Giving money as presents

Frogling

leni wrote:

yeah, I'll post it when I get home tonight, I'm using those shocolate sponge in a can thingys (51p in morrisons) for the 4" tin mould and I'm making the boxes to put them in or I've seen some at 30p each.

Please could you post your recipe leni? I would love to know how you make your cakes (I love baking, and fortunately my friends and family seem to like my cakes, so I always make all the cakes and puddings for special occasions. Like you, I'm aiming to do cake decorating as a second income).

Westywoodpecker

Bagpuss1973 wrote:

Don't accept it then. Sorry to be a bit harsh but my partners mum and dad always give us money because they would rather we put it towards something we actually want rather than buying us some cr*p that we will want to get rid of. Plus they aren't loaded so don't want to waste their money.

I can't see the problem with giving and receiving money depending who it is from. Would you all rather they bought you a lovely toilet roll holder doll or something and then expect it to be on display all year?? Or would you rather they gave you a few quid to put towards something you like.

Must admit we tend to buy something, quite often add some towards it and then his mum wraps it up so she can give a "real" present but that is for her benefit not ours!:D

That is what I'm expected to do, which is why I don't like it. I can understand why money is given for the kids as they don't know what they would like or have, but I'm told to " Do the honours " which means I have to choose a gift for each of us, to be returned to them to wrap.

Perhaps I sound ungrateful which I really don't mean to be, but I would personally prefer something like a £3 glass vase which would have showed that a bit of thought had gone into it.

BTW Regarding the don't accept it option, you don't know my mother in law!!

K9cuddles

I must admit I don't ever give money as a pressie, but I do normally ask for it!!! Kinda a rule in my house you have to say what you want, or'll your get pointless/random stuff! They know I normally go for the big expensive stuff, and I dont' expect them to buy it!! They know chipping "in" will help me get whatever I want!! I mean last year was Cruise Control for my car! The year before rear bumper!!! lol

leni

Frogling wrote:

Please could you post your recipe leni? I would love to know how you make your cakes (I love baking, and fortunately my friends and family seem to like my cakes, so I always make all the cakes and puddings for special occasions. Like you, I'm aiming to do cake decorating as a second income).

Whoops sorry, here it is

Rich Fruit Cake


I do a 7" recipe for 2 x 4" cakes

185g - Raisins
185g - Sultanas
125g - Currants
90g - Dried Apricots (chopped)
90g - Glace Cherries (quartered)
45g - Cut Mixed Peel
45g - Mixed Chopped Nuts
1.5Tbsp Lemon Rind
1.5Tbsp - Lemon Juice
2Tbsp - Brandy
220g - Plain Flour
2tsp - Ground Mixed Spice
45g - Ground Almonds
155g - Soft Brown Sugar
155g - Butter/Marg (softened)
1Tbsp - Black Treacle
3 Medium Eggs
bake in a pre heated oven (140'c or Gas mark 1) for approx 1.5 - 2 hours, checking after 1.5 hours every 10 minutes with a cake skewer, the skewer should come out quite clean, this means the cake is ready.

Soak the ingrediants highlighted above in red overnight in the brandy.

The next day, mix all the "blue" ingrediants together and beat until it's well mixed, smooth and glossy. Add the fruit to the mixture and mix well.

Your tins should be double lined with parchment/greaseproof paper. Some people put a lining of brown parcel paper around the outside of the tin, but I don't both so this is optional.

Add and level out the mixture in the tins, and bake.

When ready, leave the cakes to cool in the tins.

Once cool turn out onto a wire rack and wrap the cake in tin foil for storing, DO NOT take off the parchment lining, this needs to be left on and a piece added to the top of the cake to stop the tin foil coming into contact with the cake (tin foil can have a reaction to the cake mixture) Before wrapping I hadd another half a Tbsp of brandy to the cold cakes, and after a week I unwrap and add another.

When storing, for the first week, store the cake as it "sit in the oven", after that, store the cake "up side down", so that the botton becomes the top of the cake. This ensures the top keeps flat for decorating!

The cake will store for AGES!

leni

Re Money - My view, is that if their gonna give money year in, year out, then please lets just stop giving "presents".

It feels too much like the person is "paying me" for the present I an giving them, rather than exchanging gifts. Afterall, it should be the sentiment and though that counts.

themadbird

I always ask people just to add to my boots card as after christmas is when I get all my smellies and cheap bits that I use throughout the year. Better than money plus no one knows what each other have put on, neither do I - it works better that way for me. What I do for them are little hampers (bit like the ones mentioned here), crackers (with extra little gifts in or vouchers etc), so they can use them. But money's ok I suppose.

Sarahx

Guilty as charged!!

I am giving money to my sister and BIL and children as they have 7th on way, but I will put it in with an xmas hamper (home made cakes, box of chocs etc) this shows some effort and thought, but they can put the money towards going out for a meal together as it's very expensive for them to go out.
Also my children 11, 13 & 16 (+ her 17 yr old BF) have asked for money rather than gifts because one want special hockey pads (£300!!) one wants lap-top etc, so they say they'd rather not have presents from anyone but put the cash to something they really want. I have bought each of them a novelty piggy bank to put the cash in.
For ED's birthday last year I used a funnel to fill lots of calloons with table sprinkles and the like and put a folded fiver in each. I then put a needle in a jewellery box and wrapped it and wrapped a length of cane and a roll of cellotape and let them work it out! Eventually the Krypton factor/crystal maze mind kicked in and she cellotaped the needle to the cane and popped the balloons, getting showered in sparkles and finding all her fivers!
(So I can't be accused of lack of thought or effort, but she still got what she really wanted) There are ways of giving cash and stuck in card shouldn't be one of them!!
Sarah x

code-a-holic

Sarah - you are cool!!!!!! What a great idea!
I hate giving money to teenagers becuase im afraid of it getting spent on random junk -but then i guess if thats what makes them happy.......
My brother 21, would love money, but i know its so he can but a few extra drinks on a night out. Id prefer to buy him some clothes or something and he can waste his own money on nights out.

victory

With the kids on xmas day if they wake up to envelopes with money in they are deflated and having nothing to play with or do. Yes, it is great in one way as when the sales come they get double the value from the vouchers and the money but the most exciting day of the year leaves them uhm what do we do now until the shops open?
I always make sure they have presents that can entertain them on the day, actually I was doing that last night, working out what they had to play with on the day.
It has it positives and negatives.
Positives- They get double in the sales.
They can go and get exactly what they want when they want it.
They have not got a whole heap of stuff that they have no use for or is doubled.

Negatives- The person has put no thought into it, taken the easy option.

On the whole I would say it is a win win as there is no wastage, there is little use for the 'silly presents' after xmas day itself, is there?11 xx