Saturday, December 26, 2009

More Gifts


Now that all the gifts have been opened, I can show you the brown sugar scrub the kids made for the special people in their lives. Papa, Grandma, Aunt Kathy, their teachers and babysitters all got a jar of it, and let me tell you, it's wonderful. I had to test it. I mean, I couldn't give away untested scrub, now could I. What if it didn't work? Luckily, I works really well and it was a perfect gift for a three year-old and a five year-old to make. Actually, the hardest part (for me) was getting a hold of the supplies. There isn't much call for exotic oils on Mackinac Island, though now that I've tried this stuff I'm going to have to keep a jar of it on hand all the time.

If you'd like to make a batch, you'll need:
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup sweet almond oil
  • any kind of essential oil or similar to scent the scrub (if desired)
I bought my oil here, though I must admit, I wasn't pleased with their service. When they discovered they couldn't ship to my P.O. box they claim to have emailed me. That email never arrived, while the order confirmation did - so I know they had an accurate address. After a long phone conversation (which made it quite clear to me that customer satisfaction is not at the top of their list) they shipped the oil to me. It arrived in time for the kids to make the scrub, which, in the end, is all that really matters...

Mix the sugar and the oil, put in a tiny bit of smelly stuff (we used a very small amount of almond extract), put it in jars and you're done. One batch made just about three cups of scrub, which for us was three jars - so we ended up making three batches. I wish I could remember where I saw this recipe originally, but I do remember them saying that the recipe was basically a two to one ratio of sugar to oil - and that you could use different oils; olive, and coconut should work as well. In the end I went with the sweet almond oil they used because I try to stick to the original recipe the first time I make something...

We jarred our scrub in pint-size canning jars; dressed up with a pretty fabric circle, a direction label and a coordinated beaded spoon. The spoons were Kitchen Aid measuring spoons which had the "Kitchen Aid" part removed thanks to the help of a Mister Clean Magic Eraser. (I'm still in awe of how handy those little things are.)

The best part was watching the kids' faces as people opened the gifts they made. It was priceless...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Ellen said...

What a great idea! I like to give gifts that are useful, and this definitely is perfect (and easy, too!). I am filing this one away for next year!

Loralynn said...

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was unexpectly good! Happy New Year!

Becky J. said...

what a great idea! that mister clean is magic isn't it? lol. have a great christmas!

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Lisa @ Life with 4! said...

Is it a body scrub? That would be a perfect gift any time of the year! good idea!

Karen Bosch said...

Sounds like a wonderful gift! I need to try this sometime.

~ The Jolly Bee ~ said...

This is a great gift idea....I'm sorry your customer service experience was bad -- but I think people have forgotten how to give good service. At any rate, I'm sure your recipients were grateful.

susan said...

sounds like you guys had fun making the gifts. needless to say, max, went bonkers when he opened the box and saw the tonka truck...aimee says he scremed "like a girl". then he opened the batman sheets i made and ran around dragging them sceaming nana and batman over and over. i am mailing two pair of batman jammies i made him over the weekend...should be quite entertaining for aimee. there could be a wardrobe problem in the near future...he probably will want to wear them to preschool, the store. bed...good luck prying them off his little body. i wish i was there to see the action. kids ar so much fun!!!!

Anonymous said...

That sounds great! I often make a sugar body scrub to give for gifts, but I use white sugar and baby oil and I don't bother to add scent. It really makes my skin feel fabulous, especially when my legs are covered in mosquito bites, or in the winter. I am going to try brown sugar next time!

Skooks said...

This sounds really yummy! Do you have to refrigerate it?