3 Quick and Easy Gift Ideas

Hey, friend! As I sit down to write this, there are less than 10 days until Christmas and once again I find myself thinking "how did Christmas sneak up on us so fast?" And while most of us have likely been staying home and shopping online much more ever before, we are somehow still short on cash and gift buying time. Just me? I doubt it...

So have no fear, the Joyfully Said team is here! Today we've rounded up some easy, inexpensive, and most importantly QUICK gift ideas! All of which are thoughtful and ready for giving to anyone on your list. I am not even kidding when I say that I did not go to the store for any of these ingredients. I simply used what I had on hand! We've also included some really adorable gift tags and wrapping ideas. So get on your elf hat and get ready to get gifting!

Gift Idea #1: Stove Top Potpourri Kits

This gift idea has quickly become a personal favorite of mine, and I am not messin' when I say that it took me about 2 minutes to assemble. Okay, maybe five. ;) There are so many variations of this, but here is what I included in my kit:

- Dried oranges and lemons (I dried some in my oven one day as I was doing work around the house. You can find instructions for that here! (Amazon has lots of great pre-dried options without the extra work!)

- Cinnamon sticks

- Whole allspice

- Whole cloves

- Fresh rosemary

Use whatever whole spices and herbs you have on hand! Pine is a great option if you don't have rosemary (literally, cut it from your backyard or hey- your Christmas tree!). I happened to have all of these spices on hand, but if you don't, here is a great variety pack from Amazon!

Then, I grabbed a mason jar I had sitting around and filled it with my dried items, used some brown craft paper and twine I had on hand, and tied these gift tags with instructions around the top. Again, use what you have! Wrapping paper would work just as well as the brown craft paper that I used. Regular twine, yarn, ribbon, or string would work great to tie around the top!

Gift Idea #2: Homemade Bread

Next up is this loaf of homemade bread that will truly make you say "I made that?!" Yes, friend, you did. Now let me first say- do not be intimidated by this recipe. It takes about 10 minutes to mix up, and then you let it sit on your counter for 12-18 hours before baking it at a high temp. No mixing, no fuss. The result? Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and SO GOOD. I love this bread because often around the holidays, we are surrounded by sweet, homemade treats. Which we love! But every once in a while, you just need a nice savory loaf of rustic bread that you can dunk in your soup on those cold winter nights. Mmm...

This recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction. I personally love the cranberry walnut version of this bread and that's what I made for this, but there is a jalapeño cheddar version I'd love to try, as well as a plain version (plain version recipe from Pinch Of Yum).

After letting the bread cool completely on the counter, I put it in a big ziplock bag and got out as much air as possible, then used the same brown craft paper and string I used before to package it. Then, I used these gift tags and wrote a quick note on the back!

Gift Idea #3: Cookies In A Jar

Cookies in a jar are one of my all-time favorite quick and easy gift ideas. First of all, they're so cute! Plus, who doesn't love a quick batch of cookies?! I used this recipe from Nestle.

Once I had the dry ingredients layered in a one-quart jar (again, that I found in my house!) I pulled out that same brown craft paper and string that used before, and tied on these gift tags that have instructions for the recipient.