I'm so danged proud of myself,,,
In that I have finished all of my Christmas Shopping,,,
That is to also include they are all wrapped up and ready for the tree.
For my family, I got their traditional gift baskets,,,
Lotsa small food items I know they like,,,
Snacks and a small canned ham,,,
Who doesn't like ham?
For the families of my two best friends,,,
They all are getting a nice gift of really cool DVD's.
For the man who has taken me to the hospital twice,,,
Both times resulting in saving my scruffy life,,,
I bought toys for his 4 youngest kids,,,
And a cash gift for the oldest three.
My friend recently discovered the Stargate movie and TV Franchise,,,
So for him I bought the entire set of three movies and all three TV series.
My other good friend is getting a similar type of gift,,,
I got him the 5-movie set of the new Godzilla and King Kong movies.
He and his wife get a nice selection of my signature booze gifts ( more on this later),,,
While his three kids (tweens or older) get a modest cash gift,,,
They also get a bag of "movie night" snacks,,,
Enough for all five movies in the set.
They are the only ones I am close enough with to justify the larger expense,,,
But I do have a lot of friends who I consider close acquaintances,,,
They are all getting some version of the following gifts.
Everyone either gets Food or Booze.
For my friends who don't drink,,,
I put together a small basket (thrift store finds),,,
With the ingredients for one nice home cooked meal.
Like I said earlier,,,
Who doesn't like a canned ham.
But now to the gist of this post,,,
How to make some one smile for two dollars,,,
Or if you are so inclined an average of $5.00 to $10.00.
Here's what I've been doing for several years now,,,
So far they've always been appreciated.
The least expensive gift idea.
Airline Mini's of booze,,,
Tied to 7.5 ounce cans of soda or mixer.
Just go to Wal Mart and buy some of the 7.5 ounce cans of soda,,,
Then select an appropriate "Airline Mini" to pair with it,,,
Then simply tie the bottle to the can with twine,,,
And "Voila", an inexpensive "High-Ball".
The soda's run about 65-cents and most mini's are only 1 dollar,,,
Some are more but not that many go over $1.49 each.
I gifted these extensively when I worked in a large office,,,
One of these would "magically" appear on their desks,,,
As long as I didn't accidentally gift to a tea-totaller,,,
Everyone seemed to appreciate the gesture.
Now for your friends who deserve just a bit more personalization,,,
I came up with what I call the "Red Neck Highball Glass",,,
And the "Red Neck Rocks Glass".
Go to Wal Mart and buy the standard 12 ounce Mason Jars in a pack of 12,,,
Last time I stocked up they were well under $1 per jar,,,
Same thing for the 6 ounce "Rocks" jars.
The "Rocks" jars have an additional fun factor,,,
Pour the booze into the jar and add 2 normal ice cubes,,,
Then replace the pressure lid and screw the ring top on snugly.
As you swirl the booze around with the ice in it the inside cools off quickly,,,
After about 30 seconds the pressure lowers and the seal goes "PING",,,
Then you know the drink is chilled and cut to sipping perfection.
I went into PowerPoint and made some printable labels for the jar tops,,,
It's absolutely not necessary but I felt the label added a fun factor.
I tried to attach the .pdf files of the jar labels in this post,,,
But I hit the limit of 10 attachments per post,,,
I'll upload them in a second post.
The jars also lend themselves to slightly larger gift packs,,,
Here's a few ways I've "enlarged" the gifts for a select few folks.
Each 12 ounce jar holds 3 airline mini's of booze,,,
Some bottles are a bit fatter (Bacardi Rum) but most will fit 3 bottles.
First, you're going to need some Kraft Bags,,,
I buy these at Hobby Lobby and they are almost always on 50% off sale.
Put three mini's of booze into the Mason Jar,,,
And three 7.5 ounce cans of soda into the Kraft Bags.
