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Giving herbs this holiday season can be a great green gift. There are lots of different ways to upcycle containers to make the gift personal and special, and a theme such as herbs can make creating a personalized gift easy, useful, and local.
DIY Window Fresh Herb Gift
Here is a quick way to upcycle empty containers into beautiful gifts for the holiday season.
Select your container, remove any labels, clean of all residue and let dry
Choose your design and method of decorating (see below for some ideas)
Add small pebbles at the bottom for drainage, then add the herb plant, with or without extra soil depending on your container size.
Don't forget your label (if you keep the label the herb came with the recipient will know how to take care of the plant)
Here are a few examples of easy upcycling containers for herb gift giving.
Glass sauce jar stenciled with glass paint and glazed with Modge Podge
Small metal can label removed and course ribbon and string wrapped around
Thrifted mug paired with herb by theme or color
Large metal can painted with all-surface paint and gold sharpie leaf
Glass jar with washi tape wrapped around
Add this to make a perfectly paired gift set
More Herb DIY Ideas
Infused Cooking Oil
You can use either dried or fresh ingredients to infuse the oil. Dried ingredients will have a more concentrated flavor and will therefore give you a more intensely flavored oil. Also, by drying them out you’re getting rid of any moisture, which means there’s less chance of your oil developing molds so you can store your oil for longer.
A good-quality, mild-flavored oil, such as sunflower or avocado is good for cooking oils so as the taste of the oil doesn’t compete with the taste of the herbs. But olive oil works really well especially if you are using it for drizzling over finished dishes.
To Make:
Place the oil and herbs together in a clean jar and put the jar into a saucepan of water to warm gently for 20 minutes. Leave to cool before straining and placing in bottles (sterilize them first by boiling them for 20 minutes in a pot of water). Label with the date to use by, 2 weeks if using fresh herbs but up 6 months with dried.
Herb Garden Growing Kit
Bundle seed packets in a glass jar to give to the gardener in your life. Add handcrafted label sticks to make springtime gardening a snap.
Local Sources for Seeds
Mahoney's Garden Center (Winchester)
Pemberton Market (Cambridge)
Custom Spice and Herb Blends
Do you have a special blend of herbs that is your go-to for flavoring soups, curries, or pizzas? Make an extra batch and give it as a gift, you can also attach your favorite recipe.
This also applies to herbal teas, which you can give with a locally made or personalized mug.
