Christmas Hampers

purpleimp

You boil it up, and it goes through the 3 stages, it starts off as toffee (very sticky and difficult to get right because sometimes it does't set) then it hits the fudgey stage and with extra boiling it gets grainy-er and ends up as tablet.

I did do this one night and it wasn't wanting to set for me so I put in half a packet of crushed penguin biscuits and it turned into the nicest choccy fudge I've ever had, it's amazing how well mistakes can work out sometimes!

MrsTinks

Drat puple imp beat me to it lol

lucyelastic1

One of the things that costs nothing except time are vouchers (you can make lovely ones with a bit of arty stuff if fancy it or just plain and to the point). They can be for different things - a few ideas:

an evening's child minding (particularly good for frazzled friends or colleagues)

a foot massage (perfect for a loved one!)

breakfast in bed (mmm sounds nice)

washing up for the week (my particular favourite before we got a dishwasher)

sole use of the t.v. remote (you can put timings in yourself i.e. for an hour, a night, a week, forever (not fancied by most strangely)

feel free to add any you can think of here.....

borntoshop

I am so interested in the toffee vodka and have followed links given above which in turn led to more links, good for me though as picked up some great ideas.
I take it I buy a half size bottle of voddie and a large bag or werthers, is it the toffee werthers or the hard candy ones?
How long do I have to wait after making the mix also please.

Philippa36

I put two small packets of the hard candy Werthers Originals into a half litre bottle of vodka. I used Sainsburys own very cheap vodka and its not great on its own ~ tastes very good with coke though.. hic!

Edit: it took about 3 weeks before I drank any. It was thoroughly dissolved though and then I stuck it in the freezer for a few days to chill.

borntoshop

Yum and thanks, now must buy voddie and sweets, what a great shopping list!!:rotfl:

recovering_spendaholic

This is a fab thread and I have decided that I am going to make some jar gifts and some of the HM baileys for presents this year! I don't know how to make the baileys though and nothing came up on the search when I tried - can anyone post the recipe again please? I also think that the organised christmas site it wonderful!! One last question - I was thinking of making some layered bath salts jars and was thinking of using crystalised salt and aromatherapy oil and a bit of natural colouring. Does anyone know if that would work?

CAFCGirl

Enjoy the vodka!

Remember first one is an experiment
Second one is for a gift

CAFCGirl

On another note,

does anyone have any handy ideas for hampers for men?
I've got all the ladies sorted but the men pose the biggest problem for me. Especially since none of them have any hobbies.

I've got:
2 Grandads (1 likes liquorice, other one watches tv all day, but no vids or dvds!)
1 Dad (likes diving, and marine fish, and audrey hepburn)
1 OH Dad (cooks a bit, lives in the country,shoots stuff)
1 OH StepDad (quite intelligent, likes football)
1 OH Grandad (on last legs may not see next year )

Any bright shiny ideas?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles when it comes to men........
present buying I mean

purpleimp

There are literally 1000's of irish cream recipes out there, just google it, some have eggs, some have cream, some just have evaporated milk, some use coconut cream, others use cocoa, others melt chocolate in,some use rye others just use norma whiske some insist on irish, it's worth looking about and finding what recipe suits just in case you have any family with special dietary requirements or anyone pregnant who might like a wee glass on christmas eve or to take in the bells!HTH.xxx