(928) 775-0400

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Christmas is a great time to make homemade gifts for the special people on your Christmas list. Below are a few ideas for quick gifts that will make a hit this gift-giving season.
Packaging Baked Goods           
Presenting cookies in a unique manner is a hit with the gift recipient. One idea is to use a dustpan to hold your cookies. Wrap the pan of food with plastic wrap and decorate it with ribbon and a gift tag that says, “We believe in the Five Second Rule – Merry Christmas!”
For round baked goods, such as snowballs or peanut butter balls, place them in an egg carton that has the lid cut off.  Wrap the carton in plastic and dress it up with a bow.
Potpourri Recipe
It is also fun to dehydrate food and use it for Potpourri. The easiest part of this gift is the flexibility of ingredients. You can add more or less of different ingredients based on what is on hand or on sale. One favorite is drying oranges, lemons and apple slices. Place the dried fruit in a baggie with a couple of cinnamon sticks, a bay leaf, whole cloves, tablespoon of nutmeg, and a couple tablespoons of allspice. Then, attach a personalized tag on top of the bag that says, “Christmas Potpourri. Add water and heat over stovetop.”  This is very economical and adorable at the same time.
Fire Starters For Fireplaces & Wood Burning Stoves
Making fire starters out of pinecones dipped in wax make a cute practical gift. To make the cones, empty wax into a quart saucepan (one that will not be used for cooking). Place the pan on medium heat and melt the wax until it becomes a liquid. Remove the pan from the stove and place the pan on a hot pad on top of a protective barrier such as newspaper or cardboard. (The wax will drip and you don’t want it on your countertop). Place three to five pine cones in the pan of wax and lightly coat each one. Remove them with tongs and place on a piece of cardboard to dry. Armadillo Wax Company in downtown Prescott sells leftover wax by the pound, or you can melt candle remnants from your house, thrift stores or garage sales. Finally, place the pinecones in a large basket and add a bow.
Thank You
The team at USA Real Estate in Prescott Valley appreciates our clients and would like to say thank you for a fabulous year.  A year in which we were able to help countless individuals purchase their first home, we supported the veterans in the community with housing and fund raising on their behalf, and were able to get thousands of dollars in Government Grants for individual’s down payments.  What a great year!  For more information on USA Real Estate, give the team a call at 928-775-0400.

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