For Plastic-Free July last year, we wrote a piece on ways to reuse your Little’s Coffee jars and, to celebrate the festive season, we’ve put a Christmas spin on upcycling your jars. This year, we’re all about homemade – gifts, decorations, food – you name it. And it turns out that empty Little’s jars are more useful than you might think. Here’s a bunch of ways that you can reuse your jars to make beautiful homemade Christmas gifts this year.
Make a snow globe
All you need to make the cutest Christmas decoration going is:
- An empty jar
- Resin decorations that you can pick up in places like Hobbycraft.
- Water
- Glycerine
- Eco-glitter
- Super glue
Simply super glue the decorations to the inside of the lid to make a little festive scene. Then fill the jar with water, eco-friendly glitter and a few drops of glycerine (so the glitter doesn’t fall too quickly) and screw the lid on tightly. You can super glue the lid shut to avoid any leaks once you’re happy with it. Turn it upside down and ta-dah! You’ve got a retro Christmas decoration to keep or gift.
Christmas-infused gin
One for adults only – create some a festive boozy treat with Christmas-infused gin.
All you need is:
- An empty jar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 tbsp Juniper berries
- 2 strips of orange peel
- Your favourite gin (you could use vodka, too)
Method
- Pop the cinnamon stick, cloves, juniper berries and orange peel into the jar, making sure to give the orange peel a good twist to release the flavours.
- Pour the gin on top and screw the lid on, then leave the jar in a cool, dark place for 12-24 to infuse.
- Strain the gin through a fine sieve and pour back into the jar to store or gift.
- Serve your Christmas-infused gin with plenty of ice, tonic water and an orange segment. Enjoy!
Store homemade sweet treats
Last week, we wrote a recipe for ridiculously tasty vanilla coffee fudge that makes the perfect homemade gift, especially when presented in a zhuzhed up jar! Fudge aside, you could use your jars to gift homemade cookies, brownies or something healthier… whatever you like! You could also measure out all the ingredients for an indulgent hot chocolate and layer them up in a jar for the recipient to make when they need a sweet treat.
We’d love to hear your ideas and see your creations! @wearelittles
