A 'Thin' Holiday Season

[RetroModelSari]

Wow! I really feel inspired by you ladies and your great ideas!!!

 

[sarah smith]

I think that baked goods say you care enough to make them just for your friends and loved ones. Plus, if you know what they like and bake just that for them, they really enjoy it. And flour is cheap!

 

[Paisley]

Spiced Apple Rings

These are a hit. They're messy and time consuming to make, but inexpensive and tasty.

You'll need canning jars and lids, a canner (big pot with a wire rack) and the ingredients (apples, sugar, cloves, vinegar). Also, an apple peeler helps and is worth the money if you're going to make these for years to come.

 

[ShrinkingViolet]

[snip] I have huge amounts of recipes and formlae, so if anyone wants any illustrated factsheets, PM me with your email addy, tellimg me what you want and I'll send some over.

I have info for:

bath melts
bath salts
bombs
bubble bath
deodorant
dusting powder
hair care
hand care
household
lip balm
lotions and creams
scrubs
soaps
teas & botanicals

I've been making toiletries as a hobby for around 16 years!
massage bars

I'm planning to make to homemade lipbalm in cute little pots and use them as presents. I've found a recipe in a book from the library but I'd like to see yours too!
I'm also thinking of making my own cold cream/cleansing cream with vegetable oils and essential oils in it, but I'm worried it'll go wrong and the ingredients will go to waste ... Is it very difficult to make creams and lotions if you're unexperienced? It does sound like you have a lot of experience! I'll drop you a PM.

 

[Paul]

Here you can buy food hampers boxed and presented nicely, with little pot of this and that, might be a little over expensive, One the down side they do not always contain food every person like In my family there is often a craft swap between members to get something you like..
Why not bake or make cakes, cookies or jam etc which you know a family member likes and put in it a basket or something else. Nothing like home made.

 

[GOK]

I'm planning to make to homemade lipbalm in cute little pots and use them as presents. I've found a recipe in a book from the library but I'd like to see yours too!
I'm also thinking of making my own cold cream/cleansing cream with vegetable oils and essential oils in it, but I'm worried it'll go wrong and the ingredients will go to waste ... Is it very difficult to make creams and lotions if you're unexperienced? It does sound like you have a lot of experience! I'll drop you a PM.

No it is not at all difficult. In fact, it is not only incredibly easy but very satisfying too. PM me with your email addy and I'll send you some information.

A quick comment from a recipient's point of view; I adore home made presents and cards - they really can mean so much more than shop bought ones.

My children always wrote me poems (about me!) as birthday gifts; for me a poem is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give to a person because it shows you really have thought about them.

 

[olive bleu]

I am relieved to see that this thread is actually about inexpensive gifts and not about getting skinny over the holidays, which is what i had thought!I have been avoiding this thread for days!lol

 

[~landgirl~]

I am relieved to see that this thread is actually about inexpensive gifts and not about getting skinny over the holidays, which is what i had thought!I have been avoiding this thread for days!lol

And to think, if you had avoided it completely then you would have missed out on all the 'not so thin-related' yummy receipes!

 

[GOK]

And to think, if you had avoided it completely then you would have missed out on all the 'not so thin-related' yummy receipes!

That is a very good point, Jen. I don't see anyone here posting recipes for lettuce delight!!! lol

I need cookies...now!

 

[RetroModelSari]

What X-Mas would it be if you can´t eat till you almost explode? (We can still think about how to get rid of the extra-pounds later )

 

[olive bleu]

I am so glad you all see this my way! I was beginning to thinK, "Who ARE these people"?lol

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Martha Stewart always has a bunch of make-it-yourself gifts for the holidays and here's a link...

 

[Miss Dottie]

Another goodie is vanilla sugar. Just stick some vanilla beans in white sugar for a week and the sugar is infused with all of its vanilla goodness. Wonderful for coffee and homemade hot chocolate.

Oh--and you can make your own hot chocolate dry mix too!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them until they are evenly blended.

2. Store the mix in a tightly covered container at room temperature until you're ready to package it. Makes about 4 cups of mix.


And knitters--don't get stuck in the knit something for Christmas route. Oof! What a stresser that is.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Priced vanilla beans lately? SHEESH! With all the cooking shows doing things with vanilla beans instead of extract, the price has gone through the roof over the last four or five years. "Hey Mike, why don't you make vanilla bean creme brulee for dessert for the gang. It's been awhile since you made that." "You know...you're right...let me dig out that recipe." And when you're up to $15-20 on just the first ingredient in a recipe to serve four to six... "On second thought, let's have apple pie!"

 

[mysterygal]

Another idea is to buy a Christmas ornament...maybe set out to buy each year one that is special for that person.
Example: My mother buys ornaments for each of my daughters..for my oldest, angels, middle daughter, gingerbread man, and my youngest, teddy bear
People really love getting these and you can buy some that are not only beautiful or cute, but also very affordable.

 

[olive bleu]

This probably won't help you this year, but one year, i collected sanddollars in the summer and in the fall i painted them all with some translucent glitter and then glued a very narrow piece of ribbon to the back, and gave them as tree ornaments.They cost me practically nothing but i still get people telling me they still have those and absolutley love them!


Of course, this will only work if you live by the ocean

 

[Miss Sis]

And knitters--don't get stuck in the knit something for Christmas route. Oof! What a stresser that is.

Oooo, don't! I started the BFs 3 ply jumper in June and I still haven't finshed the first sleeve, despite frantic knitting! I have done the front, back and neckband, so don't think I'm that slack!

I repeat: DON'T start knitting anything now!

 

[olive bleu]

lol lol lol Oh I hope all you ladies heed this warning! How many knitting projects have i started at this late hour , foolishly believing i could finish them. Not only did I not finish them in time for Christmas... I haven't finished them YET!!

 

[DancingSweetie]

Ummmm, you do know that if you use the cold pressed method, the soap has to cure for a month? If you use it before then, you will get lye burns. The best way to test for cure is to take a little bit and hold it about 1cm from your tongue. If you can feel it tingling, it's still caustic.

That's weird, I took a soap making class and we were taught to let it saponify for about 2 weeks. I have made about 6 batches over the years and never had any trouble with the lye. I do agree you have to be very careful handling the lye though.

 

[Brooksie]

Make some chocolate covered pretzles, get a big bag of pretzels and a couple of bags of chocolate chips and melt down the chips and dip the pretzels in the chocolate.

or make some of those clove studded oranges - cloves can also be expensive, but if you can by them in the bulk they might be less expensive.
Take an orange and poke a bunch of holes in it (you can do stripes of other designs) place a clove in each hole, cut some verticle stripes in the oranges (if you do this it looks really neat when it is dry and you end up using less cloves in the long run). Then take a piece of red ribbon from a fabric store and make a loop and attach it at the top of the orange with a straight pin. Let them dry in the open preferably by a heater for a week or two and they should be ready to go.

Brooksie