Candy boxes with assorted chocolates are usually the go-to when it comes to giving candy as a gift, but I say that we break out of that boring old mold (or box) and go with something fresh and creative! What am I talking about? Homemade candy bouquets! Here are are three different ways to say goodbye to boring old candy boxes and hello to exciting new candy bouquets:
Lollipop Bouquet
Step one: choose your container. The whole point is to be fresh and creative, so choose an appropriate and thoughtful container. Use a sand pail for a child, a coffee cup for your coffee-loving friends, a tin or a flower pot. Don’t get stuck at the first step!
Step two: choose your candy. Try to find out what kinds of candy the recipient loves, and then try to find similar candy that is brightly packaged and individually wrapped. This candy bouquet is meant to be edible, so hot glue-gunning individual M&Ms is just not the way to go.
Step three: start at the bottom. Trace the bottom of the container on a chunk of Styrofoam and then cut it out and glue it to the bottom of the container. Paint a skewer or stick green (or cover it with green floral tape) and stick it in the Styrofoam. Paint/tape a Styrofoam ball green and stick that to the other end of the stick.
Step four: get pinning. Pin the candies to the ball using floral pins. Be sure to pin the wrappers- you’re not spearing the candy! Then fill in the rest of the container with the leftover candy.
Cookie Bouquet
Step one: glue a piece of Styrofoam to the bottom of a coffee mug. Try pick a mug that speaks to the occasion: Christmas, birthday, the recipient’s favorite something-or-other.
Step two: bake some cookies! Make them small, so that they aren’t too heavy. Here there are two options. You can stick the popsicle stick in the dough before you bake it, or you can sandwich the popsicle stick in between two cookies, using icing for the glue.
Step three: Stick the popsicle sticks in the Styrofoam at the bottom of the mug, and then fill the empty space with tissue paper. Wrap the mug in a clear cellophane wrap and tie it with a ribbon.
Clearly, you can see that when it comes between choosing candy boxes and candy bouquets that candy bouquets are the answer! I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t even reading this and have already run to the kitchen to begin making your own.
