Sugar and Spice

Cinnamon sugar is great to have on hand for early morning cinnamon toast requests. And it makes a stylish gift if you present it in an old-fashioned glass jar lined with cinnamon sticks.

You will need:

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

9 cinnamon sticks

Sharp knife

1 heavy-duty plastic bag

Scissors

1 glass jar with lid

Ribbon

* Mix sugar and ground cinnamon in bowl until blended.

Cut 8 cinnamon sticks in half with sharp knife. Measure the height of 1 halved stick and cut off the top of the plastic bag with scissors to get a strip of plastic the same height as the stick. Discard bottom of bag.

* Place sticks around inside of glass jar. Fold the strip of plastic into a cylindrical shape and put it into the jar next to sticks to keep them next to the glass. Fill the hollow inside the cylinder with the cinnamon sugar.

* Place lid on top of jar. Wrap with ribbon and tie remaining cinnamon stick on front.

A Spicy Perfume

A potpourri of citrus, cinnamon, cloves and bay gives the house a pleasing scent. It’s a nice touch to have some simmering gently during a dinner party. For a gift, put a potpourri bag in a small clay pot decorated for the holidays.

You will need:

1 orange

1 lemon

1 lime

Vegetable peeler

Sharp knife

1/2 cup whole cloves

6 bay leaves, crumbled

4 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces

1 bouquet garni bag or piece of cheesecloth trimmed of raw edges

Ribbon

1 gift card

* Cut long strips of peel from orange, lemon and lime using vegetable peeler. Slice strips into small pieces with the knife.

* Place peels in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees until dry, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

* Mix citrus peels, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon stick pieces in a bowl. Pour into a bouquet garni bag or center of cheesecloth and tie with ribbon.

* Attach a card with these instructions: “Scent room by placing 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon citrus potpourri in small saucepan. Simmer over low heat.”