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I have a sad story to tell. Last year, my brother (serving in South America) requested a box of our family’s homemade Christmas toffee. I lovingly collected the ingredients, and found an adorable cookie tin for packaging. With Christmas music blaring over the stereo speakers, I melted down chocolate in my double boiler, chopped walnuts and poured molten caramel. Just look at the result:
Mouth-watering, no?
The day before I was going to write a blog post about it, my brother emailed me, saying he’d received the tin of toffee. Here is a picture of how it arrived:
In my brother’s own words: “megan’s toffee, huddled, hiding in the corner of the tin”
Needless to say, the toffee didn’t make the blog (although my brother ate it anyway). Since then, I’ve brooded over which is the best method for sending homemade treats. Do certain baked goods hold up better than others? Is there a type of packaging that is best for protecting the goodies over which we’ve slaved? What do they really look like when they arrive?
In this spirit, I’m declaring October “Cookie-Mailing Month” here at Missionary Ideas. In addition to regular Halloween-themed posts, I’ll be testing recipes, as well as packing & shipping methods. Hopefully, I can get to the bottom of this.
It is also my pleasure to announce this blog’s very first giveaway. Going along with our cookie-mailing theme, one winner will receive a Reynolds 00590 Handi-Vac Vacuum-Sealing Starter Kit, which I will be testing this month as well. Just in time for packaging and sending Christmas cookies to your missionary!
To enter the drawing, you have several options: 1. Get my new button for your blog, 2. Make a comment with a question or suggestion about sending homemade treats, or 3. Announce this giveaway (and include the link) in your Facebook or Twitter status. Each contestant can get up to three entries; just let me know how you’ve entered in your comment below!
Let the Month of Cookie-Mailing begin!
One of my favorite flavors of Autumn is caramel. YUM. I love caramel apples, and so does my brother on a mission, but you can’t exactly ship that to South America. A cute alternative? Send caramel apple pops! Lightweight and inexpensive, these sturdy hard candies will be able to make the trip. I can get them at my local grocery store, but I’ve heard of others having trouble finding them. Is anyone else in the same boat?
Okay, so I know I’m a teensy bit obsessed with treat bags, but before you get mad at me, just LOOK at these cuties from Jana’s Eubank’s Blog “From My Feathered Nest”:
Seriously, how fun & festive would it be to get this in the mail? Jana gives brief instructions on her blog, but even if you don’t have the same tools that she uses, you can still create something similar, using the photo as inspiration. Hit up Michael’s, and then fill your bag with a spoonful of your missionary’s favorite non-meltable treats, like jelly bellies, skittles, or sour patch kids.
Oh my word, love me some Bath&Body Works! So many festive scents to choose from this season. When I heard they had come out with a candy-corn-scented product, I worried about whether I could be trusted not to eat it. Try your luck with this little product. It comes in a 1-oz container. Perfect for your missionary to tuck inside his or her bag on the go, and very handy, in my opinion. But remember: when shipping, be sure to choose packaging that won’t compress, and be sure to put the little bottle inside a zip-lock bag, just in case it opens during transit. That would be one deliciously-scented mess. And while you’re on the B&BW site, check out their other cute Halloween products.
Halloween snack mix is a great idea for festive care packages, especially since the lightweight popcorn keeps costs down when shipping overseas. Blogger Read It and Eat It has a very simple and delicious recipe here.
Make this treat even more fun by tucking it inside a crafty favor bag like the one below, featured on Gordon Gossip:
How cute are these?!
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