Last Minute Christmas Gift Idea: Movie Night Basket {Featuring Hot Cocoa, Popcorn, and Beef Jerky!} #EasyGifts
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Each year as I’m finishing up my Christmas shopping, I find gifts for all of the ladies on my list in no time. I just buy them things that I’d love to receive as a gift. Despite my shopping skills for the women on my list, I completely blank when it comes to the men in my family. Honestly, I just search through the internet or wander through stores in the mall for hours going back and forth on what to get. This year, I planned for this dilemma and created my Christmas Gift Guide for Men, which helped me quite a bit. I was able to knock out my Christmas shopping for most of the boys in my life online, but I just couldn’t decide what to get my brother. I can’t just get my little brother a normal present. We have a tradition of buying each other crazy or creative gifts. We have so many inside jokes between us, so inevitably we end up buying each other something related to one of our favorite movies or childhood memories. This year, I just couldn’t think of the right present, and with only a few days left until Christmas, I knew that I had to find a fun gift idea quickly. My brother loves music, movies, food, and spending time with friends/family, so I decided to put together a Movie Night Gift Basket and combine all of his interests into a unique and affordable gift! Thankfully I was at Target when the brilliant idea came to me, so I was able to buy everything I needed (movies, gourmet popcorn, hot chocolate, beef jerky, and a storage bin) in one shopping trip!
Step One: Find The Best Popcorn!
My first stop was the snack aisle. I knew that a proper movie night basket had to include awesome snacks, and popcorn was definitely the most important snack element! Popcorn is the main staple of a good movie night, so I wanted to find really fun flavors. I was thrilled to see such a huge selection of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn at Target.
I went back and forth with flavor decisions, but I ultimately decided on Classic Butter and Sea Salt and Kettle Corn (my personal favorite). You can’t go wrong with classics!
2. Find a Fun Seasonal Drink!
Despite having 80+ degree weather for the first half of December, it’s been relatively chilly this past week in Florida. I knew that I wanted to add some sort of beverage to the gift basket, and I thought I’d take advantage of the cold weather (a novelty here in Florida) and add a few fun varieties of hot chocolate.
I was thrilled that Swiss Miss has created new flavor varieties, so I picked up two kinds: Dark Chocolate Sensation to satisfy my brother’s dark chocolate addiction and Marshmallow Madness with rainbow marshmallows because it looked so fun. Seriously, who could resist rainbow marshmallows?
3. Find a Unique Snack in A Fun Flavor
My brother is more of a salty vs. sweet guy, and he’s always snacking on beef jerky. I thought I’d pick up a package of Slim Jims to round out the snack selection. I thought that sweet and salty popcorn, creamy hot chocolate, and a bold-flavored beef jerky might be the perfect mix of snacks for my brother!
It’s sort of another Christmas tradition of ours to buy each other unique snacks for Christmas – one year I bought him a chocolate bar with bugs in it! – so I was happy to find the Freakin’ Hot Jalapeno Dare variety of Slim Jims. My brother has an uncanny ability to eat ridiculously spicy or weird foods without flinching, so this beef jerky is right up his alley. I also realized that as a college student, my brother probably didn’t own a mug for the hot chocolate, so I picked one up to add to the gift basket.
Step Four: Add His Favorite Movies
While any great movie night includes awesome snacks and drinks, you can’t have a movie night without awesome movies. My brother’s moving out of the house soon, so I thought it was time to add a few classics to his movie collection. Home Alone 2, Hook, and Mrs. Doubtfire are some of our all-time favorites, and they’re on sale for $4.50 each at Target right now!
Step Five: Find A Practical Container & Assemble!
Each year as I’m finishing up my Christmas shopping, I find gifts for all of the ladies on my list in no time. I just buy them things that I’d love to receive as a gift. Despite my shopping skills for the women on my list, I completely blank when it comes to the men in my family. Honestly, I just search through the internet or wander through stores in the mall for hours going back and forth on what to get. This year, I planned for this dilemma and created my Christmas Gift Guide for Men, which helped me quite a bit. I was able to knock out my Christmas shopping for most of the boys in my life online, but I just couldn’t decide what to get my brother. I can’t just get my little brother a normal present. We have a tradition of buying each other crazy or creative gifts. We have so many inside jokes between us, so inevitably we end up buying each other something related to one of our favorite movies or childhood memories. This year, I just couldn’t think of the right present, and with only a few days left until Christmas, I knew that I had to find a fun gift idea quickly. My brother loves music, movies, food, and spending time with friends/family, so I decided to put together a Movie Night Gift Basket and combine all of his interests into a unique and affordable gift! Thankfully I was at Target when the brilliant idea came to me, so I was able to buy everything I needed (movies, gourmet popcorn, hot chocolate, beef jerky, and a storage bin) in one shopping trip!
Step One: Find The Best Popcorn!
2. Find a Fun Seasonal Drink!
I was thrilled that Swiss Miss has created new flavor varieties, so I picked up two kinds: Dark Chocolate Sensation to satisfy my brother’s dark chocolate addiction and Marshmallow Madness with rainbow marshmallows because it looked so fun. Seriously, who could resist rainbow marshmallows?
3. Find a Unique Snack in A Fun Flavor
My brother is more of a salty vs. sweet guy, and he’s always snacking on beef jerky. I thought I’d pick up a package of Slim Jims to round out the snack selection. I thought that sweet and salty popcorn, creamy hot chocolate, and a bold-flavored beef jerky might be the perfect mix of snacks for my brother!
It’s sort of another Christmas tradition of ours to buy each other unique snacks for Christmas – one year I bought him a chocolate bar with bugs in it! – so I was happy to find the Freakin’ Hot Jalapeno Dare variety of Slim Jims. My brother has an uncanny ability to eat ridiculously spicy or weird foods without flinching, so this beef jerky is right up his alley. I also realized that as a college student, my brother probably didn’t own a mug for the hot chocolate, so I picked one up to add to the gift basket.
Step Four: Add His Favorite Movies
Step Five: Find A Practical Container & Assemble!
To add a practical element to the gift, I put all of the snacks, hot cocoa, mug, and movies into a small storage bin that he can re-use at college to store snacks. I stuffed the bottom of the bin with tissue paper to make sure that all of the items were displayed in the gift basket. To make the gift fit our crazy gift tradition even more, I’ve already contacted my dad to arrange the final step. He has a giant Ensure box that he had bought my grandmother, so I’ll be stuffing this amazing gift basket in the Ensure box and wrapping it up with a giant bow. I know- we’re totally weird, but it’s our thing. I’m so happy that I have such a fun relationship with my brother, an be sure to customize your gift basket to fit your recipient’s personality and tastes!
My brother is guaranteed to love this gift, and I can’t believe how easy and affordable it was to assemble. If you’re still in the market for last minute Christmas gift ideas, think about making a gift basket! It’s a fun, affordable, and easy gift idea for friends, co-workers, or family members. Fill it with items that they love, and it’s sure to be a hit. To make the process even easier, simply follow the tutorial in this post and use the same items. If you’re planning on purchasing Swiss Miss, Slim Jim, or Orville Redenbacher’s items for your movie night gift basket, here are some awesome coupons to use at Target!
For more easy gift ideas, follow the hashtag #EasyGifts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr!
Do you have all of your Christmas shopping done? What are your favorite last minute Christmas gift ideas?
