Credit Crunch Gift Ideas

[kirsty b]

Cakes/Cookies in Jars

you layer the dry ingredients for a cake or cookie mix into a jar (in a decorative way). Put a label on telling the recipient what they need to add and do in order to make the finished article.
Decorate jar with ribbon or something.

Recipe: Cookie Mix in a Jar Collection

a link to a page for some recipe ideas, but I daresay most of you will have your own recipes to use!

[Scottishnewbie]

Chocolate fudge gifts


Method...
Break up the chocolate into a microwavable dish. Microwave the Chocolate for 1 minute and stir, repeat again. If the chocolate has still not melted microwave for an extra 20 seconds and stir. Repeat the 20 seconds until the chocolate has melted being careful not to over cook the chocolate.

Then add the tin of condensed milk to the chocolate, stir in well. You will feel the mixture thicken.

Pour into a tin foil lined tin, spread evenly and smooth the top. Allow to cool for a couple of hours.

Take the fudge out of the tin and peel off the tin foil. Cut in to small mouth sized chunks.

Your chocolate fudge is now ready to eat or put into a little box if you are giving it as a gift.

One batch is enough to make two gifts

Jax, it might be me but I was just away to make this and realised that I cant find a note of how much chocolate to use....anyone know?

many thanks

[dexterdoglancashire]

Well I finally got round to making myself some bathbombs. It went 50/50. Half were OK - just tried one in the bath - brill!
The others I think I put a bit too much oil in them, tried to dry them in the oven and they spread out too much. So with those, Ive chopped them up in my food processor and added them to a jar of seasalt and made a lovely lavender sea salt type thingy. Result!
The only thing was, I put in a bit (says she - a large bit!) of food colouring so the bombs were more maroon than lilac.................was wondering as I got in the bath how much your skin was dyed by food colouring!
As I sit here on the Vine with maroon coloured skin............................only joking! Actually it worked very well and the little bit of oil leaves your skin nice and soft.
I will definately be doing this again. Thanks Kirsty!

Does anyone have any recipes for making your own soap, or have I missed it?

[sabulous]

Me and my sister are putting together hampers for family and friends this year.
We went a bit mad with the jam and chutney making and had more than we could eat ourselves so we decided to give some away! I also made some apple and rosehip sweetmeat that looks (and tastes) gorgeous, like little frosted jewels packaged up on cellophane! And we're also making granola and biscotti to pop in there. The only people I'm buying stuff for are the kids I look after and a little something for my mum. She really wants an apple tree for her garden so I'm getting her a giftcard from a local nursery.

[sarraceniac]

She really wants an apple tree for her garden so I'm getting her a giftcard from a local nursery.

Hope you don't think I'm being patronising or nosy Sabulous but it is difficult to tell how experienced people are on here. Don't forget to tell her to ask the nursery for a self-pollinating apple tree or she will have to end up with two, unless close neighbours have suitable varieties.

[sabulous]

Don't worry! I'm not very experienced so would never hav though of that. Luckily the people at the nursery were very helpful and recommended a family tree with 3 different kinds of apples on it. My mum's very experienced though, her dad was a gardener and ran the village nursery when she was growing up. She spent most of her weekends and summer holidays helping out!

Thanks for the concern!

sab x

[kirsty b]

Well I finally got round to making myself some bathbombs. It went 50/50. Half were OK - just tried one in the bath - brill!
The others I think I put a bit too much oil in them, tried to dry them in the oven and they spread out too much. So with those, Ive chopped them up in my food processor and added them to a jar of seasalt and made a lovely lavender sea salt type thingy. Result!
The only thing was, I put in a bit (says she - a large bit!) of food colouring so the bombs were more maroon than lilac.................was wondering as I got in the bath how much your skin was dyed by food colouring!
As I sit here on the Vine with maroon coloured skin............................only joking! Actually it worked very well and the little bit of oil leaves your skin nice and soft.
I will definately be doing this again. Thanks Kirsty!

Does anyone have any recipes for making your own soap, or have I missed it?

I did toy with the idea of food colouring but didn't want to dye anyone! Glad they worked out for you Bernie.

[quark1]

Its been a while since this was last written to - most/all of what has gone before still applies.

I'd like to add my latest 'idea' which might help save a few pennies.

I've recently bought a few framed pictures from just a quid or two from my local charity shops. Sometimes you'll love the subject inside the frame, but the tackier the subject the cheaper it'll be! - but just think about the frame itself and how you might be able to fill it for a family member as a special gift.

Perhaps a nice framed example of a grandchild's first attempt in the art world or a collage of family portraits etc which might comprise as part of a family history etc.

I got a lovely dark-stained double-framed one for just £3 - I don't believe it could be bought separately for less - you win and the charity wins.

I know I've mentioned charity shops before but they truly are a great source of goodies and it makes you feel good when you know you've helped the good cause too.

[susieq100]

I know this is a very 'large' present and damn difficult to wrap but I have planted some leeks in flower buckets and my sister and eldest son, both of whom are not really gardeners, are going to get 'fresh leeks' for their Xmas lunch. It's a very big stocking filler!!

[becslb]

I did toy with the idea of food colouring but didn't want to dye anyone! Glad they worked out for you Bernie.

when my children were toddlers, we used to add food colouring to baths occasionally - they loved having a green or blue or yellow bath (and it helped alleviate stressful baths when ds2 went through a "I hate water" phase)!

I do marmalades, jams, chutneys for the majority of my presents and they go down really well - I have been asked to repeat the gifts for christmas and birthdays I also sew so have made wallets/purses/bags/manicure sets. Other ideas include snowman soup for children's gifts or reindeer food for a christmas eve gift.

I usually do hampers for both our parents - luxury coffee or tea, biscuits, a few jars of hm jam/marmalade/chutney plus any "bits" I think they might like so my mum might get a book or my dad some guitar strings etc... I'm going to add seeds to FIL's this year.

[chris]

Snowman soup?

[Pickle]

I also made some apple and rosehip sweetmeat that looks (and tastes) gorgeous, like little frosted jewels packaged up on cellophane!

This sounds fab! Any chance of the recipe? I make hampers for my family every year and I'd like some new things to put in them this year. Don't want them to dread my hampers because they are full of the same stuff as last year

[bretty666]

Ok....so im late..very late..if you want something excellent and fairly cheap...do a come di.e with me experience...gather four of your freinds(even four couples?) and cook a wicked meal and provide a bit of entertainment for them..do this and take in turns ti be hosts and have a secret vot that will be reavealed at the end of the 5 evening...

[Uplandlady]

Being newish to GYO site I found this old thread soooo helpful especially as Christmas is fast approaching .......sorry to mention the C word in August! But I do find my mind wanders that way at this time of year due to sometimes overwhelming cost of it all. Definately looking to making some homegrown pressies this year. Trouble is not very imaginative but happy to try out anything really. Hopefully new ideas will come in from all you clever people out there to inspire those of us in need of help!!