Grinch Pills and Santa Cookie Toppers

by Bonnie Garby | Dec 17, 2012 | Uncategorized | 18 comments

Hi everyone!

I hope today finds you with a low stress level. I know my stress levels have been soaring over the last week, but now most of my Christmas chores are done, so things are getting better. 🙂

I’ve been busy for the last week or so making some little Christmas goodies for my son Steve’s 5th grade class. I like to do this for him and he says the kids love what I send, so I’m happy to supply some fun little gifts for his students.

Last year I made the class some little packs of Snowman Poop (made with white tic tacs) and they loved them. Here is a photo of what I did last year. Notice I couldn’t resist using a little Baker’s Twine from Really Reasonable Ribbon on them. 🙂

(inside)

This design actually comes from Whimsie Doodles and it’s in their freebie section. What a cute and easy little craft. I encourage you to head over and pick up the file if you have not already done so. There is even a video tutorial for making them. Even if you don’t have time this year, you’ll be ready to roll for next year. Take a look at the great digi images Melyssa offers while you are there. I love her style and she offers so many freebies and tutorials.

So, this year I wanted to do something different. Pinterest is a great place to find ideas and I found several different ‘Grinch Pills’ options. I really wanted to do one with green tic tacs, but I could not find value packs of green tic tacs, so I had to go with m & m’s.

Isn’t that adorable? Sadly I could not find any free files for the photo and poem printout for this type of favor in the right size and shape, but I was able to use the poem and a Grinch cartoon image I found online and merge them together to get what I wanted. It was a bit of a chore because I’m not a wiz on photoshop elements by any stretch of the imagination, but I got it done.

Hopefully you will be able to save the image below and use it for your own projects.

I have also included a quick tutorial below.

I used this Grinch image because it’s one of our favorite scenes in the movie.

Here is another option you can use:

And here’s a finished pack using the alternate image. I used a little longer zip loc bag and this one contains peanut m & m’s.

You can also google Grinch pictures and find a whole range of options you can select to make your own special topper if you have the software to edit it yourself.

I’m also sending a little Santa topped cookie pack for each child.

Isn’t it cute!

When the cookies are gone, Santa can become a Christmas decoration. It doesn’t show too well in the photo, but I put a red eyelet at the top of Santa’s hat and looped some White Iridescent Metallic String through for a hanger. To make this I used my Silhouette Cameo and a file called Santa Treat Topper. I

re-sized it for my needs and cut the pieces out and assembled them.

Seriously ladies, if you don’t already own this machine, it should be on your Christmas list. This is my favorite ‘big-girl toy’!!

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Grinch Pills Tutorial

Supplies are shown below. I printed the Grinch Pills image and poem above and cut it out at 1 7/8″ x 3-1/2″. The green card stock is cut at 2″ x 3-5/8″ and the stripe card stock is cut at 3-3/4″ x 5″.

I used 3 x 3″ zip loc bags for my green m & m’s and the ribbon topper is a 10″ piece of scarlet red double-faced satin from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

Fold the card stock in half and on the fold edge measure down about 1/4″ and make two holes about 3/8″ apart and centered on the piece. If you are going to be doing a large number of them, figure out where you want the holes and make a jig like I did above so you can just trace where the holes go on each piece. Then punch your holes out.

Now get your 3/8″ Scarlet Double-Faced Satin (if you are just making one, use about 10″ of ribbon, if you are doing multiples, just work off of your long piece of ribbon to reduce waste). Cut the end on an angle and thread down through the right side hole and back up through the hole on the left.

Now take the ribbon from the left and feed it down through the hole on the right side. Take a moment to work the ribbon a bit so it lays the way you want it so it will eventually lay straight out on the right side.

Then bring the ribbon back up through the hole on the left. You want to leave a little ‘poofiness’ in the center, so don’t pull the ribbon too tight.

Cut your ribbon at an angle on either side (or however you prefer it) and then I usually take a little micro glue dot (I’m not sure if you can see it below, but it’s near the end of the ribbon). Then place the ribbon end where you want it and that’s where it will stay.

Now add the layered Grinch photo and poem to your piece and the topper is done.

Open it up and run a piece of double-sided tape along the inside of the back flap that’s about 2-3/4″ long.

Press your bag of m& m’s to the tape. I have my m & m’s in a 3 x 3″ zip loc baggie.

Then add another piece of double stick tape to the top and press the topper together.

And….. you’re done! If anyone has any questions, let me know. I’d be happy to help if I can.

