Last-minute shopping is stressful, and decisions under pressure don’t always come across as the sincerest when it comes to giving gifts around the holidays. Give the stoner you love most a gift they’ll actually use with a homemade touch that shows you care. Or, introduce a loved one to cannabis from someone they trust. Either way, these easy DIY holiday canna-gifts are the perfect thing.
Pain Balm
Making infused pain balms is one of the easiest ways to DIY your own cannabis products. Topicals can provide relief for a plethora of ailments and can be made with just a few ingredients and supplies.
What you’ll need:
- 4oz. Mason jars
- A base oil that hardens at room temperature, such as coconut oil, shea butter, avocado butter, or cupuacu butter.
- (optional) Any additional oils you desire (almond, jojoba, castor, vitamin e, etc.)
- An RSO of your choosing
- A few drops of your favorite essential oil
Directions:
This recipe is fairly forgiving, so exact measurements aren’t crucial. But, generally speaking, a 3-1 ratio of base oil to any additional oils is best, and RSO can be dosed to your liking. Warm your ingredients together over a double boiler (a glass bowl resting over a pot filled with about an inch of water). Stir everything together thoroughly, then carefully funnel the mixture into jars and allow to cool and set. Label and decorate with a ribbon. Then–voilà–you’ve made your very own custom THC pain balm.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
This one is straight forward, and there’s a few different ways to go about this recipe depending on how strong of a dose you’d like to gift. Start with pretzels—any shape works! Then, pick up your favorite infused chocolate, like the Nature’s Grace and Wellness Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Bar, or Mindy’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Brittle. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and stir in 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Coat your pretzels of choice in the chocolate, decorate with sprinkles, M&Ms, nuts, or whatever toppings you’d like.
This recipe can also be made stronger by using any uninfused chocolate of your choosing and melting it following the same instructions above. Then, add in desired amount of either RSO or a full spectrum hash oil following the dosage on the packaging. Make sure you stir the chocolate and extract mixture thoroughly to help evenly distribute the FSHO or RSO. Be careful with this recipe, as some FSHO/RSOs can be upwards of 500mg of THC, and sometimes more, depending on the brand, strain, amount, etc.
Tincture
Cannabis tinctures are one of the oldest medicinal mediums for cannabis in history, with evidence of their use by humans dating back as far as 2700 BCE. They’re actually very easy to make at home and can be the perfect DIY holiday canna-gift for anyone suffering from anxiety, pain, insomnia, or a variety of other ailments and symptoms. You can make this recipe yourself or gather all the ingredients and gift it as a DIY tincture kit!
What you’ll need:
- A dropper bottle
- 3.5gs of any whole cannabis bud or shake
- Mason jars
- Coffee filter or cheese cloth for straining
- Food grade ethanol, glycerin, Everclear OR a carrier oil like MCT, olive, or coconut
The first thing you’ll need to do is decarboxylate your cannabis flower. Decarboxylation is the process of slowly and carefully “toasting” your cannabis so that the THCA is converted into THC. Lay your bud flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in an oven at 220 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-30 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.
Once your cannabis has been decarboxylated, place it in your mason jar and cover with whatever tincture medium (ethanol, alcohol, glycerin, or oil) you’re using. Stir so every crack and crevice of cannabis is saturated in the medium. Then, store the entire concoction in a dark, cool, and dry place for about four weeks. Make sure that throughout the storage process you shake the jar once a day to agitate the plant material for maximum extraction of the good stuff. After four weeks (the longer you store it, the stronger it’ll be), strain the liquid through a cheesecloth or coffee filter and discard the leftover plant material. Transfer the remaining liquid (liquid gold, at this point) into your dropper bottle, and you’re done!
Don’t Forget…
Results may vary with the above recipes—DIY is not an exact science! Consult your favorite Village budtender if you have questions about products, dosing, etc.
Reminder that nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice and you should always consult your doctor before incorporating cannabis into your medical routine. Cannabis laws vary state-to-state, so review your local cannabis laws before gifting anyone cannabis. And, of course, cannabis cannot be gifted to anyone under the age of 21!