In the attempt to get a bit "craftier" I took some scrap cloth I had laying about,,,
Traced around the bottom of a large oatmeal container,,,
And put it between the lid and the jar.
I also stumbled on some different jar styles at Dollar Tree and Dollar General,,,
The Mason Jars are a true classic but the others are fun as well.
Do likewise with the 6 ounce Rocks jars,,,
Each Kraft bag will hold one jar and 3 mini's of booze.
Here is a list of my favorite High Balls:
Jim Beam and Coke - Add 1-ounce of lemon juice
Jim Beam Red Stag and Coke - If you have them float a few cherries in the drink
Bacardi Dark (or white) Rum and Coke - Add 1-ounce of lime juice
Black Heart Spiced Rum and Dr. Pepper - Add 1-ounce of lime juice
Seagram's Seven and Seven-Up - Add 1 ounce of lemon juice
Southern Comfort and Sprite - Add 1 ounce of lemon juice
Gin (any brand) and Ginger Ale - Definitely add 1 ounce of Lime Juice - It's called a "Lime Ginger/Gin Rickey"
Vodka (any brand) and Sprite - Add 1 ounce of lemon or lime juice
Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix and any decent Vodka
Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix and a flavored vodka - Texacraft Pickle or Rock Town Watermelon are my favorites
Here is a list of my favorite liquors for the Rocks Jar:
Evan Williams flavored bourbon - Honey, Apple, Cinnamon.
Parrot Bay 90 proof flavored rum - Pineapple, Watermelon, Banana
Deep Eddy flavored vodka - Lemon, Lime, Ruby Red Grapefruit
Various Cinnamon Whiskeys - Fireball, Yukon Jack, Evan Williams Fire
Anyways, These little booze packs have been a hit for me,,,
And as you assemble the various gift packs,,,
You get to enjoy a few mini's yourself.
Get all creative with them,,,
Go to a thrift store and buy a cheap basket,,,
Then fill it up with an assortment of individual high Balls.
I do hope this gives you some ideas.
Aarond
.
In that I have finished all of my Christmas Shopping,,,
That is to also include they are all wrapped up and ready for the tree.
For my family, I got their traditional gift baskets,,,
Lotsa small food items I know they like,,,
Snacks and a small canned ham,,,
Who doesn't like ham?
For the families of my two best friends,,,
They all are getting a nice gift of really cool DVD's.
For the man who has taken me to the hospital twice,,,
Both times resulting in saving my scruffy life,,,
I bought toys for his 4 youngest kids,,,
And a cash gift for the oldest three.
My friend recently discovered the Stargate movie and TV Franchise,,,
So for him I bought the entire set of three movies and all three TV series.
My other good friend is getting a similar type of gift,,,
I got him the 5-movie set of the new Godzilla and King Kong movies.
He and his wife get a nice selection of my signature booze gifts ( more on this later),,,
While his three kids (tweens or older) get a modest cash gift,,,
They also get a bag of "movie night" snacks,,,
Enough for all five movies in the set.
They are the only ones I am close enough with to justify the larger expense,,,
But I do have a lot of friends who I consider close acquaintances,,,
They are all getting some version of the following gifts.
Everyone either gets Food or Booze.
For my friends who don't drink,,,
I put together a small basket (thrift store finds),,,
With the ingredients for one nice home cooked meal.
Like I said earlier,,,
Who doesn't like a canned ham.
But now to the gist of this post,,,
How to make some one smile for two dollars,,,
Or if you are so inclined an average of $5.00 to $10.00.
Here's what I've been doing for several years now,,,
So far they've always been appreciated.
The least expensive gift idea.
Airline Mini's of booze,,,
Tied to 7.5 ounce cans of soda or mixer.
Just go to Wal Mart and buy some of the 7.5 ounce cans of soda,,,
Then select an appropriate "Airline Mini" to pair with it,,,
Then simply tie the bottle to the can with twine,,,
And "Voila", an inexpensive "High-Ball".
