Getting Ready for Christmas.....

And with Christmas comes the fun of.....gift-giving!

Now I don't know about you, but lying in bed at night and coming up with ideas for everyone's Christmas presents is such a fun, cozy, exciting thing to do. For me at least.

And after reading Miss Jen's post about a Homemade Christmas, I thought that I would share with you one fun idea for Holiday gifts......

Decorative Jar Mixes!

A decorative jar mix makes a great gift for friends and family.....it is very easy to do and looks so cute!

If you'd like to read more about jar mixes

and how to assemble them, feel free to take a look at

our canning website here.

Here is one that I assembed this afternoon.....a yummy pancake mix. This recipe, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, happens to be our favorite way to have pancakes!

Decorative yellow ribbons.....and a cute card attached with directions about how to make the pancakes.

And you can use any fabric you like for the top, of course.

Anyway.....there are many many delicious recipes for a variety of dry mixes.

Take a look at a large list of them here!

And finally......here is the recipe for Chocolate Chip Pancakes!

For the Dry Mix:

2 C. oats

1 C. white flour

1/2 C. chocolate chips

1 C. whole wheat flour

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. dry milk powder

1 1/2 T. baking powder

1 T. cinnamon

One at a time, layer the ingredients in order into a clean (and dry!) quart jar. With each ingredient, take time to pack down tightly and evenly. As you add each layer, press the sides down with your fingers and make sure the layers are even. It will be a tight squeeze, but all of this will fit into a quart jar!

Add a lid, band, and fabric circle to the top of the jar. Attach a decorated notecard with these directions:

To Make Pancakes:

Mix 2 C. of Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix with:

1/3 C. oil

2 eggs

1 C. water

Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased skillet. Cook until evenly browned on both sides. Serve warm with maple syrup.

I hope you enjoy this fun Christmas gift idea as much as I do!

And remember.....you do not need to can these mixes. They are dry ingredients, so they will not spoil.