One of our favorite holiday gifts to give is a gift from the kitchen. Beautifully decorated cookies, decadent brownies and cakes, sweet chocolate truffles…they’re just as satisfying to make as they are to eat.  Gifts this special deserve special packaging, so we enlisted crafting expert and blogger Sarah Copeland from Edible Living to share her gift wrap ideas for homemade. Read on and get inspired!

 

Turning a homemade or artisan food into a memorable holiday gift is a craft, and like any craft, it requires a few tools to tap into your inner artist and create something you’ll feel proud to give.

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

 

Boxes

You’ll need various shapes and sizes, depending on what you’re giving. Take a spin around the kitchen or craft room for boxes that can be wrapped and repurposed (like tiny toddler shoe boxes) or buy boxes in different shapes and sizes.

 

Wooden Berry boxes or cheese crates

I love to repurpose my old berry boxes and cheese containers (usually from French cheeses like Camembert or Tomme de Savoie) into cookie crates. They are unexpected and sweet.

 

 

Luxe wrapping paper

This is where the splurge happens. A few thick sheets of beautiful, luxe wrapping papers will cost you, but they’re brilliant for elevating a homemade or artisan kitchen gift. Choose a few styles and mix and match, using every square inch as wrapping, labels, and layering or texturing elements.

 

Grosgrain ribbon

Thick, wide, narrow, polka dot, gingham or striped, grosgrain ribbon makes for luxurious packaging. Find a signature ribbon and buy it in bulk, when it’s cheaper. Use it to tie up boxes, cellophane bags, loop around the necks of wine bottles and make everything you give a real gift.

 

Food-Safe Cellophane and Tissue

Food-safe tissue and cellophane are musts for packaging foods, and they keep delicate goods like painted cookies from getting crumbled or smudged.

 

Baker’s twine

Skinny baker’s twine is affordable, easy to find and endlessly en vogue.

 

 

Post-it notes

Find one or two clever post-it note packs, which go a long way with a glue stick to create a theme for your holiday gifts. These thought bubbles were just the thing to make sure my holiday gifts don’t get too stuffy or serious, and one pack was a steal at $2.50.

 

Tape, scissors, glue stick, glue gun

Think craft project. You’ll need these basics to make it happen.

 

Gift tags

Cheap key rings, mail cards, or more formal card-stock gift tags are all perfect for packaging. DIY them out of the tiny corners and strips of that fancy wrapping paper you splurged on.

 

Finishing touches

Bamboo spoons, striped straws and such are the little extras that make the folks on the other end of the gift feel special and spoiled.

 

Sarah Copeland is a New York City-based food expert, cookbook author and curator of good living. Her recipes and articles have appeared in numerous national magazines and she is the author of The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other (Chronicle Books, 2011). Read more about her food adventures at edibleliving.blogspot.com.