Christmas Body Scrub

I love Christmas, and about this time of year I remember it is coming and I get really excited. I want to wear boots and scarves and gloves and fall colors, and I want to bake cookies and pie and have warm bread and soup for dinner. I start thinking about Christmas gifts, and that gets me even more excited...I absolutely LOVE giving gifts. It is the most exciting warm fuzzy thing ever. This year I am considering doing handmade gifts for everyone...just to make the gift giving experience even more exciting  and personal and last much, much longer.

So, I've been experimenting, and I've finally come up with the perfect recipe for a Christmas Body Scrub. Not only does it leave your skin feeling amazing, it SMELLS like Christmas!!

Here's my recipe:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cloves
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 orange
1/8 c olive oil

In a bowl, combine white and brown sugar.Both sugars are exfoliating, though the white sugar is harsher (use more or less of each depending on how gritty you want this to be).

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the cloves until they are in small pieces. it's okay to still have some chunks. (Yesterday I was making this and I didn't have a mortar and pestle. Chris improvised by putting the cloves in a plastic baggie and smashing them with a weight. It actually worked really well :))

Add the cloves and orange zest to the sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly, then add the juice of 1/2 an orange and 1/8 cup of olive oil (I used canola oil, which also works, but olive oil is nicer.)

Mix and spoon into air-tight containers. I used little mason jars, but plastic would be better if you are planning on  using this in the shower, plus it prevents bacteria if you are going to have a bigger jar and be using this for a long time. My jars are tiny, and I want to use them for my hands and feet, so I used glass.

I found a cute printable for the lids online--there are tons of free ones. If you are giving these as a gift, It would be cute to add a little spoon and ribbon with instructions for use.

To use, stir the contents of the jar and spoon 1/8 tsp into your hand. Gently rub into wet skin. This is not a very gentle scrub, so don't rub too hard, and don't use it on your face. Rinse with water and feel how soft your hands are!! (And run around telling everyone to smell your hands!)

What do you think about homemade gifts? Give this recipe a try and tell me how it works for you!!