The Hens Den: Heating Up in the Cold

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Heating Up in the Cold

Good Morning Folks, Moriah here with a hot idea on a chilly winter's day! It's been a snowy time here in New England and there's nothing like some snow to give me a good excuse to pull out my hot cocoa. :) I love me some cocoa when the white stuff is flying- of course I love it most when I can watch the stuff fall from inside whilst sitting by the fire, but I digress...

The hot cocoa I was sipping also got me thinking about Valentine's Day. See in February my fellow teachers and I celebrate Curious Cupid (think Secret Santa valentine-style). It's been a tradition at my school since way before I started there and I LOVE it! Curious Cupid makes for a fun lead up to the holiday and makes for a cheery distraction from the snow for all of us teachers. So why did the cocoa make me think of it?

Well we have 3 mini gift days and then the Big Reveal day. The first 3 days we are only supposed to spend $5 or less and the big day isn't supposed to be more than $15. That isn't an easy feat to begin with, never mind in New England where things can get expensive quickly. So last year at around this time I was thinking "wouldn't cocoa be a fun inexpensive treat", but then I thought "how to I make it pretty & special vs. plain & boring"? A quick search of Pinterest and I came across this cute packaging idea. :)

Basically the paper is a wrap for the cocoa and the ribbon is a pull-tab to get the cocoa packet out. I cut the first layer of paper 8"X 5.5" and then cut an additional paper about 8"X 3.5". I layered the smaller on top of the larger and scored one of the narrow edges at .5" and then again at 4.25". Everything got folded and the smaller tab gets some adhesive. Glue together and voila! You have a pocket to slide your cocoa packet- but wait! Se where the ribbon is at the top of both packets? You'll need to punch a hole through the top of both side of the pocket and feed ribbon through the holes. The cocoa packet will rest on the ribbon inside the pocket, so once you have enough ribbon sticking out of both sides, slide your cocoa into the pocket and tie a bow. When that special recipient wants to break into their cocoa all they have to do is pull the ribbon up and the packet slides out. :) Cool huh! Don't forget to embellish with a tag so your cocoa buddy remembers you and smiles while enjoying their hot cup of yummy chocolate goodness.

I hope this has warmed you up (couldn't help it, I had to pun it) to the idea of giving some valentine love to friends and family this year. You have plenty of time and these are super quick when you get on a roll. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will make sure to get you an answer!

Happy Thursday!!!