With it now being the holiday season, people are starting to wonder what they should give their friends and family members this year.  

 The simple ideas below are great items to give to anyone that is on your Christmas list this year, from a simple chai tea mix, to a candy cane hot cocoa or a simple candy cane ornament.

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa:

  This simple hot chocolate mix is something that everyone can do and looks nice in a Christmas decorated mason jar.

What you need:

1 ⅓ cups of instant chocolate drink mix

1 ⅓ cups of chocolate malted milk powder

⅓ cup of baking cocoa

1 cup of confectioners sugar

6 tablespoons powdered nondairy creamer

3 cups of nonfat  dry milk powder

1 ½ cups of semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup of crushed candy canes

How to make it:

1. In a large bowl mix together the chocolate drink mix and the malted milk powder and the baking cocoa. In another bowl mix together the confectioner’s sugar and the nondairy creamer.
2. In one-pint jars layer ¾ cup of dry milk powder, ¾ cup of the chocolate mixture,⅓ cups of the confectioner’s sugar mixture, 3 tablespoons of the chocolate chips, and ¼ cups of the candy canes. You can use a funnel to pour the ingredients into the containers to make layers and press them down as needed.
3. To make the hot cocoa put ⅓ cup of the mix in a mug and add ¾ cup of hot water and mix well.

Click here for the recipe 

Chai Tea Mix:

 Looking for something to fill your favorite mug with? Look no further than this homemade chai tea powder.

  This drink mix is easy, simple, and only takes a few ingredients to make.

What you need:

3 cups of nonfat dry milk powder

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup unsweetened instant tea

¾ cup vanilla powdered nondairy creamer

1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground cloves

How to make it:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor, and blend until the mix is a fine powder. Once this is done, store it in an airtight container.  Tip: If you don’t have food processor, then use a blender or I used a magic bullet.
2. To make the drink, put three spoon fulls in a mug and then add boiling water.

Click here for the recipe link

Candy Cane Ornament:

  These ornaments are better than the typical candy canes that people hang on their trees.

  With this craft you can turn a boring old candy cane into fun Christmas shapes.

What you need:

• Candy Canes
• Painted cookie cutters in your favorite shapes (make sure that they are metal and not plastic)  
• Aluminum foil
• Cookie sheet
• Pam (or some sort of cooking spray)
• Hot glue
• Ribbon

How to make it:

1. Take your cookie sheet, and cover it in the aluminum foil. Spray the cookie cutter with the cooking spray, especially the inside, and then place your cookie cutters on top of the foil.

   

2. Break your candy canes into semi-large pieces, and place them into the cookie cutter mold making a single layer. Tip : When breaking mine, I put them into a Ziploc bag and then broke several of them by hand. You want the pieces a nice size because when they melt the large ones give off a nice design.
3. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees, and put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Make sure that the layer of melted candy cane is flat by running a metal knife over the top.
5. Place the pan back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes as they are to puff up somewhat.
6. Allow the pan to cool to the point where you can touch the cookie cutters.
7. Slowly spread apart the cookie cutter to remove the melted candy cane. Tip: The candy does break very easily. That is why I recommend using the cooking spray on the cookie cutter. The other way to do this is to leave the candy inside the cookie cutter.  
8. Once you have the ornament completed, take a hot glue gun, and hot glue a ribbon on to the back of the ornament.

Click here for further craft instructions