Okay, so you’ve decided to make our DIY Gifts: Dried Fruit In Fragrant Syrup (Boozy Or Not), or other juicy food gifts. Where do you get the jars to pack them in?

We have three strategies: collect them over the year (soak the labels off nice-looking jars some other food has come in), buy vintage jars at flea markets and thrift stores OR buy them. Here’s our compendium of great looking affordable jars.

Our all time favorite jars are Weck canning jars, because they offer a wide variety of beautiful shapes. Each comes with a glass top with rubber gasket and clamps, and a plastic top.  The apricots in the foreground, above, are in Weck’s 1 Liter Tulip Jar (#475)  $21 + shipping for six, directly from Weck.

We also love packing food in classic French jelly glasses, which come in 2-cup and 4-cup sizes with plastic lids that are not quite as secure as regular canning jars. Once the gifted has consumed the contents, he/she can use the jar for food storage or as a drinking glass.

A set of twelve 21-OunceFrench Jelly Glasses cost about $30. White plastic lids are sold separately and cost $24. Total per jar about $4.50  A set of six 14-ounce French jelly jars (about 2 cups) with red lids costs about $3 each

We’ve long been fans of Le Parfait’s elegant, classic French canning jars and have amassed quite a collection over the years. Depending where you buy them, they can be a bit pricey. A 4-pack of Le Parfait 580ml (19.6 Fl Oz) Canning Jars costs $24, $6 each.
Crate and Barrel sells the beautiful Le Parfait canning jars at a good price.

Italian Bormioli Rocco Fido Latch Lid 500ml (16 Oz) Square Canning Jars are another option for metal latch lid jars along the lines of Le Parfait. Six 16-ounce jars are about $33, $5.50 each.

And, of course old-fashioned classic American canning jars will do the trick. We like Kerr’s wide mouth jar quart, 32oz (case of 12) 12 for $22  $1.85 each.