There’s no reason to get anxious about gift giving if you’re a little short on cash this season. Gifts made from scratch not only show a genuine sense of the holiday spirit, but also allow for customization and creativity. Whip up a decadent (but cost-effective!) sugar scrub with a few candy canes, pour it into a retro glass jar, and you’ve got a savvy, chic, and fabulous holiday gift that everyone will love.
What You’ll Need:
- A glass jar with lid
- 4 cups white sugar
- Mixing bowl
- 1/4 cup crushed candy canes
- 1+ cup olive oil
- 20-30 drops peppermint essential oil
Directions:
- Measure and pour the sugar into a mixing bowl. Give things a stir to break up any clumps. The sugar works as a gentle exfoliant that leaves your feet and hands wonderfully smooth.
- Now add the olive oil to the sugar, and stir. The mixture should resemble wet sand that isn’t too saturated. Olive oil offers the best results (with skin-soothing qualities to boot!), but sunflower or almond oil are good options too. If one cup of oil doesn’t seem to be enough, then add another quarter cup.
- To finish the mixture, add the peppermint oil, which boosts the refreshing peppermint scent of the scrub. And peppermint is a natural antiinflammatory, which soothes sore muscles
- Place a handful of your crushed candy canes in a ziplock plastic bag, and make the pieces even smaller with the help of a rolling pin. You can also pulverize the candies in a clean coffee grinder or blender. You want the candies to become superfine, similar in size to the white sugar.
- To create the pretty scrub, place a big spoonful of the sugar-and-oil mixture at the base of the glass container, and then sprinkle with a layer of the crushed candy canes. Continue layering until you reach the top of the container. Add a cute ribbon and a few candy canes, and your peppermint scrub is ready for gifting!
Makes four cups of candy cane sugar scrub.
Source: popsugar