holidays Archives - Pea of Sweetness

3 Fun Ways to Package Cookies for Gifts

December 24, 2015 by Emilee Evans

One of my favorite holiday memories is baking with family members. I loved the time we spent together and cutting out fun Christmas shapes. Now that I have a family, I make it a point to pass on this memory to our children as well. Plus with different ways to package cookies the holiday traditions can be given as gifts!
It’s not always easy to make my own cookies, though. Last year we were moving from Texas to Ohio right before Christmas, and this year my dad had surgery and is still in the hospital, so we’ve been driving back and forth. That’s why I love the easy-to-bake cookie mixes from Krusteaz!

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate my post and review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family.
Krusteaz offers a variety of great easy-to-bake cookie mixes. They truly are easy to bake, but you also have creative freedom as well! In fact, we received holiday cooking recipe ideas as well! They are simple additions to the easy-to-bake mixes!
I received an amazing package from Krusteaz and was challenged to share fun ways to package cookies for holiday gifts! To help support my project, I received a Zazzle Gift Card for materials. I chose cards, mugs and labels. Plus I received a mason jar with festive red lid for yet another fun idea!

Fun Ways to Package Cookies

Christmas Cards

How fun would it be to have your Christmas Card and gift all in one? With a Christmas Card box you can!

To make a Christmas Card Box, make sure you sign the card first because it is your Christmas Card, after all, so it has to be signed!
Next, cut the top and bottom apart. Measure and mark 1 inch squares in the corner. I, personally, use pencil and erase my marks after I’ve finished.

Cut along the 1 inch lines that are parallel to the long side. Then fold the corners up.

Then proceed to fold up all the sides. Depending on the thickness of the card, this could be simple or a little challenging. In this case, it was a thicker, sturdier card so it was a bit challenging to fold.

Fold the shorter tabs into the side and glue. Simple school glue usually works. This was a shiny card, so I did have to hold down the tabs longer, but it was still sufficient.

This completes the bottom of the box. Make sure you’re using the inner side that you signed as the bottom because you will want the Christmas design at the top. For a card that opens at the side this would be the right side, and for a card that opens at the bottom this would be the bottom half.

Repeat with the top using just a tiny bit less than 1 inch for the corners. Voila! Now you have a cute box for your cookies!
Before putting the cookies in the box, place something under the cookies like a small square of parchment paper, tissue paper, cellophane, etc. You don’t want to put the cookies directly on the ink!

I then secure the boxes with tape, but only a couple of small pieces to not ruin the cards. With shiny cards this generally isn’t a problem. It’s a Christmas Card with the bonus of a treat!

Mugs

Who doesn’t love a cute Christmas mug? Mugs make a great gift, and you can make the most of the mugs by adding delicious cookies!
To start, place the cookies on a paper or cellophane and stack the cookies with the biggest cookie at the bottom and place the stack next to the mug to be sure it’s not too tall. If you have iced cookies, place it on the top or be sure the icing is dry.

Pull the cellophane and/or paper up around the cookies and tie them with a ribbon.

Then, simply place the wrapped up cookies into the mug! If there is extra room you could even add candies or a few candy canes to accent it.

Mason Jar

For the mason jar I approached it just like the mugs. Make sure you have cookies small enough to fit in the mouth of the mason jar. They will need to be pretty small. I wrapped up the cookies and placed them in the jar. Then I added a cute mason jar holiday sticker and a bow on top!

The best thing about both the mugs and mason jar is not only do the recipients get yummy cookies, but they get mugs and mason jars they can use as well! You can add your own flare to make it as pretty as you want!

Why Give Cookies as Gifts?

Cookies make great gifts. They’re a gift that is simple yet meaningful. You can create memories by making the cookies with your family and the recipients will know you made cookies for them! They’re also great when you’re in a pinch and need a last minute gift. The easy-to-bake cookie mix from Krusteaz makes it easy to make great memories with your family and great gifts for your loved ones!

We made a variety of cookies for our gifts and had fun not only preparing the gifts, but preparing the cookies as well! One of my favorite memories is cutting out shapes and decorating cookies with Christmas cookie cutters, and we got out some of our cookie cutters and used the included snowflakes cookie cutters as well! We had so much fun and put a lot of love into our gifts! The easy-to-bake cookie mixes were perfect in this busy time for us because it was easy to make and perfect for letting the kids help!
What holiday cookies will you be making this year?

For More Information about Krusteaz

Visit the Krusteaz Website
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*Giveaway!!!

Would you like to win an amazing prize pack from Krusteaz? One winner will receive all the products in the first picture! This giveaway runs through 1/8/16 and is open to US residents ages 18+. Enter the Giveaway Now!

Be #CartonSmart

November 14, 2013 by Emilee Evans

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Being eco-friendly means we do more than just read ingredients on the products we buy (though that IS important!). It also means we try to be more conscious to reduce our footprint. Around the holidays when there are meals to be prepared and gifts in packages and wrapping paper it can get a little challenging. So when I was invited to Become Carton Smart for the holidays, I was ready to take on the task!

Here is some interesting information:

Did you know how many food products you can get in a carton? I received 3 different products that are perfect for the holiday season!

Are you already thinking of the great substitutions you could make with just these three products? Imagine all the space you'll save in your pantry, and the fact that you won't have that metal taste in your foods!

Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock can be used for a variety of recipes! I actually use it fairly regularly, and I was already purchasing it in the cartons! I actually cook rice in chicken stock instead of water to give it a little extra flavor, and my family LOVES it! It seems so simple, but it's a hit! I will definitely be using it as a side dish for the holidays!

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce just signifies the holidays for me. You can't have a holiday meal without cranberry sauce, right? This cranberry sauce is so simple, just pour, heat, and serve. Voila! Or if you like to dress things up or make other cranberry treats, you can surely do that as well!

Pumpkin Puree

I have a confession – I LOVE pumpkin! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spiced coffee, pumpkin muffins, etc. I'm sure you get the point! Pumpkin puree can be used in so many pumpkin recipes! Pumpkin puree from the carton is ready to use!

Do you need some inspiration? We HAVE to have pumpkin pie at every holiday get together. There is nothing I enjoy more than making (and eating!) Pumpkin Pie! I love that it included a Pumpkin Pie recipe on the carton! This organic Puree Pumpkin is the perfect ingredient.

It's a power lineup for the holidays, and environmentally smart, too! Cartons use 1/3 of the packaging compared to cans – imagine the extra pantry space! They look and store neater in the pantry as well! Plus the packaging preserves the flavors and nutrients in the foods, which is a really important benefit! The cartons are recyleable, of course, and they're re-closable so if you don't need to use it all now you can save some for later! They fit much more nicely in the refrigerator as well!

Will you take the challenge with me to be #CartonSmart this holiday season? Can you think of ingredients you can switch out? What recipes will you make?

Be sure to Tweet @CartonSmart and Follow #CartonSmart on Pinterest for more ideas and to stay connected!