thought I might try my hand at making a few xmas pressies to save a bit of cash . . .

[lucysmam]

anyone any ideas what I could do?

my mind kind of went blank after I had the brainwave that I could make something . . .

get some cheap plain white cups,bowls,plates etc and get dc to paint them for family presents/teachers.

papier mache jewellerey boxes or picture frames

Rock road tied up in a cellophane bag with some nice ribbon on the tie is good .
There is a recipe on here somewhere for it.
Jam.
Photo of your dd in a nice frame .
A calendar made by your dd.

Chocolate Truffles delicious and a breee to make!

Chocolate Truffles delicious and a breeze to make!

ROCKY ROAD

Make Jams and pickles, put them in a nice decorated jar.
Home made food hampers.... kids can help make biscuits and stuff?

found it

yum! i love food ideas, trouble is i tend to have to 'test'

truffles look simple enough & would go down well with mil and my sister.

off to investigate Rocky Road . . .

the fudge looks tasty too!

Oh I can see me moving into the kitchen to experiment later on. not sure about lo helping though, she's only 19mo, not keen on idea of having her in kitchen

i was going to suggest rocky road or white cranberry fudge but I see someone beat me too it and posted the appropriate link.

I used them as presents for teachers etc - as our end of year is also christmas - so huge slabs of it in seconds pottery bowls, plates or nice cheap glass jars.

I thought for group of teachers at dd1's school - I would just buy a different thing every couple of weeks and make up a big hamper of things they could use/share out.

i made delia's pickled shallots one year, they were fantastic.

Can you knit?
Scarves, hats, gloves/mittens, and thick socks are all very useful at this time of year!

pmsl EachPeach - it's early September but feels like late November already!!!!! I've finished sock 1 today, have to motivate myself to knit sock 2. luckily there's only crap on the tv.

btw lucysmam - home made food pressies are a great idea, and most people would be delighted with something like that. can you make xmas cake or puddings?

Yummm, yes- I think I would love someone forever if they made me my christmas cake!

Or a dozen mice pies

Oh, mince pies... DD was still asking for them at Easter this year!

I once had a Christmas pudding in a bowl wrapped up in three nice tea-towels with a wooden spoon and a Christmas pudding recipe attached, I loved it and have given the same thing to others.
Last year I made cranberry curd (nigellas recipe) and cranberry sauce and gave them as presents.
I'm making Christmas stockings and advent calenders this year as we have a few babies to give presents too, I've bought the fabric cheaply on-line. Might make Christmassy table-runners for distant aunts too.

im making things like this for the kids in my family this year - finished two-eight to go!

We've done:
chocolate truffles
rocky road
Nigella's 'paradise chutney' (very easy ... apart from peeling and indeed, finding, quinces....)
gingerbread men & decorated biscuits ('snowmen'/snowflakes etc. Give child white icing & silver balls and stand back - even at 19mths they can do a bit of that)
dh always makes beer too

Think I'll try and do something 'preserve-y' this year...

i stock up on decanters from charity shops all year.

then buy cheap-er bottles of brandy and amaretto from Lidl and soak with oranges and other citrus for about 3 weeks in a dark place.

taste, taste, taste .

add a little honey if you like.

decant into the decanters and tie with a pretty ribbon.

LOL at funnypeculiar 'finding' quinces- Nigella she love de quince. I confess I have never seen one or tasted one
Love those canvas thingys lmccream

We found our quinces on freecycle - but you're right, Nigella seems to have a limitless supply

You're not in Croydon are you FP?? I freecycled quince last year Made 1 batch of quince jelly and the smell made me feel so ill I couldn't face any more! I've not even been able to try the jelly!

Oh, and main thing you need to know about quinces ... those feckers do NOT want to be peeled. I got callouses on my peeling thumbs...

Close-ish, soupdragon - our quinces were from somewhere Chessington way...

Not mine then My parents pruned their quince bush and gave me about 4 tonnes of the things last year [shudder].