Here is a photo of all the ones I made – 23 in all (okay, well, 24 Grinch pill packs and 23 Santas). Right now his class is 20, but I like to send a couple extra just in case. You never know when he’ll get a new student.

Here are some photos of all the goodies ready to ship off.

Fingers crossed that they travel quickly and safely!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Christmas!

~ Bonnie ~

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18 Comments

AllisonG on December 17, 2012 at 5:55 pm

Thanks for sharing your adorable creations as well as the images and tutorials for making them. I've bookmarked everything because I'm always looking for cute little gift items for teachers and kids at school. My daughter will be in middle school next year so that age kid LOVES the funny things like "snowman poop.!"
Reply
pollyspaper on December 17, 2012 at 9:08 pm

Well it looks like you had yourself a fun crafty day : ) Those are too cute…..snowman poop lol. You crazy girl. Thanks for sharing the tutorial : )
huggs Ginny
Reply
Lynne on November 18, 2013 at 2:24 pm

These are super. Thanks so much for sharing. Lynne from OZ
Reply
- April White on December 7, 2022 at 6:11 pm
  
  I’ve been searching for the past two or three hours on here looking for the right dyi Christmas gifts I could make that wasn’t to costly but also that no one has thought of yet, well I found it when I found this!! My mom loves the grinch and snowmen so this is perfect for her and a few others lol!! Love these ideas.
  Reply
Deidre on November 21, 2016 at 9:08 pm

Did you find a bag of green only M&Ms ?
Reply
- Bonnie Garby on November 22, 2016 at 1:23 pm
  
  Nope. I got a couple bags of Christmas red/green M&M’s and separated them. Yup, I’m that kind of crazy! 🙂
  Reply
- Dena Benson on December 4, 2016 at 8:46 pm
  
  I found bulk m&m’s at a local party/wedding store. They had every color imaginable.
  Reply
  - Bonnie Garby on December 5, 2016 at 1:03 pm
    
    Good to know. I separated the colors from a Christmas bag. But, then I got to eat the ones I didn’t need. It would have been way easier to just buy a bag with the right color though.
    Reply
Connie on November 28, 2016 at 10:50 pm

Love the Grinch pills. If you are near a Party City, they sell bags of one colored m&ms!
Reply
Dena Benson on December 4, 2016 at 8:43 pm

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!!
I MADE THESE FOR A CHRISTMAS PARTY GIFT. EVERYONE LOVED THEM!
YOU SERIOUSLY SAVED ME 🙂
Reply
- Bonnie Garby on December 5, 2016 at 1:02 pm
  
  So glad the project worked out for your Christmas party. Fun little giveaways are always a hit! 🙂
  Reply
Paula Chavis on October 17, 2017 at 6:38 pm

Do you have any of the Grinch Pills labels left or already made up
My printer is broken and I can’t just use the diy s

Thank you

Paula Chavis
Reply
- Bonnie Garby on October 18, 2017 at 9:29 am
  
  Hi Paula. I’m afraid I have no pre-made labels as I have never sold them. I would suggest you check etsy as they seem to have people who sell both the digital files and pre-printed toppers that are similar to what you found here. Happy crafting!
  Reply
Btenda Wilson on August 19, 2018 at 10:38 am

Can you share link to find the 3×3 zip lock bags? Such a cute idea!
Reply
- Bonnie Garby on August 22, 2018 at 1:51 pm
  
  I made these so long ago, I’m not really sure where I got the bags. It was likely on Ebay, so check there. Happy crafting!
  Reply
Jenny s on October 30, 2020 at 11:08 pm

Thanks for sharing this! Great job!
Reply
Sue on November 25, 2020 at 8:50 pm

I’m definitely not print savvy. I saved the image but when I print it, it fills the whole page. What am I doing wrong and how can I print multiples?

Thanks for any help with this….

Sue
Reply
- Bonnie Garby on November 26, 2020 at 10:18 am
  
  Hi Sue, Believe it or not, I’m not all that print savvy either using anything other than the programs I have. My favorite is Microsoft publisher. You can also open the photo in word and then adjust the size by pushing in the corners and then cutting and pasting a bunch on to one sheet (using the insert tab and then click picture from the next navigation bar). I’m sure there are free programs you can use for this too. I would check YouTube for tutorials on adjusting the size on printables, or (and I’m not being snarky here – I do this all the time….), find a kid to help. Seriously, they are born knowing how to do this stuff! I wish you luck and I know you can do this!! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
  Reply

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Grinch Pills and Santa Cookie Toppers

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