It’s almost Christmas. Don’t you hate that feeling when you realize you’ve forgotten someone? Or worse.. a neighbor swings by with a gift and you have nothing in return? If you’re like me, the last thing you’ll want to do is run out to the store to grab something. Traffic, crabby people .. and more money on the credit card? No thanks.

What if you could make a personal gift instead that your friends and family will love?

Usually when we hear homemade gift, we think of a lot of time and effort. What if you could whip up gifts in minutes — and they cost almost nothing? Here is idea for a great last minute Christmas present that you can literally put together Christmas Eve. Best of all, the recipient will love and actually use it.

So what is this big “Mystery Present”? It’s called a gift in a jar and the basic idea is to fill a decorated glass jar with a soup or baking mix. Mix together a hot chocolate mix out of cocoa powder, powdered creamer, sugar and some spices and fill the jar 3/4 of the way with it. Top it off with tiny marshmallows. Print a pretty label with directions on how to turn this mix into hot cocoa by simply adding some warm milk.

You an also mix the dry ingredients of your favorite bean chili recipe. Or instead of mixing the dry ingredients, layer them in the jar for an even more visually appealing gift. Don’t forget to add a card with the recipe and instructions on how to turn this mix into a yummy batch of chili.

The possibilities for gifts in a jar are endless.

Print a cute, personalized label and glue it on the front of the jar, like those on old-fashioned jam jars. Next, cut a piece of holiday fabric into a square that overlaps the lid of the jar by at least an inch. If you have a pair of fancy serrated scissors, use those to give the fabric a fancy edge. Center the fabric over the closed lid and secure it by tying a matching ribbon around it.

That’s it, your gift in a jar is ready.