Back from Vacation and Back on Track!

We returned home on Sunday from our wonderful and exhausting trip, and now we're back into the daily routine. That's good, because it's time to start preparing goody boxes for Christmas!

Several years ago when we were young, starting our family, buying a house, and had just moved halfway across the country, we were strapped for cash to say the least. I started to let my creative juices flow, and we started doing goody boxes for Christmas presents. Now we're not rolling in the money but not counting loose change to buy milk, either, but the goody boxes have become a classic, something eagerly anticipated by friends and family and now I've been hearing "how do I get on the goody box list?" from a few people. We will do (I think) fourteen goody boxes this year, although the list inevitably grows slightly as we get closer to Christmas. I think this is something anyone and everyone can and should do (the goody box part, not the growing list part!), and I'm going to fill the next few weeks with how I do my goody boxes as well as favorite holiday dishes and make ahead tips. The holidays are a great time of year to be with friends and family and to remember the joy of good company. Get ready for some excitement!

Here are some tips for the base of your goody box - the box! If you can, keep the boxes the jars come in. You can also ask at area stores for boxes in the size that you think you'll need, or look at buying some boxes. Baskets work, too, but you can rack up a large bill very quickly if you are doing multiple goody boxes! I've used the small dish pans with good results, too. I take boxes, usually ones I've saved from canning jars, and cover them in festive wrapping paper, effectively and inexpensively hiding the prosaic nature of a cardboard box. A couple sheets of tissue paper in the bottom make a nice liner; lay the sheets in so that the edges come up at various points to add some visual texture. Last year I also began wrapping the whole thing in cellophane wrap and tying off with curling ribbon, too. Wow, did they look nice! I bought a dozen rolls of holiday cellophane wrap just after New Year's for 25 cents each, so if this is something you're going to do, definitely use the after holidays clearance wraps to your advantage!

Next up.... the gourmet treats to put in the boxes!