Bad Day Gift Idea for Girlfriends

We all have bad days. Here is a way to make your girlfriend’s bad day just a little more bearable! I just love a good gift kit don’t you?!

*I partnered with Give Bakery Because to bring you a post that shows how you can use store-bought baked goods in simple, delicious ways. Because saving time is awesome.
I like to bake for myself only on rare occasions. My small kitchen heats up the minute I turn on my oven. That isn’t so bad in winter, but in summer…not so good. And there is no need for me to bake when the store-bought bakery goods at my local grocery store are so tasty! You guys, these brownies…trouble. I could have eaten this whole container in one sitting. This summer seems to have been really stressful for a lot of my friends. So I decided I would create a simple bad day gift kit, with my favorite store-bought treats, that I can drop off at their house to give them a smile. Everyone has a different comfort food that they love, but no one can resist a good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie. And I wanted the kit to have surprises, things that you wouldn’t expect to find on your doorstep or at the bottom of your ice cream. A brownie ice cream sundae? That is totally smile inducing! And who would ever think someone would leave them ice cream? Of course I wouldn’t put this kit in direct sunlight, and I would try to make sure they were at home or going to be home very soon before leaving this. I packed a little bit of ice around the mason jar to keep it as chilled as possible. And the good thing about ice cream, it can be refrozen (not like if it has turned in to ice cream soup – use your best judgment)! Just pop it in the freezer for a while and it’s ready to go. And the brownie will soften up by the time you get to that part. All of these gift kit items came from my local grocery store which made putting this gift together really fast and easy. I had all of the packaging stuff already because I like to keep those kind of things on hand for situations just like this. I picked up the small baskets at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale. They are the perfect size! The clear cello bags you can get from your local craft or Target store and I use those all the time with things for my kids. They store really easily and are so handy! And the white and pink bag that I put the mason jar of ice cream in came from Ikea. I picked up several packages as they were so bright and cheerful. They are also not paper (not totally waterproof) but a plastic-like material that would stand up to the ice well. If you don’t have cute packaging at home, you can easily grab a few grocery store items while you are there. A plastic pail from the seasonal department would work, as would sandwich bags if you need to portion out the baked goods. Just keep your eyes open as you browse the store and use your imagination! I couldn’t let this ice cream go to waste so I crumbled one of the chocolate chip cookies on top of the ice cream and then added some of my favorite sweet and salty popcorn mix too. OMG! Heaven! If this doesn’t help your friend’s day get a little bit better, I don’t know what will!! My pals are also cajoled by wine and gossip mags, but if that isn’t your friend’s cup of tea just substitute with things that you know they would love. Using store-bought treats lets me be a little more thoughtful with my gift giving because I can focus on the intention behind it and not that actual baking. You can see more ideas on how to personalize and gift bakery items on this fun Pinterest page.

CONTEST! 

Leave a comment telling me a short story about the person who makes everyday better. I’ll randomly pick two winners to each win a $25 gift card so you can gift that person something special. Contest is open to US residents only and will end at midnight on Wednesday, August 19th, 2015. Winners will be notified by email. One entry per person.

Want more ideas for using store-bought goodies? Make these crazy delicious fruit topped sugar cookies. Or give these sweet rolls with a sweet message.

*This post is sponsored by Give Bakery Because. Thank you for supporting the brands that let me be creative!