Ask Kitty Magoo: DIY Gift Recipes

Dear Kitty,

I’d like to make gifts for my family this year. Can you suggest some simple recipes?

Signed, Crafty in Crivitz

Dear Crafty,

So glad to hear you’re going the DIY gift route rather than hitting the mall. What’s more thoughtful (or affordable) than a gift made by hand? And these recipes couldn’t be easier.

For the tub lover in your life, try these bath bombs adapted from Lauren Cox’s Ecobeauty:

• 1 cup baking soda

• 1 cup citric acid powder

• 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1/2 cup almond oil

• 20 drops peppermint essential oil

• plastic molds such as ice cube trays

Stir ingredients together until crumbly dough forms. (Add more baking soda or oil if needed.) Pack mixture into molds and let dry overnight. Gently tap molds to release bombs, then let air dry for one day. Yields approximately four bath bombs.

Maybe mom or sis would like this citrus sugar hand scrub, also adapted from Ecobeauty:

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup fine sea salt

• 8 drops lemon essential oil

• 3 tablespoons almond oil

Stir ingredients together until well mixed and pour into glass jar (preferably a cute one) with tight-fitting lid. Yields about eight ounces.

For the man in your life, I suggest this bay rum aftershave adapted from a recipe in Janice Cox’s Natural Beauty at Home:

• 1/2 cup witch hazel

• 2 tablespoons Jamaican rum

• 1 tablespoon glycerin

• 2 bay leaves, dried

• 1/4 teaspoon allspice, whole

• 1 cinnamon stick

• zest from one small orange

Mix all ingredients and pour into a clean glass jar. Seal tightly and store in a cool, dark place for two weeks. After two weeks, strain and pour into a dark glass bottle. Yields four ounces.

Meow!