The Christmas Holiday is coming up quickly. Handmade gifts sometimes hold more value than anything you can buy in a store. Handmade gifts also allow the whole family to participate in their creation.

Mason jars or canning jars are for more than just putting up vegetables or making your own jams. They can be decorated and used for a variety of gifts. They allow you to use your imagination and let the whole family be involved. When you give them for a gift,if they are filled with goodies or something else that can be used, then the jars can later be reused by the person receiving the gift.

I am going to give you some ideas that you can use for making gifts with mason jars. Remember this is something the whole family can participate in, so have fun with it. You can decide what size jars you want to buy, though I like the medium and small sizes. If you use the large jars, that is a lot you have to fill and if you are watching what you spend, it might be a better option to use the medium or small jars. When you buy the jars they usually come 12 to a pack, so that gives you a lot of options for how many gifts you can make.

Mason Jars Filled With Goodies

This is one of my favorites and my kids really like helping with this one. You are going to need to think about who you are making this for and think about what kinds of things they like. Examples, are m&ms, skittles, trail mix, whoppers, oreo cookies, just to name a few. Buy these things, or if you are making cookies, make them small so they will fit into the jars. Go to the fabric store and buy a yard or less of holiday fabric. You will use this to cut circles to go over the lids of the jars and will be secured to the jar by the rings. You can trim the fabric to have whatever size edge you want. Fill the jars with what you bought or made to go in them. Cover them with the fabric tops and there you have a simple gifts. You will use the metal lid and ring.

To make it even more fun, get a black permanent marker. Sit down with your kids and let them give the jar a name. Kids come up with great names for the jars and it gives it a more personal touch. For example : if you fill a jar with trail mix, the kids might name it Reindeer mix or Happy Trails Mix. Once they give you the name, write it on a smooth side of the jar with the marker.

For the Hot Chocolate Lover

If you have someone in know who loves hot chocolate, heres a way to use the mason jar for a gift for them.

Buy a cannister of hot chocolate and a bag of small marshmallows. When you fill the mason jar be creative in how you fill it. You can layer it with marshmallows and hot chocolate,or simply fill it half and half. Use holiday fabric to cover the top and secure it with the ring. Thats a simple gift to make and doesn't hurt the wallet. You will use the metal lid and ring.

Tea Lovers

You can fill a jar with tea bags. If some you know likes herbal teas, then fill a jar with those. If you know they like splenda with their tea, make a tea jar kit. You can put splenda packets in the bottom and tea bags to the top, or even layer it. The possibilites are endless. Remember to use the fabric to make a nice top. You will use the metal lid and ring.

Potpourri

For someone who like smell goods this works great also. You will only use the fabric for the top and secure with the ring. You fill the jar with a potpouri and your finished. If you want to add your own personal touch, add faux pearls or beads with the chips to accent it.

Bath Lovers

Make a nice gift set for the bath. Fill jars with bath salts or bath beads. You can also use little soaps. Cover them with holiday fabric and secure with the ring.

Mason Jars Make Great Gifts

The possibilites are endless for using these jars to make creative and fun gifts. You can fill them with almost anything and decorate them to go with the holidays. It doesn't hurt the wallet and with one set of 12 jars, you have 12 easy gifts to make.

If you choose to use all the jars for one person or for a family, you can can use the box bottom the jars came with to deliver the gifts by covering it also in holiday fabric. Its just another way to create something and give it some meaning.

If you liked this you can also check out my hub on Family Fun Gift Ideas