All the homemade Christmas people over here please, lets share our ideas :)

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

Do we have a 'Homemade Christmas Thread' going yet? Ive linked to last years below, I am determined to MAKE MAKE MAKE this year and bugger the responses

I need a fail safe mulled wine kit to give people please if anyone can help, Thankyou :)

Last years thread!

Hippy either eiher or both

Thanks doodlealley, I was getting a bit paranoid about poisoning people at Xmas! Do you put the jars in oven right before you fill with jam? Is jam take a while to make?

kveta those recipes sound amazing. I won't have time to do the fruit ones as off on holiday later today, but will try the Xmas pudding one. I think I'll make a few so I can try it myself once I have baby in Jan!!

I'm thinking for hampers flavoured vodka, chutney, home made hand cream (found on pinterest feel justified in the amount I've spent on there now!) and shortbread or truffles. I was thinking of wrapping it all in cellophane? Not sure how expensive wicker baskets would be. How does that sound?

buzzgirl I have found some small wicker baskets on ebay here but they might be a bit small for you. You could look in pound shopes perhaps. I'm not in the uk so everything is from Ebay for me!

LadyEvenstar classic sponge recipe for you
Its brilliant, works perfectly every time and before I discovered this recipe, my family used to dread having to eat my birthday cake efforts! But now, my bro reckons I can bake better than my mum! The numpty said that in front of my mum so I think I'll have to make his next b'day cake too!

Hippy thanks for that!

Buzzgirly - could you post the recipe for the hand cream please?

I am making all the women i know handmade jewellery as I have recently started making and selling it.

My dc are both getting a blanket made out of their outgrown clothes a patchwork one, and if there is enough my 2 nephews will get one each as well as they clothes have gone through them all I like to reuse!!

Hello - I've just spent the past hour looking at pinterest and reading through this thread

Determined to do this. It's a challenge for me - have no money, and am epically crap at craft . But this year I have learned to bake (killed the bakefear monster stone dead) so I reckon I can do this.

Loving the look of the Lemon hand scrub - how long does it keep for?

And can anyone recommend an idiot's guide to making candles?

I am so excited and it's still September ...

buzzgirly - try the raspberry one with frozen raspberries - I made a 300 ml pot last week (as one does) by just bunging a handful of frozen raspberries into the jar with a handful of sugar and what was left of the vodka from other endeavours. Tasted it last night, and it was fabulous. It's another one I'm not sure I'll actually be gifting!! anyway, it doesn't seem to take too long to infuse!

Lady how will you make your quilts? I have a load of fabric and love the idea of a patchwork quilt for my nieces and nephews. I get that you sew the patches together, but what happens after that?

slightobsession quite strangely i typed this up for a friend earlier so here it is, c&p straight from their message!

1. chop up bits of fabric
2. sew bits of fabric together to make a 'top'
3. sandwich a bit of wadding in between the top and the backing fabric (usually a plain piece of fabric slightly bigger than your top
4. sew through all three layers (usually along the seam lines from stage 2) to quilt it
5. attach binding to the edges of the quilt
6. take photos, and admire your handiwork with pride!

simples!

I've just had a betterware catalouge through, and in it are some christmas chocolate molds - i'm going to get one so i can make liquer(sp?) chocolates to go in my hamper too!

Have you made them before dee?

Oh thanks Dee :) I wondered if you were suppose to cut the wadding into squares as well. Yours makes much more sense though!

I tried my christmas pudding vodka last night - have to say, it doesn't taste of much yet (except vodka . Wondering if I should add a few more spices and possibly a bit more brown sugar, or if I should just let it all steep for a bit longer?
Blackberry vodka is the most incredible colour, looking forward to trying that one :).

you're welcome slightobsession but my name's not Dee

No, i haven't C, but i thought i'd give them a go! I'll probably do a couple of trial runs though, just to make sure they are edible.

And i might make some normal chocolates for the DC... might make them an advent calendar myself... or i could put them on the tree...

Oh and you never said if you like my Kenwood

Oh and SlightObsession, i believe it's Hippy Hippopotamous you meant to thank

Bettymum - try watering it down a wee bit to get the flavours - mine was infusing for a month, and tastes lovely now, but we do find it a bit overwhelming without being diluted 1:1 (at least!) with water.

apparently sticking it in the freezer will enhance the flavour too, but I don't have freezer space for a 1 litre bottle at the moment!!

If anyone is interested, each Monday I am posting up tutorials for Christmas gift makes and coming closer to the big day, we will have decorations and eaty treats.

OK, will try watering it down before I go bunging more stuff in :)

Bettymum... it is best after a few months, so if you have made it recently, don't taste until the beginning of December, remember to turn it everyday as well... same principles as sloe gin. :)

I am very well practised at drinking making sloe gin .