Get into the holiday spirit! Make your own gifts for loved ones using herbs and other natural materials. These are the gifts they will enjoy and request over and over:
“I need more lip balm!”
You'll also hear: “When are you going to make more?”
So, bring out your creativity and play with nature's bounty to make extraordinary gifts for your loved ones this holiday season.
Here are some recipes for gifts to pamper the body. Look for beautiful bottles in antique stores or recycled jars in your home. Sterilize your jars and relabel them in your own handwriting with an ingredient list and instructions for use.
Salt Scrub
Salt scrubs used to be named “Salt Glows,” because they make your skin soft and beautiful. Use it on hands, feet, elbows, and any area of the body where the skin appears thick and rough.
Ingredients:
Fill 3/4 of the jar with sea salt. Cover the salt with grapeseed oil. Add a few drops of vitamin E oil and grapefruit essential oil. Stir the mixture and make sure the salt is fully covered with oil.
Bath Bombs
Bath bombs fizz when you add them to the bathwater. Fun to watch and aromatic, they-also soften the skin.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Citric Acid
- Loose Herbs (optional)
- Coloring
- Scent
- Witch Hazel
Molding instructions:
Mix baking soda, citric acid, and herbs (optional) in a large bowl. Set aside 4 cups and place them into a smaller bowl. Add coloring and scent and mix well. Slowly incorporate the smaller mixture into the remaining mixture. Remove 1/3 cup of mixture. Spray lightly with witch hazel so that the mixture “clumps” together. *Do not over spray* Pack the mixture tightly inside of the mold. Release onto a piece of cardboard. Repeat until all the mixture is used.
Lip Balm
Lip balms are easy and fun to make. The following recipe is great for chapped lips. You can leave it unscented or you can add other essential oils, such as spearmint, vanilla, etc.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces Coconut Oil
- 1 ounce Almond Oil
- 1/2 ounce Calendula/Comfrey Infused Oil
- 1/2 ounce Castor Oil
- 1 ounce Beeswax
- 40 drops Tangerine Essential Oil
Add oils to a crockpot and slowly let the oils get warm, Add beeswax. After the beeswax has melted add tangerine essential oil. Fill small jars or lib balm tubes and let cool. You can also use one to two-ounce sample jam jars or empty film cans.
Perfume
Give a fragrant gift to your loved one. Fragrant and luxurious, perfumes made with pure essential oils can uplift, relax, as well as elevate someone's moods. The following recipe is great for the sensual woman.
Ingredients (Essential oil mixture):
- 32 drops Lavender
- 20 drops Grapefruit
- 12 drops Orange
- 4 drops Ylang Ylang
- 4 drops Cinnamon
- 2 oz of Jojoba Oil or Vodka *
Mix the above ingredients into a beautiful glass bottle and put a label on it. Place a warning on the label that says “not for internal use and to avoid contact with the eyes.”
Dream Pillows
Once called “comfort pillows,” dream pillows were used for centuries to help people fall asleep. Interestingly, they were once used in sickrooms to ease the nightmares caused by illness. Here is one of many recipes we call “In A Land Far, Far Away...”
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Mugwort
- 1/2 cup Rose Petals
- ½ cup Chamomile
- 1/3 cup Lavender Flowers
- 1/3 cup Catnip
- 2 tablespoons Spearmint
Gently mix herbs in a large stainless bowl. Make a little pillow by choosing a decorative cotton cloth and cut out a 5” x 12” piece. Turn the fabric inside out, folded in half (5" x 6”) and sew up two of the three open sides. Turn pillow right-side out. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dream blend into the pillow. (For a softer pillow add a small amount of fiberfill material in the bottom of the pillow, add herbs then place a small amount of fiberfill on the top side of the pillow). Sew the remaining opening closed.
For a simpler pillow use a 3” x 5” cotton muslin bag for your dream pillow. Place 1/4 cup of herbs in the bag. Draw the strings and tie so the herbs cannot “escape!”
Tschau mitenand,
Leilah
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products and statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Consult your doctor, pharmacist or herbalist before use.