Homemade Gifts: Pumpkin Ginger Spice and Energizing Pumpkin Foot Scrubs

December 16, 2011 By Leanne Vogel November 23, 2016

Treat yourself or your loved ones to an at-home winter pedicure. This scrub smells so delicious, you’ll have to control yourself from not snacking on it! Plus, steps on saving money during the holidays by making homemade gifts, below. I was confident that leaving for vacation the week before Christmas would help me avoid the hoopla of the holidays. Christmas gifts were going to be random things we picked up on the trip, and our take along food item for the festivities was going to be a store-bought fruitcake. I know, who am I kidding? Store-bought fruitcake? I guess I really set myself up for failure on this one.

It wasn’t long until I found myself making batches of foot scrubs, canning homemade jam, whipping up two sheets of coconut almond bark, and ~~eating~~ making chocolate spoons. Because really, I can’t show up to an event with make-shift gifts and a sugar-laden cake. In the end, I got suckered into making gift baskets for practically everyone we know and I have no one to blame by myself. But you know what? I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Best of all, I’ve gotten to test 4 batches of foot scrubs which really couldn’t have come at a better time. These scrubs work so well, that I ended up not having to book a pedicure before our vacation. These toes are ready for some fun in the sun!

Pumpkin Ginger Spice Foot Scrub

Author: Leanne Vogel

Serves: 1⅓ cup

Treat yourself or your loved ones to an at-home winter pedicure. This scrub smells so delicious, you’ll have to control yourself from not snacking on it!

Ingredients

½ cup canned pumpkin
½ cup demerara sugar *see note
2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and divide between two 250mL mason jars.
Add a gift tag and you’re done!

Notes

Demerara sugar is coarser than many sugars, but any brown sugar or other sugars with coarse granules will do the trick!

Store in the fridge for 7 days

Energizing Pumpkin Foot Srub

Author: Leanne Vogel

Serves: 1⅓ cup

Wake up your senses with this energizing foot scrub, complete with a coarse texture to give those toes some sparkle!

Ingredients

½ cup canned pumpkin
½ cup demerara sugar *see note
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon ground coffee beans
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and divide between two 250mL mason jars.
Add a gift tag and you’re done!

Notes

Demerara sugar is coarser than many sugars, but any brown sugar or other sugars with coarse granules will do the trick!

Store in the fridge for 7 days

Homemade Gift and Basket Ideas

Do you want to make your own gift baskets for the holidays? Here are some of my gift basket tricks to stay on budget, and still be creative:

Get your gear at the dollar store: they have Christmas themed baskets, ribbon, tissue paper for the basket filling, basket bags, and Christmas mugs, all for under a dollar.
Re-gift: do you have a bunch of wine bottles sitting around? Throw them in the baskets!
Less is more: pick two or three of your favorite products and add them to each basket. They don’t have to be elaborate or expensive. Things like paleo crackers, dark chocolate bars, fruit, and pork rinds are great.
Go homemade: whip up easy recipes like Christmas bark, foot scrub, or rum balls.
Include the recipes: if you go the homemade route, include handwritten notes with the recipes of the treats on them.