Festive Packaging Ideas for Food Gifts
Here Are Some Adorable Packaging Ideas for Your Holiday Treats
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Mug of Fun
Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate Mug Cake
If you’re going for style and substance, this mug cake kit hits all the right notes. Include all the ingredients they’ll need to make the cake, conveniently packaged in the mug that they can reuse for all purposes! You can download the free printable tag that includes cooking instructions here.
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Basket Set
Recipe: Pineapple Craft Cocktail with Lime Sea Salt
Lift the holiday spirits with this craft cocktail set. Sort all of the cocktail ingredients—lime salt, pineapple juice, and tequila—into individual glass bottles and package them up in a basket with festive ribbons.
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Keep the Dish
Recipe: Sweet Potato-Cranberry Scones with Molasses-Orange Butter
When we bring glass or wooden serving dishes to a potluck, we don’t typically expect to see them again. But you can make a gift out of your holiday treats by giving them in a lovely serving bowl that your hostess can keep—complete with a pretty linen, of course.
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Truffle Sampler
Recipe:
Repurpose those old jewelry boxes as miniature chocolate boxes. They’ll perfectly fit 4 homemade truffles and they’re much more special and personalized than a store-bought sampler! We're filling our boxes with Bourbon-Chocolate Truffles, but feel free to change up the flavors.
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Signature Southern Snacks
Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Straws
Recipe: Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws
Recipe: Proscuitto-and-Manchego Cheese Straws
Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Shortbread Crackers
No Southern party is complete without a dish of cheese straws. Turn your signature recipe into a gift-worthy treat by cutting the various flavors of cheese straws into different shapes and packaging them in a fabric-lined box. Make dividers out of lightweight cardboard and feel free to fill the box with mix-and-match flavors or other snacks.
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Craving Coffee
Recipe: Holiday Mocha Coffee Fudge
Place a coffee filter inside a mug to achieve a tissue-paper effect and fill it with your choice of homemade candies. We can’t resist going on-theme with homemade Holiday Mocha Coffee Fudge, but you can also fill your mugs with Pecan Pralines.
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Vintage Cookie Tin
Recipe: Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
Show off those stunning bakes in a sleek silver tin. The look of this wrapping replicates Grandma's hard candies, but the recipient will be surprised to find that they're actually homemade cookies. If you don’t already have these containers around the house, you can find them for low prices at most craft stores.
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Ready-Made Appetizer
Recipe: Pear Preserves
One of our favorite food gift strategies is to include all the ingredients someone will need to host a lovely party without the hassle. This cheese-and-preserves set, packaged together with ribbon, does just that. You can change up the flavors to your taste, but fig and brie is our go-to combination.
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Muffin Madness
Recipe: Apple Muffins
Recipe: Caramelized Apple Toffee Muffins
Recipe: Sugar-and-Spice Apple Muffins
Recipe: Apple Crumb Muffins
Line your muffins in a variety of fun-colored wrappers and package them together in an equally festive tin box. If you’re feeling adventurous, try baking more than one muffin flavor and providing a sampler.
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Mini Treats
Recipe: Crunchy Pecan Pie Bites
Decorate glass jars with festive holiday ribbons and accent with red doilies to create the ideal vehicle for miniature treats. You can also fill these jars with a sampling of our mini pies, like Mini Apple Pies or Mini Pumpkin Pies.
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Candy Shop
Recipe: Potato Candy
When it comes to candy, there are endless packaging possibilities. Present the potato candies like truffles in their own paper liners and pile the citrus mints high in a decorative bowl. Serve it all up on a silver platter. You can’t go wrong with this homemade gift.
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Sweet and Snug
Recipe: Peppermint Divinity
Recycle an old tin as a container to hold your homemade divinities. Line the inside with patterned paper to add extra creative flair.
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Jars of Joy
Recipe: Pulled Candy
Wrap your pulled candies in wax paper and store them in a cute burlap-lined mason jar for an easy homemade gift.
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Personal Loaves
Recipe: Banana Bread
Use decorative mini loaf containers to create a perfect personal gift. You can buy the wooden crates at the craft store or repurpose old farmers’ market containers. Add high style for low cost by wrapping the loaves with fabric scraps. You can adapt any of our breakfast bread recipes to fit the smaller loaves.
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An Elegant Treat
Recipe: Cornbread Madeleines
Use a sliding box to present homemade cornbread madeleines like their French cousin, the macaron. Tie a fabric bow to add extra elegance.
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Rustic Wrapping
Recipe: Pumpkin Bread
Turn a homemade bread loaf into a gift-worthy treat by bundling it up in a seasonal tea towel. Wrap the whole thing in twine to keep it nice and snug.
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Special Spirits
Recipe: Apple Pie-Infused Bourbon
We can guarantee you’ll find myriad uses for this Apple-Pie Infused Bourbon. Not only is it great gift material, but you’ll want to keep a batch for yourself at home to make some signature cocktails. Store the bourbon in a glass bottle or a mason jar.
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All Knotted Up
Recipe: Benne Seed Soft Pretzel
Accent these unique homemade pretzels with a decorative linen-lined box, and serve with all the cute condiments.
Download the pretzel gift tag
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Sweet Sendoff
Recipe: Chewy Ambrosia Biscotti
Recipe: No-Bake Granola Bars
Recipe: Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Recipe: Georgia Style Boiled Peanuts
Recipe: Barbecue Roasted Nuts
A good Southerner doesn't let guests leave empty-handed. Recycled cardboard drink containers make perfect car carriers for the ride home—just stash a cellophane-wrapped snack in each slot. We gave our container a coat of white spray paint, glued on scrap fabric, and affixed a custom "Happy Trails!" label to the front.
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Back to Basics
Making your own vanilla extract is one way to seriously up your baking game—all you need is a glass bottle, one vanilla bean, and a base of vodka or bourbon. Let it soak for a couple of months before you gift it. Give this thoughtful gift to any baker in your life.
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Takeout Treats
These reimagined takeout boxes are the perfect vehicle to carry candies as a hostess gift. Over the holidays, we're filling our containers with peppermints and candy canes.
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New Year's Resolutions
Recipe: 3 Fresh Spring Vinaigrettes
If you know your hostess will already be inundated with lots of sweet treats, lighten things up with these homemade salad dressings. They can also serve as sauces or marinades.
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Teacup Treats
Recipe: Fudgy Pecan Bourbon Balls
Recipe: Spritz Cookies
Attending a holiday high tea? Bring your hostess gift of cookies, truffles, or bourbon balls in cute teacups.
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Gift Box Goodies
Recipe: Pecan Pralines
Wrap your pecan pralines like a present because, honestly, this is the best gift we’ve received in years. Use tissue paper and a colorful box to complete the effect.
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Poised and Polished
Recipe: Cracker Toffee
Present your treats on a cake stand that the hostess can keep to display all of her holiday bakes.
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Colorful Cones
Recipe: Salty-Sweet Nut Brittle
Nut brittle can be enjoyed on-the-go with these handy paper cones.
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Shortbread Sampler
Recipe: Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Recipe: Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe: Lemony Sandwich Cookies
Recipe: Sparkling Snowflake Sugar Cookies
If you’re looking to make an impression, this shortbread sampler is sure to wow any lucky recipient this holiday season. Fill a larger box with smaller gift boxes and bake various cookie flavors to fill the slots. It's like your own personal holiday cookie swap.