4 Great DIY Holiday Gifts Using Vanilla!

A great way to stretch your holiday budget is to create homemade gifts to give to co-workers, teachers, coaches, and other important people in your life. Truly- I would love to give all of these amazing people trips to the spa, or a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant to show how much I appreciate them- but with 6 kids- that is just not in the family budget! So a homemade gift can be a great way to show how much you care, and give something that is really wonderful! I personally love the scent and taste of vanilla beans- so today I thought I would share with you 4 Great DIY Holiday Gifts Using Vanilla!

Homemade Kahlua

You'll need:

4 cups water

1 1/2 cups instant coffee crystals

4 1/2 cups vodka

8 cups sugar

2 vanilla beans

Mix water, sugar and coffee crystals. Heat and stir until dissolved.

Cool the coffee mixture to room temperature. Add in the vodka and stir to combine. Pour kahlua mixture into bottles (I used both the original vodka bottle as well as a glass “growler” container that I already owned). Cut each vanilla bean into thirds and drop bean pieces into each bottle and cap the bottles. After 2-3 weeks, strain the liquid to remove the vanilla bean pieces and then re-bottle into decorative glass containers for gift giving.

Feel free to make use of this printable label (simply click on the above image to open it in another window, and print!)

Homemade Vanilla Extract

 5 vanilla beans

1 cup of vodka

Use a knife to split the vanilla bean in half, leave about ½ inch at each end intact. Put your vanilla beans in your glass bottle or jar and cover with vodka. Close jar or bottle and store in a cool, dry place for at least 8 weeks. Give the bottle a shake every week or so.

Feel free to make use of this printable label (simply click on the above image to open it in another window, and print!)

Brown Sugar and Vanilla Body Scrub

1 lb. light brown sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract (use homemade vanilla extract- see recipe above!)

1 cup olive oil

Mix together all of the above ingredients until well blended.

Feel free to make use of this printable label (simply click on the above image to open it in another window, and print!)

Vanilla Sugar

3 cups granulated sugar

4 vanilla beans (split and scraped) 

Combine the sugar and vanilla bean scrapings in a medium bowl. Using your hands rub together the sugar and the vanilla bean scrapings until all the scrapings have been distributed throughout the sugar. Pour  into a decorative glass jars. The vanilla and sugar will age over time and become more fragrant and delicious.

Feel free to make use of this printable label (simply click on the above image to open it in another window, and print!)

The key to making all of these vanilla gifts amazing is to use best quality vanilla beans. I always purchase my vanilla beans from Beanilla (and they were kind enough to provide with a sampling of vanilla beans to use in creating this post).

Which vanilla gift above is your favorite?