Homemade Baby Shower Favors

As you've seen recently on this blog, we threw a baby shower for my sister Robyn. A lot of the decorations were handmade at my house, and I wanted the favors to be the same. Although we had plenty of options for buying the favors, I felt that homemade ones were better in that they added a personal and genuine touch to the shower which had been so prevalent throughout all the festivities. Plus, these favors are practical, so unlike other favors, you aren't wasting your money as you would with regular trinkets.

I really wanted to use mason jars because they're adorable, and Star has been using them for her "salad in a jar" diet. Sam's club has great prices!

Decorating them is quite easy. Just cut out circles of decorative paper, tape it to the top, and tie some curling ribbon around it...

But what should we put in these jars??? I really wanted to make something instead of just filling it with candy. I'm sure that would've been fine, however, it's very sugary, and can get expensive. That's when I came up with the idea of granola!! I called it my "Jungle Munch"!!

This is my recipe for homemade granola. It's very easy!

Homemade Jungle Munch Granola

4 cups of old fashioned oats

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of honey
1 bag of trail mix
1 bulk bag of m&m's


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

1. In a bowl, mix the oats, cinnamon, sugar, lemon, and nutmeg. Mix well!
2. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Mix with the honey. Combine with the oats mixture until it's moistened.
3.Spread the mixture into a buttered pan and pat down.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure that all of the oats are toasted. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

After making a few batches, I poured about 3 scoops of granola into each jar, and topped it with trail mix and a few M&Ms. You can also skip the trail mix and candy, and eat the granola with milk or yogurt for a yummy breakfast!



I hope you enjoy this recipe! Have a great Memorial Day weekend! Take time to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.