Who's Making Their Own Presents? And Requesting Others Not To Gift

dogstarheaven

marmitepotato wrote: »

do you want to make cookies regulary or just once a year? If its regulary then i would invest in decent baking trays. If just once a year I think cheap trays with silicon would be fine.

as a keen savoury cook, i think i'll find uses for the extra trays. i've made biscuits and cookies in the past, and admittedly they were just for xmas too, but with the flimsy cheap trays, i've found that they're not v 'flat' as they warp easily in the dishwasher.

is there a place where Stork can be bought in a large tub that's cheap? or are they in most supermarkets thesedays? is cooking milk chocolate ok to use as a substitute for the chips, or can you tell the difference. as these are for kids, i'm sure they wouldn't notice.:cool:

Ladyhawk

I am a little nervous about giving my HM gift this year. For my eldest and yooungest brother and FSIL (all in their 30's) I have bought presents. But for my middle DB and SIL I have bought a wicker hamper and filled it with about 15 HM different jams etc so far, and will also include some tablet, biscuits, short bread etc. I'm really not sure how they will react - I "think" that they will appreciate it. Too bad if they don't cos that's what they are getting!!

As for getting presents you don't want - could you give them a list of items you might like? Either they can use it as a guide of the type of items you might like or they could buy something off it.

marmitepotato

I used Tesco value milk choc and nobody noticed, they were too busy eating them!!! I am not sure about Stork, perhaps MrsE might know.

I got myself a really good quality muffin tin from TK MAX, it has a 10 year gaurantee, it was reduced from £17 down to £6. Its used and used and hasnt warped, gone rusty, and is still non stick after many uses and trips in the dishwasher. I would try there (if there is one near you), you can get quality bakeware on the cheap.

mrssnowy_2

Often give jars of marmalade,jam,pickle,chutney as presents,and make material shopping bags to put them in.
Even do Xmas puds as pressies.
Friends save jars,pud basins and material for me!

mrss

nopot2pin

dogstarheaven wrote: »

has anyone costed a jar of jam or chutney before on here? i'd be curious to know pls. thanks.

Sometimes there is a vast difference in cost...
I made a red onion marmalade. HM worked out about 90p a jar, and shop bought was almost £2. The HM one tasted far superior
I have made jams too, using fruit bought from a pick your own place.
There was virtally no price difference between HM and shop bought, but again the taste of the HM ones have been superb

dogstarheaven wrote: »

is there a place where Stork can be bought in a large tub that's cheap? or are they in most supermarkets thesedays? is cooking milk chocolate ok to use as a substitute for the chips, or can you tell the difference. as these are for kids, i'm sure they wouldn't notice.:cool:

A 1kg tub of Stork is about £1.50 ish
I use value or smart price chocolate for baking. 30p a bar, for 100g
Never had any complaints before .... although, I dont know how easy it would cut up into eqaul little chips

LittleLauz

Well I'm not actually making anything HM, but i'm only buying presents for my cousin who is 9, just some little bits and pieces of girly stuff that I think she'll enjoy. I've also asked others not to buy for me and told them that I shan't be buying gifts this year and they've all agreed that it's fine. They are all still buying for each other, and tend to spend ridiculous amounts to be honest, but then it's their money and they can afford it.

MrsE_2

marmitepotato wrote: »

I used Tesco value milk choc and nobody noticed, they were too busy eating them!!! I am not sure about Stork, perhaps MrsE might know.

I got myself a really good quality muffin tin from TK MAX, it has a 10 year gaurantee, it was reduced from £17 down to £6. Its used and used and hasnt warped, gone rusty, and is still non stick after many uses and trips in the dishwasher. I would try there (if there is one near you), you can get quality bakeware on the cheap.

I use butter where possible.

Alot of those spreads are oil blended with water, or is that just the low cal ones? & I think you are better off with the real mccoy.

Waitrose had 2 Lurpack for £1.50 (or could have been Tesco).

MrsE_2

Ladyhawk wrote: »

I am a little nervous about giving my HM gift this year. For my eldest and yooungest brother and FSIL (all in their 30's) I have bought presents. But for my middle DB and SIL I have bought a wicker hamper and filled it with about 15 HM different jams etc so far, and will also include some tablet, biscuits, short bread etc. I'm really not sure how they will react - I "think" that they will appreciate it. Too bad if they don't cos that's what they are getting!!
.

Sounds great:D
Mine are jams & chutneys in old recycled pots & a sticky lable.
Yours sound really fab, I would LOVE that.

betterlife

im giving hm hampers aswell, but im giving mine to the adults in my family that i dont normally buy for, also im giving it to them a few days before xmas so they dont feel bad on xmas day, (me and kids will be delivering them) ive bought the baskets from charity shops, lined with tissue, ive made hm pickled onions, hm candy apple jam, xmas cake covered with marzipan and cadburys choc, hm after dinner mints, snowman soup, hm turkish delight and choc brazils, hm shortbread. hope they enjoy. we just buy for the kids, most bought in sales, ive we have made a big zoo for my 2yr old, and ive made a rag doll for my little girl.

valk_scot

I knit small things like hats, mittens and scarves for people. Sometimes socks, but they take more time so you have to be special to get socks! I make a big batch of jam in the summer specifically for generic Christmas presents for the neighbours etc and top the jars with fabric covers and ribbon. I sometimes make Christmas biscuits. (I always use Stork for baking, I think it tastes better than butter tbh for most things.) I've done pots of bulbs etc in the past if I've found a good source of cheap pots somewhere. One year a friend and I made gifts together....she made a big batch of soap, I crocheted a pile of scrubby facecloths (for exfoliating) in matching cotton, then we swapped half of each with one another.

None of this is any cheaper than than buying from the shops and in many cases it's more expensive than just buying a similar item tbh. It's certainly more time consuming! But as they say, it's the thought that counts and in these busy times most folk appreciate that something home made is a bit special.

What often lets home-made gifts down is presentation btw so I do try to make an effort with that. Knitted items get put in little home made fabric pouches in a matching colour and I look out for small baskets etc for biscuits, or nice fabric scraps for jam pot covers. Cellophane is nice but expensive and wasteful because you can't recycle it, so often I use big squares of fabric to tie things up with, secured by a ribbon. You can use a nice teatowel for biscuits, for example! And a duvet cover in a bright fabric, bought in the sales, will make twenty or thirty gift bags at a fraction of the cost of these expensive paper ones you buy in the shops.