Being a teacher means that the holidays are usually a bit tight, but sometimes your grade level teammates are just the best, and you want to give them a little "thank you" for always being there.
In this second installment of the "easy, inexpensive, but thoughtful gifts" posts, I'll be showing you how to make a simple sugar scrub! I wanted to give you a base recipe in case you have any friends with sensitivities to certain smells, and flexibility so you could find something that works for you.
The base recipe is as follows:
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup of coconut oil*
- 10 - 20 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional) depends on how strong you want the smell - see possibilities/ideas below
- 1 8 oz (half pint) wide mouth mason jar for storage **
- medium sized mixing bowl and a metal spoon for mixing
Notes:
* you could use olive oil, or a combination of olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil
**wide mouth jars are MUCH easier for getting the scrub out. I love these jars which can be found at Target! You can use a regular jar, but you may need a spoon to help get the scrub out once you get half way done with it. That being said, you can get really thrifty by reusing plastic containers too. Old sour cream or yogurt containers that are cleaned out and painted over would be another great idea!
How to make the scrub:
Mix together your sugar and oil of choice. If using coconut oil, it is a little thicker so be sure to mix the sugar in well. You can adjust this recipe by adding in more sugar if you feel it's too "juicy." If you use a liquid oil like olive oil, you may adjust it a bit.
Drop in the essential oil of your choice and mix well.
Also, when choosing an essential oil, be sure it is one that is okay to put on skin. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it is great for your skin!
Now, for one of my favorite scrubs...
Tropical Orange Scrub
Smells tropical when using the coconut oil, if using liquid oil it makes a lovely orange smelling scrub! Sweet orange oil is also one of the cheapest essential oils, making it more accessible at $4-6 a bottle.
15-20 drops of sweet orange oil
1/2 - 1 Tbsp of dried orange peel (optional)*
To use the scrub, take a small amount (about a Tbsp) into your hands and rub all over your hands, especially over any dry areas. After at least 30 seconds, run hands under warm water until you feel all of the sugar has washed off. Pat hands dry with a towel.
If you want labels or the instructions printed out download my free file here.
Notes about ingredients:
Sweet Orange Essential Oil: This can be found at some stores like Whole Foods, natural food/natural product stores, and you can order it off of Amazon as well. There are lots of options, even organic. The larger the bottle, the better the price per ounce, but this is one of the cheaper essential oils which makes it a great option for inexpensive gifts! You can get small bottles as cheap as $5 and they will make a lot of scrub!
Dried Orange Peel: The dried peel adds another exfoliant as well as speckles of color in your scrub! Dried orange peel can be found in the spice aisle in a bottle in some grocery stores. My Publix has it in with the regular spices in the Spice Island brand. I've also seen it at Hobby Lobby where the soap making supplies are located! It is about the same price on Amazon for 1 oz. If you buy in bulk, it's obviously cheaper. This stuff does keep a long time because it is dried out. If you have a natural food and/or natural products store like Garner's Natural Life, that is the BEST place to get it. Some of these natural product stores have bulk herbs, dried flower petals, orange peel, lemon peel, lavender, etc... and you put the amount you want in a bag, and you are charged by the oz. Cheapest place I've seen it.
Jazz it up...
* I like to make a simple tag or jar lid topper (I'll include one for the above scrub) to list the ingredients before giving as a gift. Some people really appreciate this so they can see exactly what went in the product. With the abundance of allergies, it's always a good idea!
*I like to tie a piece of natural jute rope around the lid. You can also use this to hang the tag if you make a tag instead of a jar topper.
*If you want to get super fancy you can add on a wooden scoop! I found mine at Hobby Lobby on 50% sale, but you can also get a bunch of them for about $10 here on Amazon.
I hope this gives you a fun, simple, inexpensive gift idea for your teammates, family, or friends...or yourself! This isn't just great for the holidays, but for birthdays or Mother's Day as well!
All the best to you and yours this holiday season!
Cheers!
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