Yes, it’s that time of year when our customers get really inventive with some of the ways they use our miniature bottles. Our 50ml and 100ml glass miniatures always get a lot of attention in the lead-up to Christmas as creative crafters begin to bring their amazing ideas to life in the form of gifts, decorations and many other festive delights.
The possibilities are endless in this situation, but we’ve picked out some of our favourite ways people like to use our mini bottles to bring joy to their homes and the homes of friends and family.
Advent Calendars
The days of an advent calendar simply containing 24 pieces of chocolate sealed behind tiny doors are in the past and now, whilst this is still a delicious way to work your way through Advent, there are many more options to consider.
These new upgraded calendars often come with quite a big price tag so it’s usually cheaper to make something of your own. The most obvious choice is to hide a miniature Christmas tipple behind each door by filling bottles with your choice of alcohol – home-distilled or shop-bought. However, for a more family-friendly version, each bottle could be filled with small sweet treats like Skittles, M&Ms, popcorn or jelly beans.
As for the calendar itself, DIYers might want to create this themselves using small boxes or painted toilet roll tubes in the shape of a Christmas tree, but you can also buy wooden versions with ready-made holes waiting for your pre-filled bottles.
Christmas Lights
Why should the tree have all the fun when it comes to being adorned with strings of Christmas lights? Bring some festive cheer to other areas of your home with bespoke bulbs made using a series of miniature bottles.
Depending on the size of your bottle, you can either drill a hole in each lid and carefully slide your LEDs in or remove the lid completely and secure the lights to the side of the glass with glue. For an extra festive touch, you could even decorate the inside of the bottles with a winter scene beforehand.
Another idea is to buy slightly bigger bottles (500ml Aspect, perhaps) and create a larger Christmas scene that includes the entire string of lights. These will look great on a mantlepiece or windowsill during those cold winter evenings.
Food Gifts
When talking about homemade Christmas gifts, the best way to someone’s heart is often through their stomach. Our miniature bottles are perfect for stocking fillers or table presents and can be filled with all sorts of foodie favourites that demonstrate your culinary skills.
For drinks, a drop of homemade mulled wine is sure to go down well or perhaps a warming shot of your own sloe gin. For an alcohol-free alternative, you could try a clementine mock-ito or perhaps fill your bottles with all the ingredients needed for a hot chocolate, complete with mini marshmallows.
For food, sweets are always a good choice, especially if you can arrange them in such a way that they look like a snowman or Santa’s belt buckle. Alternatively, spice things up with all the elements needed for them to make their favourite curry or simply create your own version of a popular spice mix like za’atar or berbere.
Table Decorations
With a little imagination, your miniature bottles could soon be transformed into a whole host of Christmas characters. From Scandinavian gonks (think cotton wool beards and felt hats) to traditional figures like elves and Rudolf, there are plenty of directions you could take to produce an impressive centrepiece for the table.
Simply paint your bottles or wrap them in coloured card to provide a base for your character and then add embellishments such as buttons, holly sprigs, twig antlers and ribbon scarves to really bring them to life. Some outside-of-the-box ideas to consider include the wise men with crowns on top of the bottle lids, an angel with glittery wings on either side of the bottle and the Grinch with glowing yellow eyes.
Festive Candles
OK, so we may be cheating a little bit with this final suggestion but our miniature candle votives deserve to get in on the action too. Christmas is one of the cosiest times of the year and nothing establishes a cosy atmosphere more than the flickering flame of a candle, especially when it’s homemade.
And they’re surprisingly easy to make. You’ll need wax flakes, dye and your chosen scent along with the candle votives but then all you need to do is follow our simple guide to candle making.
Once complete, these fragrant festive flourishes make a fantastic stocking filler or provide the perfect scene-setter for your own celebrations.
The Bottle Jar Store has a wide range of miniature bottles available in various shapes and sizes. Get yours now and save big when you buy in bulk. Let the Christmas crafting commence.
About the author : Amanda Hallinan
