I love giving cute little edible gifts to all of my close friends for Valentine's Day. This year I decided to step it up a notch not only with the gift contents, but also the wrapping. Off I went in search of fresh wrapping supplies and inspiration for the actual gift contents.
How did I fare? Well it was certainly a very "fruitful" trip to say the least. There are so many cute treats and ideas in stores at the moment. And yes, I had some serious shopping success (probably more shopping success than I actually needed…but theres always next year, right?).
For the Wrapping:
- Red Glitter Takeout Boxes- I actually found these at Pier1 on clearance from Christmas (Christmas Red vs. Valentine's Red = Same Thing!). Since they no longer have these in stock, I was able to find a bunch of similar options to share with you all from OrientalTrading.com.
- Clear Cellophane Wrapping Paper- This is a wrapping "must-have" for me. I use cellophane when wrapping any of my perishable gifts as well as many traditional gifts. It's pretty, protective and displays my gifts beautifully. Best places to find cellophane wrapping include: Michaels.com, Target, Amazon.com and World Market. I also am a fan of using the clear cellophane treat bags for baked goods.
- Ribbon- I am a HUGE believer in saving nice ribbon that I receive on gifts. My heart breaks a little each time I see to see perfectly good ribbon that could most definitely be used again, get thrown in the trash. However, collecting ribbon doesn't guarantee that you will have the right colors available to you when you are say, wrapping Valentine's Day treat bags. I went to World Market for the Pink Grosgrain Ribbon. Purple and white grosgrain ribbons can be found on amazon.com or at Michaels.
- Gift Tags- I used different types of tags for these little gifts. On the takeout boxes I found these adorable chalkboard sticker hearts at Target. Target has a second Chalkboard Sticker Heart with a red backing (also very cute!). For the champagne bottle tags and other cookie bag tags, they were actually Home Goods finds, so I don't have a link to the exact tags. However, I was able to find very similar tags to share with you from Target and Amazon. The best part about these tags is that they provided the perfect canvas for sticker decorating. If you aren't up for buying tags that can only be used once a year, buy more neutral tags that you can adorn with festive stickers. (**Note- Metallic Sharpies and Chalkboard Pens are my recommendations for best writing utensils on these tags)
Valentine's Day Treat Ideas:
- Chocolates Wrapped in Metallic Foil- Valentine's Day is all about the chocolate. These little hearts not only look great in a gift bag, they are delicious and the price point is what I'm talking about (I paid about $3 for 2 bags at Walgreens (or equivalent drug store). You can also find these chocolates on Orientaltrading.com, Target and most Grocery Stores.
- Popcorn- Love Angie's Boom Chicka Pop. It comes in so many flavors and doesn't go stale immediately after opening (perfect for parsing out into small wrapped goodie bags).
- Pressed Cookies- I love my OXO Cookie Press. Not only can I use this press year round (not just for Christmas anymore!), but it also comes with a mini recipe book (I made the chocolate and classic butter cookies for Valentines Day) AND each batch yields 50+ homemade cookies! What's not to love about a homemade gift (especially when its cookies)?
- Mini Champagne Bottles (for ages 21+)- This is the priciest part of my post, but a fun addition (so what the heck, why not!). World Market sells an assortment of mini champagne bottles (in stores only). I am also a fan of the Sofia Mini Champagnes and Pommery POP Rose Champagne Miniature.
I must say that I did feel somewhat like a Valentine's Day Goody Bag Factory while coming up with all of these different options. It was fun, delicious and I definitely perfected my cellophane wrapping technique in the process (another great skill for my resume). In all honesty, I really think that a homemade gift (even if the contents are store bought, adds a special touch. Whenever someone makes that extra effort (even if its just adding stickers to a gift tag), it doesn't typically go unnoticed and gift recipients really do appreciate the additional thought associated with something homemade (at least thats how I feel, but I hope you do too!). Happy Valentine's Day!
