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Homemade Xmas Hampers

OH and I have decided to make homemade hampers for our families this year (1 x my mum, 1 x for his parents, 2 x aunt and uncles)

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas of what to put in them to make them nice and original? OH loves cooking and making stuff so he is doing homemade jam/marmalade/cakes etc

any ideas would be great! x

Comments

  • JodyBPM
    JodyBPM Posts: 1,404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I do this most years, I fill them with homemade jams, marmalades and jellies. This year I'm branching out a bit with my foraging and am making more unusual ones like crab apple and hawthorn and apple and rosehip, but regular ones are fine, I'd just advise you to choose your recipes carefully, as sometimes the ingredients, especially if you're using exotic fruits, can work out much more than buying readymade! Marmade, which is prepared oranges or lemons sold in cans in the supermarket is great for marmalade. We have an apple tree in the garden, so I tend to base most of my things around that - blackberry and apple jam, chilli and apple jelly, apple and cinnammon jam etc.

    I do jars of pickled onions, mini Xmas cakes, little cellophane bags of star shaped gingerbread, candied peel, home brewed ale, home made sweets etc.

    You do need to think about it now though, get saving jars, and things like chutney need a few months to mature.
  • Hello,
    Am new to this site but have just moved and we have so many trees!!!!
    With crab apple jelly what is the difference between a jelly bag and a muslin used for jams (i se baby muslins they seem to do the trick!)?
    Also we have Qince which I am waiting till October to pick... think that is good as jelly too.
    I am making some of these bits for Christmas as well as am doing hampers this year. Normally do a really good bottle of wine for around £12 per couple but thought I wold ring the changes as try this....
    will let you know how I get on.
  • I've been thinking about this recently too-
    I plan on doing the following, getting some cellophane from somewhere (not quite sure where yet... hmm... and ribbon to make them look pretty for little stocking fillers and gifts for friends.

    Nut brittle
    Chocolate coated Brazils
    Fudge
    Chocolate Florentines (little disks of chocolate, with a raisin, a small nut and some candied peel on. Look pretty, taste nice!)
    Cinder Toffee (may dip it in chocolate if i feel like it!)
    Homemade truffles

    Not entirely sure what else yet, but I think i can make quite a lot of those cheaply. I plan on using the silicone bun cases as 'bases' for them while they cool, so they're bitesized (for the florentines and brittle anyway...)

    Hope that helps!
  • rainmac
    rainmac Posts: 7,063 Forumite
    Home Insurance Hacker! Cashback Cashier
    How about this muffin mix in a jar... http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2920/christmas-muffin-mix. I made up a jar last year for us to bake on Xmas morning and they were delicious.
    :wave: If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain :wave:
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