What Can I Do with Jam Jars? Creative Ideas for Little Jars

Jam jars are not just for preserving—they can be repurposed in countless creative ways! From festive decorations to practical storage solutions, here are some innovative ideas to help you make the most of those little jars this holiday season.

1. Cocktail Glasses

Get yourself a reusable straw, some ice, a mixer, and your favourite spirit—who needs fancy cocktail glasses?

2. DIY Candles

Collect the ends of your old candles and melt them down over a bain-marie. Prepare a wick, and once you’ve poured the wax into the jar, tie the excess wick to an old pen or pencil balanced across the jar’s center to keep it in place while the wax firms up.

Note: This only works with large jars to ensure the flame isn’t too close to the glass.

3. Homemade Air Freshener

Choose your favourite herbs from your garden (I recommend rosemary and thyme, but mint works great too). Simmer the herbs with water (add vanilla extract or pods if you have them) for a few minutes, then let it cool. Pour this mixture into your jar. You can either remove the lid as needed or carefully nail a hole in the lid to allow the scent to escape gradually.

Note: You will need to change this after a few days.

4. Craft Room Storage

Fill glass jars with buttons, ribbons, paperclips, or any small crafty items you have lying around.

5. Workshop Organisation

Use jars to store small items like washers, screws, nails, paint brushes, and pens. If it’s small and easily lost, it belongs in a jar!

6. Charming Vases

There’s nothing cuter than a jam jar filled with cut flowers from the garden. You can leave it plain or dress it up with a ribbon or garden twine accents at the top.

7. DIY Beauty Containers

Make your own sugar scrubs and bath salts and keep them in sealed jars to prevent moisture exposure.

8. Ornamental Displays

If you love collecting shells, fill a jar with your latest haul and display it in the bathroom. For a smoky grey colour scheme, fill a jar with pebbles and place it on your shelf. The right jar display can enhance any room in your home.

9. Seasonal Decorations

Paint jars to match the season—Halloween, Easter, or Diwali. Create a festive display that you or your little ones can be proud of.

10. Kitchen Storage

With the rise of zero-waste shops, it’s easy to take a bag full of jars into town and fill them with nuts, dried fruits, sugars, flours, pulses, pasta, and even the occasional sweet treat.

11. Homemade Pot Noodles

And no, I don’t mean the store-bought varieties I used to enjoy as a teen after one too many tipples! Check out this recipes for the perfect quick lunch, and feel free to experiment with different versions once you’re hooked:

12. Shakers

Carefully create small holes in the lid of a jar (a nail and mallet work nicely), and you have a shaker! Use it for flour, icing sugar, or cocoa dusting in the kitchen, or let the kids use it for bio-glitter in their crafts.

13. Packed Lunches

Fill larger jars with layers of salad, placing the wet and heavy items at the bottom and working your way up to the light and leafy bits!

14. Homemade Dressings

Your smallest jars may seem less useful, but they’re perfect for salad dressings. Shake them up and dress your meal just before eating to prevent soggy lunches.

15. Decanting

Buying items in bulk that we use often, like yogurt, makes sense and prevents too many individual pots. My small and medium glass jars are perfect for decanting my daily morning yogurt, topped with honey, lemon curd, or frozen fruits. You can also make homemade crisps and store them in jars to help you stick to your daily dose.

16. Overnight Oats

This is one of my favourite time savers! Try different recipes to find your preferred version and spend a couple of minutes each evening prepping what could be your breakfast or lunch for the next day. The time spent in the fridge overnight is where the magic happens—requiring so little effort!

17. Herb Garden

In medium and large jars, fill the base with small gravel, then add good compost before planting your herbs. Mint, rosemary, basil, coriander, and parsley thrive on a windowsill—just make sure to monitor moisture levels for a perfect supply of fresh herbs.

18. Just Plain Reuse

Bulk-make jams, curds, chutneys, ferments, or pickles and reuse the jars for their original purpose! Explore more recipes at River Cottage Preserves.

These are just a few ideas for repurposing jam jars, but the possibilities are endless: oil lamps, tealight chandeliers, snow globes, date-night potluck—you name it! Get creative and enjoy the process of transforming your jars into something new and functional this Christmas.