I don’t take any credit for this as I’ve snaffled a couple of ideas from books and put them together, but if you want to make an inexpensive gift for someone (particularly an older person who is impossible to buy for) here’s an idea.  It’s also a great thing for little people to make as it involves minimum mess and almost no skill!

Lavender Bath Salts:

You need:

• Plain bath salts (a 1 kg box is about £3 from a health food shop)
• A handful of dried lavender (you can get this at a crafty type shop or, if you are lucky and like me live near a lavender farm they obviously sell it by the bucket load)
• A storage container (I got mine from a hardware shop but any pretty see through container you have will do.  A kilo of bath salts will fill about 4 jam jars I think)
• Some string / wire / fine ribbon
• Beads / buttons / bells / prettiness with a hole in.

All you do is:

• Pour the bath salts into a big bowl and stir in the lavender.
• Spoon into your jar.
• Secure the lid.
• If you used a jam jar, find a scrap of material, cut a circle a few centimetres wider than the lid and pop that over the top.
• Thread the beads / buttons / bells / prettiness onto the string / wire / ribbon and tie it around the lid.

Top tips:

• Don’t go over the top and buy 2kg of bath salts and three storage jars just as you start your shopping.  An hour later they will feel very, very heavy and a Sister 2 may need to help with the carrying (thank you Sister 2)
• Don’t wrap the bits of pretty-ness around the lid of the container in such a way that wire cutters will be needed to access the bath salts…(particularly if it’s going to a more elderly or easily frustrated friend).  Make sure you can still open it easily yourself to be sure.

 That’s my ex boyfriends mum sorted for Christmas (well what would you get her?!) :o)