ok maybe chit chat isn't the best place for this but maybe there will be some serious responses

who does homemade christmas presents? not necessarily for close family members - but for extended family members, friends, neighbors, etc?

my mom used to bake lots of things. i was thinking about doing something like this:



a soup or muffin or cookie recipe in a jar (the dry ingredients) and then you attach the recipe to a ribbon on the lid.

would you rather get soup or a cookie or muffin recipe? and where would one find good recipes for soup in a jar?

anyway - do you make homemade presents? what do you plan on making (doesn't have to be food!) and who is it for?

11/29/2009 9:24:42 PM

I am totally doing Cookies in a Jar this year, as well as homemade bath salts, teacup candles, shaped soaps, and soap with messages inside



Oh and it's for all my female friends/relatives because I'm sure the guys wouldn't want that stuff. Well, except for my nephew, because he's 4 so I'm giving him cookies in a jar and we're going to make them together.


I also might do "memory drawings" for a few of my close friends.

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 9:26 PM. Reason : I would also want cookies rather than soup]

11/29/2009 9:25:45 PM

i'm really poor so i'm making a bunch of cds for my sister (she's always asking me to suggest music) and co-workers. that's about as crafty as i get.

one year when i was 5(??) i made my mom a jewelry box by gluing a bunch of birthday wrapping paper to a shoebox. she still has it

OH and cookies>muffins>soup

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 9:28 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2009 9:26:29 PM

i made a notebook last christmas of the top hiking and camping trails in VA (handwritten) with a synopsis of what the trails were and the GPS coordinates. it was super time intensive, but he enjoyed it.


the year before i made scrapbooks for my sisters and my mom of their entire lives. filled it completely. they were pretty touched.

11/29/2009 9:27:04 PM

Oh I just remembered one.. I'm going to make a recipe book for my bff that moved to NY this past year because I always cooked for her... so I'm going to write out all the recipes that I made for her and add in some that I think she would like.

11/29/2009 9:28:49 PM

ohhh i like the candle and soap idea!!!

11/29/2009 9:29:25 PM

yeah I need to find a good antique shop for the teacup candles... any good suggestions? (in Raleigh of course)

11/29/2009 9:30:10 PM

ummmm i don't know

father and sons? not really antique but they do have a lot of stuff and a lot of old stuff!

11/29/2009 9:41:11 PM

i <3 the recipe book idea. i should do that for my best friend but i already ordered her something at the last pampered chef party i was dragged to

11/29/2009 9:44:30 PM

i think my 2 bffs are going to get soup or cookie (which ever one i pick) in a jar

because they'll appreciate it and we don't really ever do presents because we all know that we're all poor haha

11/29/2009 9:49:41 PM

I've done muffin recipe in a jar before. They're fun! I would think a soup recipe would be more difficult.

I have also made homemade BBQ sauce before and canned it as a gift. That went over super well

11/29/2009 9:51:28 PM

my mom also used to give away a) sourdough starter in cute little jars too - with the bread recipe OR b) just a loaf of her bread. she made the best bread.

i think i'd rather give away the starter but i don't know if she even wrote it down. but that way if the bread comes out bad i could just blame it on their poor cooking skills, not the starter! haha

^ ohhhh bbq sauce is a REALLY good idea. my mom used to do homemade pepper jelly which is also good (well i dunno, i think a lot of people like it - at least people i know). and cheese straws haha.

the soup probably would be hard, the jars i've seen witht he soup are just more colorful but i don't know if the soup would actually be good (cause the colors come from lots of beans and beans are good but not like an overwhelming amount of beans)

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 9:52 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 9:51:42 PM

I was thinking about doing candles as well. but I was also thinking about making these christmas ornaments


but idk if i have that kind of time

11/29/2009 9:51:55 PM

jeeze those look hard.

i'm also making some homemade ornament wreaths.... hopefully those will turn out well...

11/29/2009 9:52:52 PM

Oh I did the recipe book one year. I took my mom's skanky recipe box and transcribed all the recipes, found pics on the internet that looked similar to whatever the recipe was, and had it laminated and bound at Kinko's. Took FOREVER but it was cool to get all that stuff down in one place.

11/29/2009 9:54:29 PM

i, too, love to give handmade gifts

11/29/2009 9:54:42 PM

Chocolate truffles are really easy to make and everybody LOVES THEM.

