Are you struggling to find the perfect last-minute gift for a teacher, your hairdresser, or a white elephant gift exchange? And wouldn’t it be nice if it was a little more creative than a gift card, but not something that will leave a trail of clutter? Today, I’m talking consumable gifts that people will actually use, and even better, they won’t break the bank.

Most of the people we know have enough “things.” In fact, at our age, we are trying to minimize our possessions, not add more. Consumable gifts are the perfect solution, and can be anything from something to drink, a batch of cookies, or the ingredients for a beautiful charcuterie board.

Last week, I attended a ladies club luncheon and part of the celebration was a silent auction fundraiser. With my idea of consumable gifts in mind, I created gift baskets using dishtowels that my daughter and I made, and ingredients from the Dollar Tree. They received did well on the bidding, so I would call them a success.

Each of the baskets were contained in plastic vessels from the Dollar Tree. They are cute, have handles cut into the sides for easy carrying, and very sturdy. To prepare the baskets, I filled each one with crumpled shiny tissue paper to fill the void so the items would show. I also prepared a tag with the name of the basket that was tied to the end.

The dish towels were printed using the Silhouette Cameo machine, and my daughter downloaded a variety of Christmas sayings for me, that were then printed out and put on the cotton towels using iron on transfer paper. We made about 20 dish towels in all, so I had enough to take another gathering as gifts as well.

The first basket was a Chocolate Lover’s basket. It contained a variety of items liked boxed chocolates and packages of chocolate covered mint patties, and a chocolate bomb for hot chocolate. The accompanying dish towel said “Christmas Calories Don’t Count” and it was all contained in a red basket that said Believe in the Magic of Christmas.

The next basket was entitled Baby It’s Cold Outside and contained all of the ingredients to make cups of hot chocolate, that included a mug, packets of hot chocolate mix, a chocolate bomb, and chocolate stir sticks that melt in the cocoa. The accompanying dish towel said, of course, “Baby it’s Cold Outside.”

The last basket was a baking kit to make frosted brownies with a holiday flare. This basket contained a fudge brownie mix, frosting, holiday sprinkles and a cute little Santa spatula. The dish towel for this basket says “Baking Spirits Bright” which, coincidentally, is what the plastic basket says too.

Putting these gift baskets together was fast and easy, and as I said, most of the components came from the Dollar Tree. It would also be easy to make these baskets higher end by adding Italian dinner ingredients, or a portable charcuterie/cheese board with cutting board included.

We live in a time when decluttering and minimalism are on trend, so making consumable items just the right thing. By adding a cute dish towel that reinforces the theme, you can create a memorable gift that anyone on your list will enjoy. Tomorrow is Christmas eve, but if you hurry, it still might not be too late!

Good tidings,

Diane