OS Yuletide...what have you made so far??

InfamyInfamy

DitaBombita wrote: »

What a fab present. God I would love that!

What a pig or a salami?!
:rotfl:

InfamyInfamy

Anyone got a recipe for pickled fruits?

purpleivy

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Done



Still to do

rhubarb and ginger jam
peppermint creams
chocolate truffles
bailey's truffles
brownie bites
mince pies
fabric lavender hanging hearts

I love, love, love this time of year......:D

HJ, How soon in advance do you make your truffles, brownie bites etc?

purpleivy

ACEY wrote: »

I make sloe gin every year but even Mr S's basics gin is quite expensive this year. I make bottles for the boys' teachers and T.A's but the Basics gin is £7 for a bottle... one bottle makes 2 bottles of sloe gin but thats still fairly pricy when you have to go to Mr Wilk's to get the spare bottles and corks!

Haven't done anything else yet but have bought all the ingredients to make Turkish Delight!

Do you have a 'reliable' recipe? Pretty please!

pupsicola

My family have a tendency to go a bit mad at Xmas and I simply cannot afford to keep up with them. I like to give nice gifts, but I hate this trend they have of spending a fortune and trying almost to outdo each other.

This year I am standing my ground and have a certain budget for everyone. I am thinking really carefully about what each person may really like, so the gift means something more to them than just how much was spent on it.

I am getting my kids to make their own Xmas cards and we have even been making our own wrapping paper. They loved cutting up potato shapes and making pretty patterned paper with the paints.

As a gift from the kids to everyone we will make cookies in Xmas shapes and wrap them in pretty handmade bags tied with ribbon.

Does anyone else have any great ideas for handmade gifts?

I have a niggling feeling my materialistic family may not be impressed but that is their hard luck.

Sarah

fluffybunnies

Home made fudge (i work it out as being just over £1 per batch), peppermint creams etc.

Table decorations (few pine cones glue to a bit of foam, white candle in the middle)

Rachel021967

Gingerbread men. The Special Occasions board have lots of ideas.

Roo3471

I have just finished off a hamper that I have made for a friend who is not working at the mo so begged me not to go out spending money buying for her and the kids. Soooooooo I have taken a cardboard box and covered it in the asda 14p a roll christmas wrapping paper. I then used some of the poundland 800 freezer bags, blew them up and tied them to create padding in the bottom and covered these with more of the same wrapping paper. In the hamper is a mini bottle of bubbly (champagne type drink) which was 89p from Home Bargains. A jar each of homemade branston type pickle, piccililli and cranberry sauce. Then I recycled a tin from some Marks and Spencers toffee and filled with Asda smart price toffees (2 bags at 26p each) finally, a box of homemade flapjack and a bag of homemade mince pies. The cellophane and bow cost me £2.30 and the hamper looks great. I think the total price of all the homemade pickles etc would only run to pennies as most of the ingredients were from Asda'a whoops buys and the jars were all recycled from sauces etc.So the whole thing probably cost in the region of a fiver and I know that the fact that everything has been homemade with the exception of the bubbly and toffees will be appreciated. I am that chuffed with the results, I am already planning similar gifts for next year.

Hope this gives you some ideas. Oh and btw, all the recipes I used can be found at allrecipes.co.uk

Merry Christmas :santa2:

piglet6

My friend (a new SAHM) made calendars "starring" her little boy last year, using a free calendar template she found online and uploading digital photos of him (posing in a santa hat for December, with a toy bunny at Easter, under a parasol with a rubber swim ring in August, etc, etc).

I'm sure in years to come, he'll probably need therapy to cope with the photos, but we all really loved the calendars - much better than anything she could have bought in a shop!! :T

Piglet
x

Butterfly_Brain

I knit a lot of pressies and I too make gift baskets up either HM foodie gifts or things that I have bought during the year in sales etc they have always gone down well.
It can be a lot of fun if you try to match the gift to the person.
I have used this site lots of times and I'm sure that it will help you
http://www.homemade-gift-basket-ideas.com/

:snow_laug