The soda's run about 65-cents and most mini's are only 1 dollar,,,
Some are more but not that many go over $1.49 each.
I gifted these extensively when I worked in a large office,,,
One of these would "magically" appear on their desks,,,
As long as I didn't accidentally gift to a tea-totaller,,,
Everyone seemed to appreciate the gesture.
Now for your friends who deserve just a bit more personalization,,,
I came up with what I call the "Red Neck Highball Glass",,,
And the "Red Neck Rocks Glass".
Go to Wal Mart and buy the standard 12 ounce Mason Jars in a pack of 12,,,
Last time I stocked up they were well under $1 per jar,,,
Same thing for the 6 ounce "Rocks" jars.
The "Rocks" jars have an additional fun factor,,,
Pour the booze into the jar and add 2 normal ice cubes,,,
Then replace the pressure lid and screw the ring top on snugly.
As you swirl the booze around with the ice in it the inside cools off quickly,,,
After about 30 seconds the pressure lowers and the seal goes "PING",,,
Then you know the drink is chilled and cut to sipping perfection.
I went into PowerPoint and made some printable labels for the jar tops,,,
It's absolutely not necessary but I felt the label added a fun factor.
I tried to attach the .pdf files of the jar labels in this post,,,
But I hit the limit of 10 attachments per post,,,
I'll upload them in a second post.
The jars also lend themselves to slightly larger gift packs,,,
Here's a few ways I've "enlarged" the gifts for a select few folks.
Each 12 ounce jar holds 3 airline mini's of booze,,,
Some bottles are a bit fatter (Bacardi Rum) but most will fit 3 bottles.
First, you're going to need some Kraft Bags,,,
I buy these at Hobby Lobby and they are almost always on 50% off sale.
Put three mini's of booze into the Mason Jar,,,
And three 7.5 ounce cans of soda into the Kraft Bags.
In the attempt to get a bit "craftier" I took some scrap cloth I had laying about,,,
Traced around the bottom of a large oatmeal container,,,
And put it between the lid and the jar.
I also stumbled on some different jar styles at Dollar Tree and Dollar General,,,
The Mason Jars are a true classic but the others are fun as well.
Do likewise with the 6 ounce Rocks jars,,,
Each Kraft bag will hold one jar and 3 mini's of booze.
Here is a list of my favorite High Balls:
Jim Beam and Coke - Add 1-ounce of lemon juice
Jim Beam Red Stag and Coke - If you have them float a few cherries in the drink
Bacardi Dark (or white) Rum and Coke - Add 1-ounce of lime juice
Black Heart Spiced Rum and Dr. Pepper - Add 1-ounce of lime juice
Seagram's Seven and Seven-Up - Add 1 ounce of lemon juice
Southern Comfort and Sprite - Add 1 ounce of lemon juice
Gin (any brand) and Ginger Ale - Definitely add 1 ounce of Lime Juice - It's called a "Lime Ginger/Gin Rickey"
Vodka (any brand) and Sprite - Add 1 ounce of lemon or lime juice
Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix and any decent Vodka
Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix and a flavored vodka - Texacraft Pickle or Rock Town Watermelon are my favorites
Here is a list of my favorite liquors for the Rocks Jar:
Evan Williams flavored bourbon - Honey, Apple, Cinnamon.
Parrot Bay 90 proof flavored rum - Pineapple, Watermelon, Banana
Deep Eddy flavored vodka - Lemon, Lime, Ruby Red Grapefruit
Various Cinnamon Whiskeys - Fireball, Yukon Jack, Evan Williams Fire
Anyways, These little booze packs have been a hit for me,,,
And as you assemble the various gift packs,,,
You get to enjoy a few mini's yourself.
Get all creative with them,,,
Go to a thrift store and buy a cheap basket,,,
Then fill it up with an assortment of individual high Balls.
I do hope this gives you some ideas.
Aarond
.
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