The Holidays are a busy time for all of us - be it the umpteen Christmas parties to attend... the shopping (or lack there of) that sneaks up and turns into a last minute scramble with roughly the same amount spent on next day shipping, as the gifts themselves... the homemade treats and sweets that you wish you had the time to make... the list goes on. Luckily, there are little tricks and shortcuts to give the illusion of a Martha-Stewartesque-pinterest-worthy holiday that fits into the life of the always busy, modern-day woman.
So, what is one shortcut you can take to make your holiday every bit as thoughtful, gorgeous and (most importantly) affordable as you want it to be.... if you live anywhere near a Trader Joe's - you're halfway there. I've probably confessed my love for TJ's many times before, but during the holiday season, that place is solid gold. They probably spend all year planning how they're going to top the previous year because it seriously just keeps getting better. Most of the holiday items are in such pretty packaging, every bit of work is done for you.
But, if you're looking for more of a WOW factor (like a 'I spent a small fortune at a local bakery' or a 'of course these are homemade' kinda wow) they've got you covered.. with a little help from your local craft store. LISTEN - I know we already covered the busy life you have - but run into Michael's/Hobby Lobby/whatever for 5 minutes while you're running all of your other errands and pick up the 3 things from the list below. Two short errands and a little assembly time, and ta-da! You little Susie Homemaker you... and you thought you didn't have time to be this adorable.
So easy, so pretty.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
Trader Joe's
Dark Chocolate Star Cookies
Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
Candy Cane Truffles
Pinachios
Mini Candy Cane Cookies
Chocolate Rings
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Kona Coffee Creamy Half-dipped Shortbread Cookies
Note: you only need 1 of each to make 6 gift boxes
if you want to substitute any of the different 8 'ingredients' - go for it! but keep it to 8, so you have 2 treats per compartment.
I also made sure to have a variety of color (meaning not all chocolate, not all cookie.. you get the idea.)
Michael's (or local craft store)
4-section treat boxes (x2)
**mine came in a set of 3 per package
white cupcake liners
**mine came in a set of 75 - you'll need 48 for 6 gift boxes
ribbon
whatever look you're going for - go crazy! you'll need 10 yds
Assembly time: 30-45 minutes
That's it! I also used 2 sandwich bags as "gloves" while putting the goodies into the boxes and for the love of Christmas - make sure you have a good pair of scissors for cutting the ribbon, or your crappy ones will drive you insane and make the ribbon all frayed a minimum of 17 times before you get a nice, crisp ribbon edge.
Merry Christmas!!