Unfortunately they don't keep very well so it's best to give them out while they're fresh.

VVV NOM NOM NOM

more good ideas here on Metafilter, which might be my favorite website for ideas like this

11/29/2009 9:57:45 PM

what was it about the recipe box that made it "skanky"

11/29/2009 9:58:54 PM

OMG AND CANDY WREATHS

Apparently my family is the only ones who makes these because I can't find a pic online

You take two wire coat hangers (the smaller the better) and bend them out to make two circles, then tape them together with green tape. Then you take florist wire, cut it into small lengths, tie one end to a piece of wrapped candy (peppermint candies, etc work best) and wrap the other end around the coat hanger circle. Repeat FOREVER, making sure the candies are bunched tightly together until you have a completed wreath. Tie a ribbon to the hooks of the hangers and attach a small pair of scissors to some ribbon so people can cut off pieces of the candy to eat

11/29/2009 9:59:11 PM

^^^we made almost the same thing

except with the addition of crushed vanilla wafers, rum and confectioner's sugar



far superior

11/29/2009 9:59:16 PM

i did hot chocolate for a few years. bought some mugs at the dollar tree, put a couple of packets of swiss miss in it, dipped some plastic spoons in white chocolate and peppermint, let them dry on wax paper, then put the entire thing in cellophane with a bow around it.

i also used to do chocolate covered pretzels (you can do white, milk, and dark) and you can add things to it. like drizzle with peanut butter. i did dark chocolate ones with peppermint pieces on them but i stopped when my bfs dad broke a tooth on them.

my bad! but they look cool. put them in those little cellophane bags you get at the dollar store or a cute tin.

ANOTHER good cookie that i have also done that people love are those ritz peanut butter cookies. 2 ritz crackers with peanut butter dipped in chocolate (either white or reg) then you let them dry on wax paper, put in a cute tin (again super cheap at dollar store) and yay...cookies!

11/29/2009 9:59:37 PM

Quote :

"what was it about the recipe box that made it "skanky""

It was just super old so it had lots of grunge on the cards, oil splatters, staining, etc.

11/29/2009 9:59:53 PM

Oh another recipe that's easy to put into jars is chocolate mousse recipes. All they need to add is cream

Our wreaths look kind of like this but less ghetto.



Another example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/olorak/3099190828/

For some reason ours always had lots of Jolly Ranchers lol.

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:06 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 10:01:09 PM

I've been making tutus and felt dolls for the little girls in our life. It is a lot of fun!!

11/29/2009 10:20:06 PM

a girl that i know through someone else makes scrapbooks

http://www.lumberedwithlove.com/



there is an example of one. i haven't ordered one but i've seen the one of the pic above in person and its good quality. according to the website she'll fill the pages and decorate them too for an extra fee.

might be a nice handmade style gift for someone who likes the idea but doesnt have the actual time

ok the pic didn't show up full size.. you have to go to the website to see the whole view

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:26 PM. Reason : pic ]

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:27 PM. Reason : i think i got it to work...]

11/29/2009 10:25:45 PM

keep the ideas coming
i like the goodies in a jar and cookies idea
also going to make some mugs etc with photos printed on them

11/29/2009 10:26:58 PM

not exactly homemade but for my mom's birthday i got her a bunch of m&ms with my picture on them! very expen$$$ive but a total hit

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:29 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2009 10:28:58 PM

is this a gift that you give to people that you don't really like?

11/29/2009 10:29:33 PM

I did a beer bread mix in a jar one time. I think I used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Beer-Bread/Detail.aspx. And all they need to add is a bottle of beer. I liked it because they could cater it to whatever kind of beer they liked and that flavor would come through a little.

I also included a few different bottles of beer so they could pick one to use for the bread and drink the rest

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:33 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 10:31:26 PM

well i don't know yall but if any of you need to try out your bread/muffin/cookie jars on someone i will volunteer my services

11/29/2009 10:32:27 PM

Quote :

"is this a gift that you give to people that you don't really like? "

haha hell no. i would not put the energy into making something for someone i didn't really like.

11/29/2009 10:33:23 PM

... but I got a gift for you

11/29/2009 10:34:36 PM

Oh another super easy recipe in a jar gift is cornbread. Just add dried buttermilk and what not so all they have to do is add eggs and water.

