*Note – Ball Brand gave me these jars for review. All opinions and statements are my own.
I know that most of us are familiar with Ball Jars for canning and pickling and making jams and jellies, but there are tons of other ways to use these amazing jars! One of my favorite ways to use Ball Jars is as gift containers. First, you can use the jars over and over for years because they are FANTASTIC quality and made to last forever (I’ve seen these used as mugs at various restaurants as well!) Second, you can dress them up beautifully and include a wonderful surprise inside. Third, they are a thrifty option! Despite their amazing quality, you can get sets of 12 for far less than $20!
Here is one idea of how I use them: Come up with your favorite cookie recipe and buy all of the ingredients to make 12 batches of cookies. Leave out ALL of the wet items (you’ll include the entire recipe on an attached card), but layer each of the dry ingredients (think sugar, chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, flour, etc) in pretty little lines up to the top of the jar (or until the ingredients for the recipe run out). Tie a pretty bow around the jar and/or decorate the lid with fabric (the lid actually comes apart, so you can put a piece of fabric onto the flat piece and push the round piece down over the fabric to hold it in place). Type up a cute card to attach to the jar with a “Happy Holidays” or “Happy Birthday” message along with the recipe on the back. It’s a SUPER cute, personalized gift option and it will have you paying relatively little out of pocket compared to typical gift shopping expenses.
To get some more information about canning and recipes, be sure to check out the Can-It-Forward webcast! You can also find the recipes printed under the “Recipes” tab just under the video.
There are lots and lots of ways to use Ball Canning Jars, so hopefully this all gives you a bunch of interesting and thrifty ideas!