HOLIDAY TREATS
Printed in The Family Post: Holiday Issue 2003
by Kimberly Carrow
One year, burned out after years of baking my traditional holiday
cookies for gift-giving, I decided to make something that wasn’t
sugary and sweet to give away instead. Pressed for time and energy,
I made a huge batch of Chex Mix—real Chex Mix, with rice,
corn and wheat cereals, mixed nuts, real butter and seasonings.
I packed the Chex Mix in pretty holiday tins, and I have to say
that this gift was one of my most successful ever. Everyone said
“It was so nice to have a treat that wasn’t sweet.”
Since the kids love to get involved in making holiday treats,
by all means, let them do most of the work for you! Home-made
gifts for teachers, school employees, neighbors and friends are
less expensive and enjoyable to put together, and inspire holiday
spirit and good cheer in the family.
Besides making the goodies, consider the packaging. Pretty tins
are easy to find at discount stores, but glass jars work just
as well. Round cirles of pretty fabric or paper can be tied over
the lid of the jar with colorful ribbon, raffia or yarn (cut the
circles with pinking sheers for a nice finish). Plain brown paper
bags can also be decorated with drawings, stickers and glitter
glue for use as gift bags; to close the bag, fold the top over
once, punch two holes in the center about an inch apart, thread
a ribbon through and tie a bow (you may want to put treats in
a plastic baggie inside the paper bag since cooking oils can stain
paper). Small shoe boxes, cellophane treat bags, baskets and printed
gift bags are also good choices for containers.
Designing gift tags or labels is also a great activity to occupy
the kids. Inexpensive and versatile blank string tags are now
available at crafts stores, available in many colors and sizes.
These make adorable gift accessories when decorated with little
drawings and hand-lettered. Blank jar labels are also available,
and can be dressed up with ink pens and stickers as well. Older
children may want to experiment with clip art and label-making
computer programs.
Now that we have discussed packaging and presentation, here are
some savory recipes and ideas to fill your holiday goodie bags:
Chex Mix
Homemade (recipe on back of Chex cereal boxes) with assorted nuts,
pretzels, goldfish crackers, etc. added according to tastes. Spicy
Chex Mix can be made by adding a few teaspoons of taco spice or
tabasco sauce.
Fancy Nuts
Tamari almonds, mixed nuts, pecans, peanuts and pistachios are
easy to find this time of year. Try shopping the bulk bins at
supermarkets or at natural-food stores for interesting selections.
Flavored Popcorn
Try checking out the recipes at www.popcorn.org,
or make some popcorn snack mix.
Popcorn Snack Mix
6 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 bag of popped microwave popping
corn, plain (no salt, no butter)
1 small can chow mein noodles
1-1/2 cups spoon-sized shredded wheat
cereal
1 cup peanuts, pecans or mixed nuts
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
Melt butter and add seasonings; pour over popcorn, chow-mein
noodles, cereal and nuts. Mix very well to coat all pieces and
sprinkle with Italian spices. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake
at 250 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool and enjoy.
