Make Package As Nice As Gift
Some of the best gifts come from the kitchen. Homemade cookies, jams and jellies, flavored vinegars and pickled vegetables always make welcome presents.
After you go to the trouble of making delicious treats for your friends and family, don’t forget the packaging: Even from the outside, a gift should look good enough to eat.
Bottles and jars
Bottles and jars are pretty enough that they hardly need any wrapping at all. Labels are one way to personalize them.
Start with plain labels, available at office-supply stores. You can design and print them on a computer, or hand-draw them.
Rubber stamps produce wonderful labels; use one to stamp a border on the label or to add holiday images. A custom-made rubber stamp can read, “From the kitchen of …” or, “Happy Holidays from ….” Stamp pads in gold and silver are even more festive.
Instead of wrapping jars, just dress up the tops with tissue paper or cellophane.
Use a color that complements the contents of the jar. With the lid on the jar, place a square of cellophane or a double layer of tissue over the lid.
Pull it down over the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Bring the paper back up, bundle it together and tie with ribbon or twine. Trim the top as desired.
A large bottle of homemade vinegar (or a bottle of wine or champagne) simply needs a big bow made of wide, supple ribbon. Of course, if you want the gift to be a bit more of a surprise, it can be wrapped. Because of their awkward shape, I like to encase bottles in fabric, such as a pretty vintage dish towel.
Roll the bottle in the dish towel, with the bottom of the bottle about 2 inches from the edge. Use straight pins to secure it along the edge. On the bottom, fold the fabric so it lies flat, and pin. Bind the top with twine or ribbon.
Cookies
Holiday cookies are so beautiful, it’s a shame to present them in an unattractive tin.
When it comes to choosing a container, be creative; you’ll be amazed at the cookie boxes you will find.
Keep in mind that cookies should fit snugly in their container to keep them from sliding about and breaking. Waxed paper between the layers will prevent them from settling too much.
To keep cookies fresh, pack them up just before giving them if the container isn’t airtight.
The plainest cake pans and loaf pans are perfect for packaging cookies. Line them with waxed paper or parchment, letting it hang over the sides. Fill with cookies, and fold the edges of the paper over them. Tie with ribbon, seam binding, rickrack or twine.
The waxed paper isn’t quite opaque, so the cookies will peek through temptingly.
Sturdy cookies, such as biscotti, can be layered in a bowl, such as an antique mixing bowl or a new glass, ceramic or stainless-steel one. Cover the top with colored waxed paper, parchment or cellophane and secure with a ribbon.
Old-fashioned pudding molds and ice-cream molds make lovely gifts on their own; filled with cookies, they’re even more special. Look for them at specialty kitchen shops. They usually come with lids, so all they need is a ribbon wrapped around the rim and tied in a bow.
A trip to the hardware store and art-supply shop will provide you with more ideas. Look for lunch boxes, tool boxes and paint boxes.
Mailing the gifts
Cookies, bottles and jars are all fragile, but there are ways to pack them so they reach their destination intact.
Before filling a box or tin with cookies, line the bottom with bubble wrap. Don’t stack the cookies; instead, lay them end to end with waxed paper between the layers, filling the box to the top so the cookies don’t shift and break.
Add another piece of waxed paper, then bubble wrap, before placing the lid on top.
Jars and bottles should be individually sealed in plastic bags, just in case. Wrap each one in bubble wrap.
Each of these delicate gifts needs protection inside its mailing box. A 2- to 3-inch layer of soft padding will keep most well-packed items from breaking.
Start with an appropriate-size corrugated-cardboard mailing box (I save boxes throughout the year for this purpose) and fill it with the padding. You can use foam peanuts, bubble wrap, crumpled paper or excelsior (fine wood shavings; available at craft stores).
The gift should fit snugly in its cushioned box. Tape the mailing box well, and make sure it’s labeled clearly.
Don’t forget that these ideas aren’t just for the holidays. Give beautiful and delicious homemade gifts as birthday and thank-you presents, or even for no occasion at all.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Martha Stewart New York Times Syndicate