A sweet handmade gift

FILL IN THE BLANK: "Oh no! Christmas is next week and I still don't have a gift for my (neighbor, teacher, Scout leader)" - anyone you would like to remember this holiday season.

Not to worry, a little item of remembrance can warm anyone's heart, especially if it is something cute, decorative and useful.

This little candy jar, which I found on the Better Homes and Gardens website, might be just the answer you are looking for. Plus, a homemade gift is always appreciated.

It is quick, inexpensive and easy to make. That makes this little Frosty Snowbowl candy-cane holder all the more appealing in the rush to get everything done before next week.

Supplies you will need

* 1 glass ivy bowl, available at craft stores, for each snowman (I used a bowl with a 4-inch lip that is 5 inches wide at the center)

* The top (sleeve) of one white sock that will fit snugly over the bowl

* Needle and white thread

* Piece of fleece long enough to wrap around the bottom of the bowl for a scarf

* 2 1/2-inch black buttons

* Scrap of orange felt

* 8 tiny (about 4 mm) black beads

* Scissors

* White fast-grab tacky glue

* Tweezers

* Candy canes

How to make it

Pull the top of the sock up over the bowl until it reaches the top of the bowl lip. Cut the bottom of the sock off, leaving enough fabric to fold over to close. Sew closed with a needle and white thread.

Glue the black buttons about 1 1/2-inches apart near the top of the bowl for eyes. Cut a small triangle from an orange felt scrap for a carrot nose and glue it in the center of the bowl, just below and between the eyes.

Place some glue on a piece of scrap paper. Pick up a small bead with the tweezers, dip into glue and place on the sock below the carrot nose. Continue gluing the small beads in a curved smile, using about eight tiny beads.

Cut a piece of scrap fleece into a rectangle about 18 inches long and 6 inches wide. Wrap the fleece around the bottom of the bowl. You can glue or sew the scarf to hold it closed and glue it to the base of the bowl to keep in place.

Fill the jar with individually wrapped candy canes.