Another one that's cool is take a dark chocolate bar, shave it into curls. Add some cinnamon, cayenne, and minced vanilla bean to the curls. Put it in a nice looking plastic bag, tie it off with a ribbon, and stick in a mug with directions for turning it into hot cocoa.

11/29/2009 10:41:41 PM

i never got the ingredients in a jar thing. basically you're telling the person to make their own gift.

don't mean to be a downer, but to me it's not overly thoughtful and generally it's just sent out en masse. (although, it sounds like that could be your target audience)

if i'm going for homemade, something like a fleece tie blanket is what i would do.

11/29/2009 10:45:46 PM

haha wrong thread

but i love fleece tie blankets

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:47 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2009 10:46:46 PM

^^ You're male so of course you wouldn't understand it.

^ ahahaha I was so confused

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:48 PM. Reason : f]

11/29/2009 10:47:59 PM

are fleece tie blankets any more thoughtful?

they aren't very hard to do eitherrrr!

but they are a good idea for this thread

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:49 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 10:49:04 PM

yea that was a my bad

11/29/2009 10:49:08 PM

but fleece blankets feel soooooooo good

11/29/2009 10:50:42 PM

thanks to this thread i FINALLY thought of something to get my brother that wasn't totally gay.

except i will have to swallow my pride and find UNC fleece b/c that's where he goes

11/29/2009 10:51:50 PM

saw some at wal-mart today

11/29/2009 10:52:28 PM

Naw, give him Mr. Wuf fleece

You can find collegiate fleece at Joann's at Crossroads btw.

11/29/2009 10:52:46 PM

i know i was just thinking about doing an ECU one for my brother
haha.

i think i'm going to do an ecu tie blanket and then try to find him a tie with skull and cross bones on it (like an actual tie)

OR MAYBE i could do that on the fleece tie blanket - ecu pattern on one side and skull and cross bones on the opposite side. yes. i'm so smart!!

where is the best place to buy this stuff? walmart? fabric store? craft store?

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:53 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2009 10:53:04 PM

i made some cute fridge magnets several years ago. i saved beer bottle caps and cut out cute shit from magazines, or celeb faces and pasted them in there with rubber glue i think (bc it doesnt ripple the paper) and then hot glued small round magnets to the bag.

you can spell peoples names, or choose little pictures that remind you of them

it was pretty quick and people really liked them since they were somewhat personalized. i got these little baggies from michaels for cheap that were a sort of netting material but nicer and used small letter stickers to create gift tags.

thats prob one of the best things i came up with while i was a poor college kid

i'd really like to spend some serious time and make one of those professional photo books for all my close friends and write a really nice heartfelt letter to them to include in the book. that might be more of a birthday idea for me since it'll take time and birthdays are a little more personal.

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:55 PM. Reason : remembered what they were called!]

11/29/2009 10:54:30 PM

Quote :

"are fleece tie blankets any more thoughtful? they aren't very hard to do eitherrrr!"

i just feel like you spend some time choosing a recipe (maybe an hour or two?), buy ingredients in bulk and really per person you spend maybe 5 minutes assembling their present.

i dont know if i just suck at assembling blankets, but it takes me maybe 6 hours for each one. :-p

i think there are a few ways to gauge a present: thoughtfulness, time, and cost. if you're going to make someone something cheaper than a "standard" present, i think it should be thoughtful (i.e. directed at the specific person) or you should put some personal effort (time) into it.

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:57 PM. Reason : quote]

11/29/2009 10:55:37 PM

Quote :

"then try to find him a tie with skull and cross bones on it (like an actual tie)"

You mean like this?



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35258524

11/29/2009 10:56:56 PM

I plan on making wine bottle balancers. Sort of like this, but out of walnut.



I have a hole saw for the hole, but it cant reach the desired depth. I'm thinking about a forstner bit in place of it.

[Edited on November 29, 2009 at 10:59 PM. Reason : g]

11/29/2009 10:57:47 PM

Quote :

"i dont know if i just suck at assembling blankets, but it takes me maybe 6 hours for each one."

6 hours to make a tie blanket Are you hand making the fleece?

11/29/2009 11:00:28 PM

^^ OMG my dad would kill for that!

11/29/2009 11:00:45 PM

^^^ that is awesome!!!
^^ didn't we determine he was male haha

well the tie i saw that i liked for my brother had this pattern


but it was $65. oh hellll no.

11/29/2009 11:02:06 PM