by Ashley
Does anyone else do little “neighbor gifts” for neighbors or good family friends? We don’t really, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do. We have about 3 neighbor/families that we really like and get together with semi-frequently. Although we obviously don’t have it in the budget to do gifts for neighbors (heck, our own kids are getting very little this year), we wanted to do something as a little token of our love and appreciation for our closest family friends.
One of my Christmas traditions from growing up was holiday baking. My personal favorite is homemade caramel. God bless my momma for doing that every-single-year. Anyone who has made homemade caramels knows its a long, sticky/messy, and pain-staking project. And caramel is pretty unforgiving, so you have to watch it like a hawk and basically babysit the entire time it’s cooking. In short….not for me. (Though I still reap the benefits of my mom’s homemade caramel when we go to visit!!!)
I’ve implemented a couple of holiday “baking” traditions with my own girls (psssst: none of the stuff I make is actually even baked!!!! #WINNING!). So I wanted to link to some of my favorites and maybe pass along the idea for others:
Reindeer Bait (recipe and image source)
Oreo Truffles (recipe and image source)
Muddy Buddies (recipe and image source)
In another shout-out to what is, I guess (unintentionally), my favorite holiday store , Dollar Tree! I got these little Christmas tins from there for a buck, filled each with the above treats and voila! 3 easy, cheap, and no-bake holiday treats that are perfect for neighbor gifts (or snacking with one’s own family)!
Do you do inexpensive neighbor gifts? Do you have any favorite holiday treats?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
This year I made vanilla extract for all the neighbors, teachers and various other people. I was shocked when I saw how expensive it had become in the store, so I decided to give making it a go. Overall, it cost about $100 to make 36 5 oz bottles of it. It was super easy, and only requires planning a few months in advance so there is adequate time for the vanilla to infuse and steep. It’s going to become a tradition.
What a great idea! I’ve seen vanilla recipes online in an instant pot group I’m in. I’ll file this idea away for the future! 🙂