Peppermint Stick Cocoa Mix

Last year, I shared some of my very affordable DIY gifts that I gave as Christmas presents. Quite a few people asked me to share the information again. You probably already have some of the preparation items at home. Here is how you make one of the popular gifts…

This was the perfect Christmas gift for The Deuce’s teacher last year. The school secretary was loving it when I dropped it off, so I passed the info on to her. I also made two more for family members.

Ingredients and Tools

1/2 cup powdered or dry milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
plastic or glass container with top
colored twine/string
(scalloped) scissors
glue stick or tape
hole punch
printer paper
scrapbook or card stock paper
printer

Mix Preparation

Layer in order: powdered milk, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint candy into a container.

Mix yields three 20 oz containers. If your containers are different sizes, just keep the ratio of ingredients constant.

Tip #1: Take your time with this project. Use a spoon to help scoop ingredients into measuring cup and then into gift container. My first attempt at this involved clouds of cocoa powder and powdered milk, peppermint stick dust, and an all-around mess.

Tip #2: Crush the peppermints in a plastic bag to make for easy pouring. The more mini chocolate chips and peppermint candy the better–it keeps the lower container contents compacted for initial presentation.

Labeling

To make the tags, I typed the following on regular printer paper: “Mix contents in a large bowl. For each serving, place 1/3 cup mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup boiling water. Store remaining mix in airtight container.”
I printed the message, cut around it, and glued it to a piece of scrapbook paper that I cut with scalloped scissors. I punched a hole in the scrapbook paper, and pulled a piece of colored twine through it to tie a bow around the top of the plastic container.

Voila! Instant affordable DIY Christmas gift.