Make your own Christmas Hampers

phantom_zone

Pot Pourri done!

I bought large bags of Pot Pourri from eBay and split them down into sealable 'card bags' ( ie. long and thin! )

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/25-x-DL-Self-Seal-Cellophane-Card-Bags_W0QQitemZ310173459801QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Crafts_PapercraftTools_RL?hash=item4837c76559

They aren't big, 100g each but will certainly bulk out a hamper and smell nice to boot!

phantom_zone

French Lavender Epson Dead Sea Bath Salts done!

Sound awfully fancy eh?

Dried French Lavender from eBay, Epson Dead Sea salt likewise ( Lavender oil is option and quite expensive! )

Fancy 'Sagolik' jars from Ikea,

Each jar takes 500g so i've done 50g lavender and mixed some oil into the salt ( make sure you use metal pan and spoon to stir! )

Dish into jars, put a small bag of silica gel on top ( to prevent salt hardening ) and stuff the top of the jar with cotton wool ( to prevent it from spilling upwards in the hamper! )
I also picked up some cheap beechwood salt spoons and attached to the side!

Voila....not too dear and very nice looking!

phantom_zone

Bramble Brandy & Sloe Gin ( done - well nearly! )

Bramble Brandy is just Blackberries, Brandy and sugar! Dead easy to make, all you need is :
5ltr wine / beer / liquor / demi john
3kg blackcurrants
3kg sugar
3 litres brandy

blackcurrants in, sugar in, shake, brandy in - thats it

Leave for no more than 2-2.5 months as blackcurrents leave a woody taste after this,
store somewhere cool, shake weekly and then filter and store!

As you know...storage is dearer than the contents in most home made stuff....i managed to find a beer at my local for £ 1.59 which was pretty nice and came in a flip top bottle!
Given bottles alone are usually over £ 2 this makes the bottles free....technically lol

Its really nice chilled straight or you can mix as you see fit!
Oh...and use whatever type of brandy you like....if its super cheap, run it through a britta filter a few times to make it a bit more palatable!

Sloe Gin is made the same way, you can use fresh or dried sloes but you can leave sloes in for months or years if you like....they dont react the same way! IIRC nows the time to go sloe picking so you could end up getting a litre of sloe gin for a few quid if using cheap gin!

Enjoy!

quid-itch

Something I tried last year and will certainly do more of this Christmas is make my own Christmas Hampers.

Heres a few starter ideas of things to put in your hamper

• a few select food items such as a jar of homemade marmalade or jam, some chocolate-covered nuts, a box of Turkish Delight, or a gourmet food they are particularly partial to
• a hobby magazine, whether they’re into gardening, travel, general aviation, fashion, cats, or just about any other topic covered by consumer magazines
• a framed photo of something or someone special to them, such as their pet or a loved one
• a bottle of wine, or organic beer, ale or cider

You choose foods, drinks and anything else that you know the recipient will appreciate to fill your Christmas hampers - that way you don't spend money on unwanted items and unecessary packaging

If you’re looking for a Christmas present for someone you know pretty well, personalised Christmas hampers shows you’ve put some thought into your gift-buying — and can also save you money.

savvy

Hi quid-itch (great name btw), I've merged your thread here as there are similar hamper threads popping up all over the place

phantom_zone

Red Plum & Cardamon Jelly done!

makes 8 x 227g jars

1.8kg red plums ( pitted )
10g crushed green cardamon pods
600ml red grape juice
150ml water
sugar

put everything except the sugar in a large pot and simmer for an hour until a nice syprup remains,
empty contents into a suspended jelly bag and strain overnight

next day for every 600ml strained juice add 450g sugar,
heat to set point, jar and store!

steps simplified...if you want more detail, let me know!

phantom_zone

Christmas Crackers done!

Now these are time consuming but look great,

I dunno about you guys but crackers to me are either dear and crap or cheap and really crap!

Even the £ 1000 box i saw in Harrods the other year was crap!!

Anyway...I thought this year lets make my own -

Lo and behold of course you can get cracker shells on eBay at very reasonable prices...hats as well!

So each cracker has a £1 Christmas scratchcard, a 'premium' hat with a joke I printed out, a piece of Kendal Mint Cake and a small pack of animal modeling balloons! Oh...and a snap-bang for the usual effect

Thought the modeling balloons would be a good laugh on Christmas Day! Each pack was only a couple of £ and came with 20 balloons ( 5 each cracker ), a pump, stickers and printed instructions!

Not uber cheap but very good quality and IMO much better than i could buy!

I bought A4 collapsed boxes and they *just about* fit....once ribbon is tied round the box I think they'll look the part

If you need any links etc, let me know!

phantom_zone

Pink Grapefruit & Cranberry Marmalade done!

675g Pink Grapefruit
juice & pips of 2 lemons
900ml water
225g Cranberries
1.3kg granulated sugar

Makes 5-6 1lb jars

Slice and remove the pips from the grapefruit and whiz in a food processor
juice the lemons and add the grapefruit, lemons and water to a pan,

tie the pips from the grapefruit and lemons in some muslin and add to pan,

simmer for an hour or so until the grapefruit rind is soft ( if you want to slice instead of whiz, simmer a bit longer )

remove muslin and add cranberries to mix,

simmer for 20 - 30 mins until cranberries have burst,

add sugar and bring to set point, jar and store!

This stuff is fantastic and is a lovely bright colour!

Kevie192

phantom zone, you may want to check with your local trading standards office about the bath salts. I believe that what you are doing without following EU Cosmetics Regulations is actually illegal.

harib0uk

Kevie192 wrote: »

phantom zone, you may want to check with your local trading standards office about the bath salts. I believe that what you are doing without following EU Cosmetics Regulations is actually illegal.

What?! They are gifts for friends and family....

Do you follow Food hygiene laws to the letter when your baking some cakes for family.. Do you follow Heath & safety laws when taking your kids to the park and write risk assessments and method statements!

jeeez, if I'm missing something that the op is doing that is dangerous or will cause harm to the recipients then please enlighten us.. but otherwise :shhh:

OP some great ideas there.. going to be cracking hampers!