In A Jar from Houswives of Frederick County
- Apple Butter Mix In A Jar from Mostly Homemade Mom
- Gingersnap Cookie Butter from Gator Mommy Reviews
- Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies In A Jar from Thrifty Jinxy
- Granola in a Jar from True Aim Education
Soups, Food Mixes, Etc
- Country Bean Soup Mix In A Jar from Savings Lifestyle
Waffle Mix in a Jar from Cheeky Kitchen- Three Bean Chili in a Jar from Dianne's Dishes
- Bread & Butter Pickles in a Jar from Real Life at Home
- Friendship Soup in a Jar from Pie Birds
- Chicken Soup in a Jar from Living a Frugal Life
- Minestrone Soup Gift in a Jar Mix from Food.com
Teas, Coffees, and Other Drinks
- Russian Tea Mix Gift In A Jar from Baby Loving Mama
- Chai Tea Mix In A Jar from The Kitchen Is My Playground
- Iced Cappuccino Mix from Echoes of Laughter
- Spicy Apple Cider Mix from Family Fun Journal
- Vanilla Chai Tea in a Jar from Kat's Kitchen
- Spice Tea from Sweet Miss Daisy
- Strawberry Lemonade from Echoes of Laughter
- Mocha Cocoa from My Recipes
- Toffee Coffee Mix from CH Sugar
Recipe Roundups on Slap Dash Mom
If you're into recipe roundups, I have a ton! :) Hundreds of recipes all in one spot.
- 100 Delicious Smores Recipes
- 101 Cheesecake Recipes
- 50 Delightful White Chocolate Recipes
- Dairy-Free Desserts
- 100 Heavenly Nutella Recipes
Add your ideas to the comments!!
These look yummy! Especially for the ones who are hard to buy for. I would totally love a food gift!
saving this page, so many yummy things to make. thank you
Oh fantastic! I was just looking for gifts in jar recipes. Thank you so much for sharing these. <3
thanks for this fantastic roundup! The Spice Tea especially sounds amazing. Might have to make some for myself too ;)
What a fantastic list of ideas! I think handmade gifts are SO special, thanks for all these neat ideas!
This is a pretty awesome article! Loads of simple but tasty ideas!
Would it be weird to makes something like this for a teacher gift?
The Root Beer BBQ Sauce looks tasty!!
LOVE this list!
Anna, I think these are great gifts for teachers. :-)
Perfect ideas for those wanting something even more unique. Thanks for sharing them. I especially love the cookies in a jar and try to do them every year.