MICROWAVE SWEET
You can now buy prepackaged microwave fudge mix at the grocery store. Quick and easy. Place it in a pretty glass dish or Christmas tin. You can find inexpensive plates and cans at thrift stores or garage sales.
CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS
You can use any shape of pretzel such as the twists above or even easier are pretzel logs. Use melting chocolate disks available at craft stores and some grocery stores. Sprinkle with colored jimmies, sprinkles, crushed nuts, or mini M&Ms. Wrap it in an elegant cellophane bag with ribbon. You can use the same idea except cover the candy canes.
HOT COCOA MIX
Ingredients:
1 box of 8 Qt of powdered milk
1 6 oz jar non-dairy creamer
1 1-lb box powdered hot chocolate mix (Nestles Quick or similar)
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pack in glass jars with a cute bow attached. Add recipe card. The recipe is: Add 2 heaping tablespoons of the mixture to a full cup of hot water. Stir, add marshmallows if desired.
TEA WITH SPICES Ingredients:
2 cups orange tang
1/2 cup of instant tea
1 cup of sugar
1 package dry lemonade mix
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
Mix all the ingredients. The mix will make 1 quart of dry mix. Fill glass jars or Christmas Tin with the mixture. Add recipe card. To serve: Use 2 tsp. dry mix in a cup of very hot water.
BEAUTIFUL SCARVES
A few years ago I gave each of my friends a monogrammed handkerchief. Several clients have done the same. You can also give a nice embroidered handkerchief or a vintage printed handkerchief. Handkerchiefs also make nice wrapping for small gifts!
scented bath salts
Everyone enjoys a nice relaxing bath in the bathtub with aromatic bath salts. Buy some at your local bath and body supply store or make your own. Use plain rock salt and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Lavender and rose work quite well. Bottle them in a pretty jar or use an organza gift bag. Make sure to prepare it a few weeks in advance so that the oil perfumes the salt well.
TEA BAGS WITH HALF SPOON
Put some flavored tea bags in an organza bag and tie a sweet dessert spoon on top. Cute for brides in clubs, church groups, etc.
STRESS RELIEF
Any friend STRESSED? Make a gift basket to relieve stress. Fill the basket or pretty gift bag with a china teacup and saucer, some herbal teas, a soothing aromatherapy candle, a lavender eye pack, bath salts or bath confetti, possibly a soothing instrumental CD . Fill it with different items according to what your budget allows. They even have aromatherapy candles at the dollar store now. Pick up a vintage cup and saucer at the Salvation Army or the Thrift Store.
SOUP IN JAR
There are numerous recipes for soup in a jar. Try this:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1/2 cup dried split peas
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1/2 cup dried lentils
- 2 tablespoons dry minced onion
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
- 1/2 cup uncooked alphabet pasta
- 1 cup raw twist macaroni
DIRECTIONS: In 1-quart wide-mouth jar, layer barley, peas, rice and lentils. Then layer around the edges with the onion, parsley, salt, lemon pepper, stock, and alphabet pasta. Fill the rest of the jar with the macaroni twist. Seal and enclose a gift card. Gift card should say: Add contents of jar to 3 quarts of water, 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 sliced carrots, 1 cup shredded cabbage (optional), and 2 cups diced tomatoes. On medium low heat,
cover and simmer about 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender.
COLORFUL CHIMNEY PINE CONES
Soak pineapples in any of the following solutions. When the pineapples are thrown into the fire, they will burn in different colors. Add 1 cup of any of the following to 1/2 gallon of water, soak overnight. You should let the pineapples dry completely before using them. A minimum of 3 days of drying. For yellow/green flames use borax, for yellow flames use salt, for violet flames use salt substitute, (potassium) for deep red flames use boric acid. Always handle chemicals with care. Put pineapples in a mesh bag for gifts.
Cookie Cutter HOMEMADE DOG BISCUITS
Don’t forget man’s best friend! For this simple recipe you will need:
- 2+1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic
- 1 sachet of dry yeast
- 1/4 cup of wheat germ
- 4 tablespoons warm margarine
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1+1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons of water
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Separately mix flour, garlic. wheat germ and salt, then cut into margarine. Add the eggs, molasses and milk. Then mix in the yeast mixture. Roll dough 1/2″ thick. Cut into shapes and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Chill overnight. Use Christmas fancy cookie cutters or a shaped cutter dog bone. I hope this article gave you some new ideas or reminded you of some you might have used before. With today’s economy, we can all use some creative but not too expensive gift ideas. Happy gifting!