Peppermint Lotion Bars DIY Christmas GiftsPin

Winter weather brings dry chapped skin, which is no fun at all. This makes lotion bars a perfect small Christmas gift for kids to make and give to family and friends. We went with a peppermint scented essential oil to bring a little peace to a hectic holiday season.

For more great DIY Christmas gifts kids can make be sure to check out our landing page of ideas, tutorials, and printable downloads.

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I have to give a special shout-out to our friend Julia for inspiring this gift and providing the recipe. She gifted Jessica and I both with lotion bars a couple of months ago, and we both have loved using them on our elbows and other rough patches.

The bars do require a bit of adult assistance, especially with the hot pouring, but for the most part, the kids are able to mix up  a batch mostly on their own — depending on their ages of course.

For another great gift idea be sure to check out our colorful votive candle holders kids can make as well.

DIY Christmas Gift Lotion Bar Supplies

3/4 cup Shea Butter

3/4 cup Beeswax Pellets

3/4 Coconut Oil

5-6 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Snowflake Silicone Mold

NOW Foods Shea Butter, 7-OuncePinNOW Foods Shea Butter, 7-OuncePinWhite BEESWAX Pellets-Superior Quality 1 lb-(16 oz)PinWhite BEESWAX Pellets-Superior Quality 1 lb-(16 oz)PinNature's Way Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil, 32-OuncePinNature’s Way Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil, 32-OuncePinNOW Foods Peppermint Oil, 1 Oz.PinNOW Foods Peppermint Oil, 1 Oz.Pin6 Even Snowflakes Silicone Cake MoldPin6 Even Snowflakes Silicone Cake MoldPin

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We bought and used a special snowflake silicone soap mold, which made our project a little more pricey. You can also mold these in a muffin tin with pretty Christmas muffin wrappers for a more affordable, but still cute, option.

Note: Consider using old, retired dishes for making the lotion. The remaining film will be very hard to remove from your regular cookware.

If you don’t have old items you can pick some up from yard sales or a thrift store and designate those for lotion-making only. You will want to do this fun project again.

If you have a good-sized container of coconut oil in your kitchen, then you will only use up all of your shea butter while making this batch. Most of your supplies will be good for multiple batches.

You also need a double boiler for melting, but can easily make your own by placing a heavy heat-proof glass bowl or glass measuring cup down in a pot of boiling water.

Peppermint Lotion Bar Process

Begin by measuring the proper amounts of shea butter, beeswax pellets, and coconut oil in your bowl or pot. They can be a bit stubborn and won’t mix well, but this is a good time to get your fingers messy.

DIY Christmas Gifts Lotion Bars IngredientsPin

Place your double boiler top in the boiling water and wait for the ingredients to melt, stirring occasionally. This part should be supervised carefully by an adult.

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Everything melted up fairly quickly except for the beeswax. We were beginning to think those would never melt down, so give them time. Eventually, your mixture will look like this:

DIY Christmas Gifts Lotion Bars MeltedPin

Remove from heat and stir in your peppermint essential oils.

Now have an adult pour the melted mixture into the molds. We had one snowflake mold and our muffin wrappers had gone missing, so we filled our snowflakes quite high and only make six large bars. These still would have been lovely filled only half-way. This recipe would make twelve nice-sized muffin shaped lotion bars.

DIY Christmas Gifts Lotion Bars MoldsPin

Allow your bars to cool on the counter. Once they are cool you can remove them from the mold.

To add a special touch we have these free downloadable gift tags to add to your lotion soap packages. The file contains a sheet with Bible verses and quotes appropriate to a peaceful season and a blank sheet in case you want to add your own sentiment. Have the kids color them to add a special touch to their gift.

DIY Christmas Gifts Lotion Bars Gift TagsPin

Click here to download the printable gift tags and lotion bar tutorial print out.

These lotion bars are perfect for teachers, grandma, aunts, and babysitters. The fresh peppermint scent also makes them appropriate for the men in your life.

Experiment with different essential oils, other muffin wrappers, and different mold shapes to create lotion bars for any gift occasion.

For more great DIY Christmas gifts kids can make be sure to check out our landing page of ideas, tutorials, and printable downloads.