Hot Mocha Mason Jar Gifts – Dementia Activity

These easy to assemble homemade hot mocha mason jar gifts make a great activity for seniors living with early to mid-stage dementia.

 

Mom loves crafts with a purpose, and gift crafts are her absolute favorite!  These were our first mason jar gifts, but they won’t be our last. Such an easy and engaging activity!

We set up a little assembly line and put together a dozen while we listened to Christmas carols. 

Here’s what you need.

Homemade Hot Mocha Mason Jar Gift Supplies

How to make homemade Hot Mocha Mason Jar Gifts with your senior

Gather supplies

Here’s what I did ahead of time to make things easy for my mom who is mid-stage Alzheimer’s. 

• print, cut out, and hole punch the gift tags
• precut the ribbon into lengths and thread through the tags
• pour ingredients into bowls (I didn’t do this at first, but found it really helpful.)

Having these steps completed before mom arrived for the activity made things go smoothly for us.

Layer in the ingredients 

We lined up our mason jars and put in one ingredient at a time. I had measuring scoops the correct size for each ingredient. This eliminates the need for any actual measuring.

We began by scooping the ingredients out of their containers. I quickly realized that moving them into bowls made things easier.

Here are the measurements for each jar listed in the order we added them.

2 Cups Powdered Milk

1/3 Cup Instant Coffee

½ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Cocoa Powder

A canning funnel kept things neat and tidy. 

This method gave us a layered look we loved.

Finish with a tag and ribbon

We finished off the jars with a festive ribbon and a cute tag with instructions for the recipient.  Since I had pre-threaded the ribbon through the holes in the tags, Mom was able to wrap them around the lids and tie a knot. We used scissors to add curl to the ribbon. 

More elaborate ribbon or bows could really fancy this part up! We might try that next time. 

Hot Mocha Mason Jars make great gifts for any occasion

These easy mason jars aren’t just for Christmas! Switch up the tag and ribbon and you’ve got an easy DIY gift your senior can create for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or any other time a gift is appropriate. 

Get the printable tags

Would you like to make these adorable gifts with your senior? I have the printable gift tags and a large print senior-friendly ingredient list available in my subscriber Resource Library.

Don’t worry. The printables for this activity DO NOT have “dementia” or “caregiving” anywhere on them. (They are branded with my shop name – Done for You Printables.) So feel free to have these out where your senior can refer to them. 

Get the password to my free resource library of Alzheimer’s activities and caregiver resources when you subscribe to my weekly newsletter list! Fill out the form below for instant access! (If you’re already a subscriber, the password to the library is at the bottom of every email I send.)

 

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