Holy Paperwhites!

For the past several years, rather than doing the baking, baking, and more baking for our friends during the Christmas season, we have given paperwhite plants. It makes a lovely gift and if you go ahead and force the bulbs, you might have blooms by Christmas day.


This is what you need:
Paperwhite Bulbs (also called Narcissus)
Pots WITHOUT drainage holes
Pea gravel or small pebbles
Pretty ribbon

First things first. Before you begin, distract your child with your gift for your "Not Bunco" ornament swap. (We call it Not Bunco because the entire past year, not once did we actually play.)

Now, get your pots ready. I chose glass flower pot votives from Garden Ridge (on sale 3 for $1). I've previously used small juice glasses.

Add pebbles/stones/whatever. What I used came from the Dollar Tree (one bag did 8 pots) or you can purchase pea gravel at Lowes. Whatever you choose, it needs to be small enough to ensure that the bulb will sit cozy.

Snuggle a bulb down into the pebbles.

Add water up to the bottom of the bulb. If you do it any deeper, it will rot the bulb before it can bloom. And finally, finish it off with a pretty ribbon.

Place them in a sunny spot or decorate your home as you anticipate the first green shoots! This plant grows quite tall. To keep it from falling over, you can stick a branch of winterberries in the pebbles. That will hold the foliage and blooms!