Homemade Gifts-- Coffee Sugar Scrub

I've been wracking my brain for the past couple weeks on gift ideas that are inexpensive to make, preferably with the items I already have in my cupboards. Not to mention something unique that someone would be pleased to receive. My 2 cousins are the ones who prompted this epic brainstorm. Every year around the holidays, I find myself in ultra panic mode as I try to find a suitable gift that also fits my typically tight budget. This year, it was as if the skies had opened up and the universe smiled on me. I was at the local craft store and I happened to stumble across a giant coffee mug. Like... huge. The kind of coffee mug you could probably fit an entire pot of coffee into. Score! Both of my cousins adore coffee, especially Dunkin Donuts coffee. So the coffee themed gift basket (well, giant cup) began to take shape. I stopped off at DD to get 3 pounds of coffee- one for each mug and, of course, one for me. I can't help it Dunkin makes amazeballs coffee.

I had my coffee, which was the base of my gift mug. Now what? I needed some more coffee themed gifts to put inside this caffeinated treasure chest. I decided to make a batch of my famous cappuccino cookies (I'll post the recipe when I make them closer to the holidays), but I still needed at least one more main item. I started doing a little rifling online. I ignored the obvious food choices (I already have my cookies, why press my luck?), and instead began to search for something more in the beauty realm. I had been trying my hand at some natural body scrubs and foot soaks, so I decided to start there. Lo and behold, I discovered my holy grail! I found an amazing recipe for an all natural coffee sugar scrub! The original recipe called for olive oil, but I figured there might be a chance that it could end up being too... goopy. So I substituted coconut oil. Since most coconut oils remain mostly solid in a cool place, the goopy problem wouldn't be much of a problem anymore. This was incredibly easy and fun to make. If you know anyone who loves coffee, but also likes being pampered, this is the perfect gift. Did I mention it was INCREDIBLY easy to make? And you probably won't even need to buy anything to make this. If you're not a fan of coconut oil, or don't have any on hand, just switch back to the original recipe and use olive oil instead. Easy peasy, right?


Coffee Sugar Scrub

1 cup sugar
1 cup ground coffee
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil (you may need a little more, depending on how solid your oil is)


First, you'll want to get some containers to put your finished product in. I didn't have any mason jars at the ready, so I soaked the labels off of 2 that I had set aside. The ones I used are 16 oz. jars. The recipe above will make enough for one 16 oz. jar. If you'd like to fill 2 of these babies like I did, you'll need to repeat the recipe for the second jar. On the bright side, that part takes little to no time to complete, so it's not a bother. Once I got the labels and glue soaked off, I gave them a good scrub to make sure any excess glue bits and grime were gone.

Next, go ahead and assemble your ingredients and prepare your work space. I like to put down a square of parchment paper whenever mixing anything. Mostly because I loathe the clean up process, and once you're all done, you can roll up the parchment and throw it away, along with all the stray bits that have fallen on it.

Measure out your dry ingredients.

Next, add your oil.

Mix it all up! Since my oil was more on the solid side, using the spatula was a silly venture. I ended up using my hands to mix it. Once mixed, it should be moist enough to stick together when pressed in your hand. If it's too dry, add a little more oil. You don't want it too wet, but you certainly don't want it dry either.

Once you've achieved the desired consistency, put it into your jars, pressing it down as you go. Pack it in tightly, and one full batch will fit comfortably inside a 16 oz. jar. Now that you've got it packed and ready to go, all you have left now is to personalize and package!

Dress it up however you like, but be sure to make it personal. You want your essence to be apparent, since you are the one who crafted this work of art. Once you've put on your finishing touches, it's ready to gift! You can put it in a gift basket, like me, or give it by itself. An amazing gift that could literally cost you NOTHING. Is there anything better?

If you're planning on trying this out, or have tried it, I'd love to hear from you! Comments are ALWAYS appreciated! I hope you enjoy it, and have a blessed day!