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

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

OLD THREAD

We were all on about pinterest, jars, and where we are up to in our christmas planning :)

Lets go...

I'm running out of time...argh...

I've given up on making a few of the bits I had planned, my kids have quite spitefully been poorly since Friday and it's not helping! Up all evening and half the night with one or the other and I'm knackered.

Rant over. Must get LO to bed so I can put the tree up before this afternoon's nativity play

100 guests? Craziness! Fun though - but lots of work.

I have my online shop on mysupermarket and keep removing things as I pick them up elsewhere. That way I should have everything listed that I need when it comes to ordering the fresh stuff. That's the plan...

I have the turkey which is something. Going to make the cranberry sauce this weekend or before, fingers crossed. Desserts will be made Christmas eve for my sins and the biscuits will be made with our daughter the day before that.

I'm making mince pies but also buying some. I'm making filo pastry ones (with frozen pastry). Just one thing with mince pies, if you're going to buy them make them good buttery pastry ones not the mr Kipling ones which aren't good at all! For years I didn't think I even liked them then tried a luxury supermarket one and liked them a bit too much

As for our turkey, by fancying up the turkey I mean making it special. Making the stuffing for it and other various things (as per Jamie Oliver) to make it good. Hopefully.

May just have to give everyone extra wine should it not be fabulous...

it's an open-house thing, so hopefully they won't all come at once!

Flubba I loved your present wrapping ideas - especially the use of doilies! Will anybody be watching Kirsties Handmade Christmas tonight ?

Oh that's a bit better then Flubba.

Oh yes to kirstie. Love the comfort tv!

A quick query about lemon handscrub. On Kirstie's programme last week she made some sugar handscrub and it looked like it was mostly oil with a bit of sugar in it, whereas mine is the other way around. Which should it be? Not sure wether to include the scrub in my hampers or not as it is not looking very special!

Oh I often make scrubs just for me. I think it's preference but I prefer a more dense scrub, so more sugar than oil for me. I do sugar first then add the oil.

For gifts you'd surely need to think about ways to keep it from getting unsanitary? People dip wet hands in again and again - there are things that can help but I can't remember right now.

sillyolfelf those were my present wrapping ideas with the doilies, not Flubba's!

martyr and thunder I've got my mix of guinness mustard sitting around in a bowl waiting to get yummy, but it's very, very liquidy - have I done something wrong or will it get thicker when I whizz it?

haha over ~ just seen silly's post and yours. I'm more than happy to be praised for work I've not done! :) :o

I bet you are FLubba!

I've just made my first ever batch of jam! Raspberry and chambord, it's very sweet but it's delish!

Thanks Thunder I'll leave it a couple of days and see how it looks then. Smells lush!

New to the thread, hope I can join in? Owing to our business folding last month (welcome to the recession), I am now doing EVERYTHING homemade. Needs must. I'm feeling worried that people will scorn my homemade gifts, especially as they are probably giving/expecting bought things.
So can you tell me if these ideas sound ok? For family adults - female: fudge/meringues in decorative boxes (I have some nice perspex ones left over from something else that I can decorate with ribbon etc) + homemade oiled chopping board; for males: one each of chili jam, piccallilli, spiced nuts in jars in a little wooden trug. Four little girls under age of 3 to do for: personalised painted and decorated little wooden treasure box with name painted on and rag doll inside. I do the cooking and sewing, DH does the carpentry.
Does this sound OK? Most worried about the little girls. Will they think this is pathetic?

I have a new name.

I'm making cranberry sauce tonight if I can be bothered with my nasty man-flu but may get a jar in, just in case...pointless?

Plan on freezing it until Christmas.

thought you homemade ladies might like this holly and ivy arrangement I did today

Thanks Rosie But seriously, will this be ok for the little ones? The oldest one got an iPod Touch for her third birthday . How can a rag doll in a box compete with this? My DC are a) boys and b) older, so please people with preschooler DDs tell me what you think your DDs might think of this. And if rubbish... give me some other ideas!!

My daughter is 3. She loves the usual shop toys but one of her favs is a very simple knitted doll!

I think your plan sounds lovely, really. And I'm not just saying that.

Ps three years old is far too young to be receiving an iPod touch, in my opinion.

I genuinely think your ideas for little girls sound lovely onmythirdglass - I have girls of that age and they would absolutely love it, especially personalised with their names on it. However, you must share pics of your wonderful work with us.

Thank you! I'm smiling now. It has been a really tough couple of weeks, so I think it sapped my confidence a bit. But now MN jury says Yes, so tomorrow I start the project! You'll need to wait a week or so for pics :)