Christmas Gift Bags

December 25, 2011 by Alia 2 Comments

Each year for the past three years, I put together a gift bag of handmade products for the majority of the Christmas gifts that we give to our friends and family.  This year was no exception.  In fact, it was slightly challenging since I had a number of different products to choose from!  Honestly, it was a great problem to have.

This year, I started planning out the gift bags in October.  I wanted to ensure that I gave myself enough time to make all of the different pieces.  I started putting everything together in November and into the beginning of December.  I attended my first Christmas party for the season on November 18^th.  There’s nothing like an early holiday party to be a good kick in the butt!

Here’s what I chose for most of the gift bags:

1.  Foaming Soap.  I made this soap from scratch, so I know it’s full of great ingredients.  I love fresh scents in soap, so most of the bottles were scented with orange, lemongrass and other citrus scents.
2. Two bars of melt and pour soap.  I made several bars of soap in preparation for this year’s gift bags.  I used Goat’s Milk and Coconut M&P soap as a base.  I added charcoal, green clay and pink clay to them.  In the end, each bag got two bars of soap.
3. Lip Lube.  I made my own special recipe for these lip balms.  Mine are all made from scratch and they are soft enough that they can be used on the coldest winter days.  There’s nothing worse than a lip balm that won’t slide on.  I experimented quite a bit this year to land on just the right combination of oils and wax.
4. Smoothing Serum.  This is one of my favourite concoctions.  It’s a gel that you can use to help tighten those fine lines.  It’s good for men and women and feels great when you put it on.
5. Ultra Moisturizing Lotion.  I included a small sample of lotion in the gift bags.  I have used lotion all my life and this is the best one I’ve ever used.  Seriously – I’m not just saying that because I made it!  It’s highly moisturizing without being greasy.  I love it.

Inevitably, I also get a few last minute requests for gifts to give out and of course, I usually don’t have quite enough to made complete gift bags.  Fortunately, I’ve learned a few great staples to make that I was able to use to put together some extra gifts at the last minute.  More about those to come…

Merry Christmas!