This week we’re talking about inexpensive gourmet handmade gifts. On last week’s show, I focused on how you could make handmade gifts fast, in less than 10 minutes.
So today I want to focus on inexpensive gifts, and to drive home the point I actually priced the two gifts we’re going to make today ingredient by ingredient. Then I compared it to something similar from the store.
After all, you always hear that it’s so much cheaper to make it yourself. Do you ever wonder just how much cheaper? Then of course you hear about those DIY projects that seemed like a good idea at the time, but in the end cost more than it would if you had just bought it.
For the handmade peppermint sugar scrub and homemade natural cocoa I priced everything out ounce by ounce and cup by cup. So you can see exactly how much you’re saving.
Peppermint Sugar Scrub
I thought it would be fun to make this today because it’s a great holiday gift to give – it’s perfect to give as a secret Santa gift or a stocking stuffer. It has a wonderful peppermint aroma and helps to get you in the Christmas spirit.
I wrote a complete tutorial on how to put this scrub together. But let’s take the ingredients line by line and see what the cost is to make it.
- Jar – 65 cents
- Organic Sugar – 67 cents (33 cents a cup)
- Peppermint Oil – 10 drops 70 cents (7 cents a drop)
- Natural Food Coloring – 3 drops is 2 cents (.005 cents a drop)
- Almond Oil – 6 tablespoons cup $1.50 ($0.59 an ounce)
Total = $3.54 for 16 oz
I found an organic sugar scrub for $21.80 for 12 oz. Then you would add tax or shipping or both. Our is of course bigger than 12 oz so really you’d pay about $29.06. And of course that was assuming you’d pay by volume which is probably not the case. You’d probably be paying by weight which would make it even more because it’s heavy. So we have a savings of at least $25.52. That’s HUGE.
Update: After the show I went and measured the scrub by weight so we could compare apples to apples and my Peppermint Sugar Scrub came out to be 17.5 oz. That’s 20 cents an ounce compared to the store bought stuff at $1.82 per ounce. So if you were going to buy the same amount of store bought scrub you’d pay $31.85.
Also, note that this is a fast handmade gift to make!
The second thing we’re making on the show today is Natural Hot Cocoa. No artificial ingredients like powdered milk or high fructose corn syrup.
Natural Hot Cocoa Mix
- 1 Jar – 65 cents (forgot this on the show)
- 1 cup sucanat – $2.12 a cup
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – $.74 ($1.48 a cup)
- Unsweetened organic cocoa powder – $1.49 ($2.98 a cup)
- Vanilla bean Powder – $.97 (48 cents per teaspoon)
Total = $5.97 for 16 oz volume
I found organic hot chocolate that you could buy for $7.99 ($0.67 / Ounce) for 12 oz by weight. Our is 16oz by volume. So that’s a savings of more than $2.02. I could go and weigh my hot cocoa, but I think I’ve already proven my point.
Update: After the show I went and measured everything by weight so we could compare apples to apples and my Handmade Natural Hot Cocoa Mix came out to be 12.5 oz. That’s 47 cents an ounce compared to the store bought stuff at 67 cents an ounce, so to buy the same amount you’d pay $2.41 more if you bought the cocoa mix. (Remember, my prices are high. You can buy a lot of these items in bulk and save more.)
Also, this gift took less than 10 minutes to make as well.
Don’t let any one deter you from making handmade gifts. It’s so much cheaper!! I hope they show has actually encouraged you.
I’d love to help and encourage you with making your handmade gifts so I set up a 7 Day Christmas Gift Challenge. It’s completely free and just for signing up you’ll get my Handmade Christmas Gift Quick Start Guide. Just go to:
