I absolutely LOVE the subdivision that we live in now. I’ll sit on the back patio in the morning, drinking my coffee, and it’s SUPER quiet, with maybe a runner or biker, trolling by. (Notice I’m not the one running by…lol, but rather sitting on my rear drinking coffee.)
Neighbors That Deserve a Treat…
I love our neighbors even more. Yes, we’ve only lived here about 2 weeks, but through the whole building process, our neighbors were so friendly, and understanding of all of our construction tasks. Big trucks, loud machinery, I’m sure trash blew in to their yard at least once… but we’ve never even received a complaint. God love ’em!
So, I wanted to thank them for being such awesome neighbors through it all, and give them a “new neighbor gift.” We have quite a few neighbors, and I didn’t want to forget anyone, but I also didn’t want to spend millions on gifts, or spend days and hours in the kitchen making gobs of treats. {40 weeks pregnant can make you feel like sitting on the couch all day… not standing in a kitchen.}
While browsing Pinterest one day, I found a “Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread,” and thought it sounded “Fallish,” and very “comforting.” (A perfect combo for a “Fall Thank you.”) See the recipe here on “Eat Cake For Dinner.”
Now if I were Super Woman, I would have made every one of my neighbors a huge loaf of this bread. BUT… I’m not. So I grabbed my mini loaf pan, and made a bunch of “little” pumpkin cream cheese bread loaves.
Then my favorite part… the “packaging.”
Neighbor Gift Packaging
First, I started by wrapping each mini loaf of bread in Saran Wrap, so the bread wouldn’t dry out overnight. (I made this in the evening and it was too late to deliver to neighbors, so I had to wait until the next day.)
I found the CUTEST Fall labels from My Sister’s Suitcase, and “pinned” them a while back, knowing I’d find a use for them somehow. AND I DID!
I cut squares of tissue paper, and wrapped the bread for a second time with this, to add a little color.
I used my 2 in. punch, to scallop the label that says, “Happy Fall Ya’ll,” and used baker’s twine to wrap the label around the bread. For the rectangular label that says, “Welcome Fall,” I simply used clear tape to secure the label on the bottom. EASY!
I think the labels add so much cuteness, that I could have given the loaves to my neighbors, just like that… but I remembered that I had the cutest jute bags in my closet, and that a little loaf would fit PERFECT in one. So I slipped a loaf in each bag, scalloped another label that says, “Just For You,” and secured it with more baker’s twine.
Out for Delivery
Oh… did I mention that my son hurt his finger while the last batch was baking, and I burnt the bread a little? Ummm, yeah. But my husband tasted it and said it was still ok. So fingers crossed my neighbors won’t bite into the burnt loaves and think, “Yuck! Hope she doesn’t plan on doing this often.” Haha!
Now meet my delivery team! My husband and his best friend (and his little boy) took out the golf cart and delivered the goodies to the neighbors!
Happy Giving!
Jenn@eatcakefordinner says
These turned out so stinkin cute. I LOVE your wrapping.
Jessica says
Thank you!! Well the bread was delicious! Thank you for sharing it!
Missy Homemaker says
The last sentence…epic! In my neighborhood, I think only weed brownies would be appreciated. lol These look delicious and the effort you put into the presentation is amazing. I love those labels!
Jessica says
You KILL me! LOL! Thank you so much!
Tammy Doiel says
Those are adorable! I think I love the tissue paper just as well as the bags, but I love fall colors. I do something similar for the girls teachers, but I just wrap the bread in plastic wrap, cut Thank You out with my cricut (from fall scrapbook paper), and stick it on top of the bread–yours were cuter though! This will make your neighbors love you. I’ll pray for you and your delivery!
Jessica says
Really!? That’s awesome! Great minds think alike! 🙂 Thank you so much for the prayers! Hoping the little guy makes his arrival soon! XO!
Jenn @ UpsideDownKids.com says
MMMMmmmm Oh I love fall and all the yummy pumpkin treats. Looks like you will have happy neighbors. You added your blog URL to these right?
Jessica says
OMG! How did I not think to do that!? I will remember that for Christmas time though! Thank you!
Jill at Calledtobeamom.com says
That looks like a lot of fun! I love giving things to the neighbors! We do that a lot around here as well. And who could ever go wrong with a pumpkin treat!