Moscow Mule Gift Basket

Are you looking for a fun gift idea? I come from the kind of family where we write exact wish lists with specific items we want, and then just buy based on those lists, so I'm not always great at coming up with something when it isn't specified. I mean, give me a wedding or baby registry and I am that person who only buys things from the registry.

We got invited to a couple's "stock the bar" party for Jeff's brother a couple of weeks ago. The concept was, instead of a wedding shower, we could have a fun cocktail party instead. Guests were asked to either buy something bar related off of the couple's registry, or to bring wine or liquor to fill their bar.

Of course I waited a little on the long side to actually buy a gift from their registry (because that's just the type of procrastinator I am) but there were still Moscow Mule glasses available. I had been planning on spending a little more on the gift, so I decided to make it into a gift basket!

Our gift basket included the Moscow Mule glasses (of course), vodka, ginger beer, lime juice, and limes for the cocktails. I also tossed in fun cocktail napkins, some pretty coasters, and reuseable straws. And then of course I picked out a pretty basket that was big enough to hold everything and would also look nice in their house.

Someone else had already purchased bar tools off of their registry so I didn't want to toss in more random things, but you could also add in shot glasses, beer or wine openers, a pretty cocktail shaker, or other bar tools to fill out the basket. Some other ideas I had were a mint plant (some people will muddle mint into the drink or use it as a garnish), cute dish towels, a candle, or a gift card to a liquor store.

To put the basket together, I first added in the extra items that wouldn't fit in the top of the basket, so the rest of the Moscow Mule glasses, additional bottles of ginger beer, and the rest of the set of straws. Then I added a layer of tissue paper and some pretty metallic shredded paper. I arranged everything else on top, with some extra shredded paper in the glass so you could see the limes I put inside. Add a cute card and you're good to go! This would also be a fun gift idea for a 21 year old's birthday or for a bachelor or bachelorette party.

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Gift Idea: Customized Cutting Board

Lately, my house has been filled with the smell of burning wood.  No, we haven't been starting fires or burning wood-scented candles.  I received a wood burning tool from Darby Smart and have been going a litttttlle crazy with it.  What's a wood burning tool?  It's basically a really hot pen that you can use to write or stamp on wood objects.  I'm totally addicted, it's fulfilling all of my childhood pyromaniac needs.

I was trying to think of a good gift for my dad's birthday and having some serious struggles.  Are all dads hard to buy for?  For Father's Day I gave him a bottle of some nice whiskey, and prior to that, most of his recent gifts have been giftcards or cash for him to go crazy in the hardware store.  Since he's always making things (check out this gorgeous huppah he made for my brother's wedding), I thought it would be fun to return the favor and make something for him.

To make this, you'll need a cutting board of your choice, a wood burning tool, and letter hot stamps.  I first lightly drew a line across the board to denote where the letters would go, and then laid out the stamps to get the spacing right.  Then I attached my first letter to the tool and got burning.  It takes a couple of minutes for the tool to heat up (you can tell it's ready because it starts to smell like hot metal).  Then I held the stamp on the board, tilting it to make sure I got all of the edges of the letter, until it started to smoke.  Next, I let the tool cool for a little bit, removed the letter, and started the process over again with the next letter stamp.  I then used the pen tool to draw a couple of decorative lines, and called it a day.  Add some cheese, sausage, and crackers, and you've got yourself a present!

I made another cutting board for my mom for Mother's Day just using the pen tool, and she lurrrrved it ;)

Do you still make gifts for your friends and family?

I received these tools c/o Darby Smart, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!

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