Sweet and Simple Cookie Kit Gift-with Free Printable!

         I have another easy gift idea for you- and another printable! This little cookie kit can be put together with just a few inexpensive items from Target or Walmart, but it makes a sweet, thoughtful gift for a teacher, neighbor or friend! It is perfect for a last minute gift, since you don't have to make anything.

I purchased:
-"Cookie Cookbooks" from Mardel. These little books are so cute, and they were only $2 each.
-Cookie cutter sets from Target. Dollar Spot score!
-Cake Mate "Sequins" Frosty Mix sprinkles, from Walmart $1.30 each
-Vanilla Cookie candle from Walmart $1
-Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix $1.50 at Target
-Polka Dot Paper Bins (I bought mine last year, they were clearanced for $0.25, but you can get the same thing for around $1)
-some ribbon to tie your printable on with.

 Right click on the printable to save, and then print full sheet size. You will have four labels. The front says, "Merry Christmas" and the back says,

"Sprinkles and sweets, 

delicious cookies and

treats, we hope that is 

what your holidays are

made of!"

"Sweet friendship refreshes the soul." Proverbs 27:9 (the Message)0

Even if you don't want to make the cookie kits, you could put this little tag on any kind of homemade treat! Since they don't specify what is inside, you can use them however you want. And, since they don't have a particular recipient on them, you can use them for teacher gifts, neighbor gifts, or just whoever! 

I printed the labels, folded and then placed them at the top of the cookie mix packages. I punched two holes (be careful to punch at the very top of the bag, on the sealed part, so you don't puncture the part with the mix in it!) and then I tied ribbon into a bow.  There are lots of other fun things you could add to your gift, or you could make a homemade mix, but I was going for frugal and easy, so all my items are store-bought. However you do it, it will still be a cute and thoughtful gift!

Mine ended up being around $6 each. I always think that homemade gifts are lovely, and it would have been fun to have given cookies that I had baked, but time is short, and I thought these would be fun for the recipients to use with their families. They can be also be used after Christmas, when everyone isn't completely inundated with homemade treats anymore!

Linked up at:
"Fabulously Frugal Thursdays" at A Life in Balance 
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels 
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos 
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator

Normal Expectations or Nasty Neigbor?

So, I am suffering in one of those self-created conundrums that plague people with a tendency to over-think...well, everything! To cut out the blubbering the gist is this: we live in a tightly packed neighborhood. Every building has at least four families in it and most have six. That means, obviously, a lot of noise. This is compounded by the fact that, to put it bluntly-but honestly, we do not have the highest quality neighbors. So, since we live in the ghetto, noise is to be expected. I understand that. I really do. People have to talk, dogs have to bark, cars have to start. However, I firmly believe that all these activities should be restricted to matters of life-or-death after the hours of oh, say, 1:00 am. I think that is being more than generous. However, my very near (across the street) housing companions do not share my opinion. As a matter of fact, their opinion is that all fun must be had between the hours of midnight and 4:00 am. Yep, every single weekend, without fail, they are outside talking,drinking and generally carousing. Clearly they are not decent people because all of those are in bed!

So, tonight I decide to take matters into my own hands. It is Columbus Day weekend and all the soldiers are off until Tuesday. The "neighbors" decided to start up their ruckus again-for the third night in a row. So I decide to call the Military Police. The operator seemed to believe that four day weekends are an excellent excuse to party it up until all hours of the night. "Well, ma'am (so very condescending!), it IS a four-day." As if that provides a license to do whatever one please whenever he or she pleases!

That leaves me in a quandary. Is it rude that I demand that my neighbors follow the rules of polite society? Am I truly just being a fun-ruiner? I don't know. All I know is that my mom always said that nothing good happens after midnight- so true!:) And that I just want some uninterrupted sleep...