Chocolate Gift Basket

Warm & Cozy Chocolate Gift Basket

I love making my own gift baskets. They cost less than a store-bought version. Plus, they don’t need to be wrapped! (Call  me lazy, but I prefer a pretty gift basket to a wrapped gift any day. And I’ve been known to pop a gift in a gift bag for an even easier “wrapping.” But, today I want to show you how to create this super simple and quick Warm & Cozy Chocolate Gift Basket.

If I ever quit blogging, I need to find a job where I can make gift baskets for a living ;-). Or maybe a job where I can sniff sawdust and drink coffee all day. Do you know of a job with those perks?

My last trip to the grocery store had me wandering down the seasonal aisle where I spotted warm fuzzy scarves for $6.99! (If you have a Kroger near you, look for them!) I thought they’d make great teacher gifts, but by themselves they seemed a little…errr meek? But, add some chocolate, gourmet hot cocoa mix and a mug and the recipient might just exclaim…Eeeeeek!

Chocolate Gift Basket Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Chocolate Gift Basket

 

Non-Candy Warm & Cozy Gift Basket Fillers:

I get it, you may not want to fill your gift basket with sweets. No problem, here are a few warm and cozy ideas that don’t involve sugar.

  • Tea
  • Coffee
  • Mittens
  • Hat
  • Throw blanket
  • Hand warmers
  • Ear muffs
  • Mugs

 

Chocolate Gift Basket Instructions:

The key to a beautiful gift basket is creating layers and propping things up so you can see everything.

Chocolate Gift Basket

Start by using tissue paper (bubble wrap and recycled cardboard under tissue paper can help hold heavier objects.)

Fold the scarf neatly inside the bottom but let the ends hang over the bin.

Chocolate Gift Basket

Work from tall to short putting the taller items in the back.

Chocolate Gift Basket

Add the rest of your gift items: hot chocolate mix, filler candies, basket filler, etc. If you have a paper shredder or pasta maker you can shred your own paper. Brown paper bags look like nest material when shredded.

Chocolate Gift Basket

Write on an ornament or tag using a permanent marker or ink pen to create a unique gift tag.

Chocolate Gift Basket

Prop up any items that sank and fill in any holes with more candy!

Chocolate Gift Basket

You can buy cellophane bags to protect your gift basket, but I prefer the eco-friendly option of just leaving the basket as is.

Chocolate Gift Basket

These Warm & Cozy Chocolate Gift Baskets look so cozy, warm, and —who am I kidding—YUMMY!!!

Chocolate Gift Basket

I hope this quick Warm & Cozy Chocolate Gift Basket took some of the stress off your gift-giving tasks this year.

Chocolate Gift Basket


I cannot claim authorship of this DIY Gift Idea (Family Fun Magazine), but I can tell you that it is one heck of a fun way to entertain the kids for 15 minutes AND they make great gifts for the kids on your list. Read more

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers. This year I am thankful for so many things. But, mostly I’m thankful for a roof over my head, heat, electricity, running water and a sense of humor.

 

The long list of things I’m thankful for:

I’m thankful for good neighbors who graciously let me do multiple loads of laundry a week while our machines sat unusable in the garage.

I’m thankful for our good friends and family who brought us meals while our kitchen was torn apart.

I’m thankful to my in-laws for helping us through the first week after being evacuated from our home.

I’m thankful to our good friends who helped take care of Buddy while we were homeless.

I’m thankful to all the rest of our friends and family who called or stopped by to check in on us and make sure we were surviving.

I’m thankful to be back in our own home with the ones I love.

I’m thankful that I have a husband who understood that I couldn’t let someone else be in charge of putting our kitchen back together again. And a husband who is willing to live without while we push through the process of demolition and renovation.

I’m thankful for my two boys who have been helping demolish the kitchen and are entertaining me with lots of ideas on how the kitchen should look and function after the renovation. (I know they will be sad to see that their scooter rink plans won’t be in the finished kitchen.)

I’m thankful to all of you for reading, commenting and letting me know that this kitchen fiasco was just a small bump in the road.

I’m thankful that I have the guts to decide to take over building back our kitchen on my own terms!

Most of all, I am thankful for this life and all that amazing things that it is filled with and for where it will lead me.

I hope you enjoy this short one minute video I took during some of the demolition. I’m hoping to start giving weekly updates to keep you up to date on our kitchen renovation progress.

How about that little engine that could attitude? We had a hard time getting him to stop. I think  he’d still be up there beating on the soffit until it finally came down. (Hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from?)

 

Coming up: How to Remove Soffits Tutorial

You can read more about our kitchen disaster and renovation in these updates:

 

 

 

Hey y’all. I figured you might want an update from “The Handy Home.”  There have been so many changes, you won’t believe it! I have some amazing Before and After pictures for you. (Because I know how much everyone loves to see drastic changes.)

Kitchen Before:

Monotone cabinets and appliances. No visual interest. Read more

Update Your Ceiling Fan with Paint
I’m back, but only for a minute  because I’m working hard on transforming our pinky-beige bonus room into an art and craft studio fit for an art show! This is compounded by the fact that the room has many angles and dormers. Who knew that such a small room would take FOREVER to paint! Gah.

Do you have a brass ceiling fan cluttering the view on your ceiling? It is hard to imagine getting rid of a perfectly good ceiling fan. Especially if you live in a hot climate like we do. Ceiling fans are our salvation in the heat of the summer. But, they aren’t always the most attractive things.

Update Your Ceiling Fan with Paint

I encourage you not to rid your home of a perfectly good fan if it still works. Instead, why not paint it? AND, even if your blades are white, I’m going to show you a trick that will help make that fan almost disappear on the ceiling. 😉

Update Your Ceiling Fan with Paint Read more