Cookie Gifts in a Jar... Holiday Gifts Made with Love!

My kids LOVE helping me in the kitchen! They have helped me since they were about a year old and it's something we really enjoy! Even if it's a simple task as getting me a spoon or handing me an egg, it's very special to them. My daughter's favorite thing to do is mix things for me! And my son's favorite thing to do is flip pancakes and scoop cookies off the pan.

Every year for Christmas my kids make 'Gifts in a Jar' to give as gifts. Not only is it fun for them but it's also a learning process as well! They get to mix and measure and make sure they add all the correct ingredients.

Not only does it teach them some of the basics of cooking, baking and following directions. It teaches them something much more important... the value of GIVING!

Christmas 2005:

The kids look forward to making these each and every year! They usually start begging me to make them around Halloween time even though they already know that we don't make them until the beginning of December! I don't blame them for trying though.

Christmas 2008:

If the kids have added all the ingredients to the jar and there is still space at the top, the kids made up a rule! They call it a rule and I'm not going to argue with them! their rule is simple yet great! If there is still space at the top --- ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS! They say that there can never be too many chocolate chips and I would have to agree with them!

After all the jars are finished, they add the decorative fabric, lids, ribbon, a cute little ornament that they picked out and a pretty label. The label has the baking directions on the back and a message from the kids on the front.

The joy on the kids faces when they hand people their homemade gift is priceless, you can see the joy in their eyes and their smiles! People love getting them too!!

Have you ever made gifts in a jar?