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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Frugal homemade Christmas presents to start making now

15 replies

40SomethingFabulouslyClueless · 23/09/2014 22:03

My budget is looking a bit tight this year so I wondered if I could get away with making Christmas presents. Any suggestions for lovely/easy/cheap to make presents?

OP posts:
joanofarchitrave · 23/09/2014 22:10

Bowl of hyacinths - needs a lot of planning. Nice if you find a good bowl in a charity shop, or if you have one yourself that you don't mind using. I'm not sure of the schedule but it won't be long until you need to start thinking about them.

Sloe gin - but probably for next Christmas now! and tbh what with buying the gin you might as well just give gin.

Blueistheonlycolour · 23/09/2014 22:21

Pickled shallots? Caramelised red onion chutney?

excitedforbaba · 23/09/2014 23:44

Decorated photo frames? Can be picked up cheap from £ shops get some 3d stickers etc and print off a photo of the recipient & family

WhatsGoingOnEh · 23/09/2014 23:54

Fudge is cheap as chips to make and you can do a lot of different flavours. But I've always felt it was a mean present to give to family and friends. But I make bags of it, poshed up with ribbons and a little tag, to give to neighbours, school mum acquaintances, etc. or I just eat it all myself

mrsjavierbardem · 24/09/2014 00:04

empathy, whatsgoing on, empathy

Umlauf · 24/09/2014 13:43

Can you crochet or knit?

I've made a load of these fingerless gloves which are really really easy to do and very cheap (if you use cheap yarn!) I learned to crochet last month so they really are easy.

For DSs friends we are doing hot chocolate cones. For his nursery teacher, aunts, uncles etc we are doing posh biscotti (bought naice carboard boxes on aliexpress and lots of christmassy stickers and ribbon to decorate them with)

It is hard to think of non foodie ones tbh!

BiddyPop · 24/09/2014 14:10

MrsJavier - did you mean recipe, whatsgoing on, recipe??

BiddyPop · 24/09/2014 14:18

Green tomato chutney - if you have any left in the garden.

Sloe gin, blackberry whiskey, damson vodka, etc - using the cheapest spirit you can find, fruit from hedgerows, and plenty of sugar to hide the rawness of the cheap spirit. Mix, shake, ignore.

While a bag of fudge alone may feel mean, I have done hampers before (with a cardboard box covered in nice paper), with things like fudge, couple of types of cookies, peppermint creams, homemade orangettes (using HM candied peel - interesting process but lots of faff!!), jar of hm mincemeat, etc. And I have done savoury versions with HM chutnies, dried herbs from the garden, dried chilis (some years garden, some years bulk batch from Chinese supermarket), bagged mix for savoury biscuits, ...You could always add jars of hm jam, the spirits mentioned above...have a look in a few Christmas recipe books, there are usually a few ideas there.

A jar of vanilla sugar for bakers - pop the pods into a jar of regular castor sugar for a few weeks (like 6-10 preferably) so the flavor leaches into the sugar. Then just add a ribbon and labell to the jar.

One year, I got cherries being sold cheap in a supermarket glut, threw them into some honey rum from a Canaries holiday (brandy works well too) and then used them in Christmas week to make chocolates with the cherries in the middle. Incredibly well received!! That year, I had the orangettes, and also made chocolate ganache filled chocs too. And separate choc truffles coated in nuts.

40SomethingFabulouslyClueless · 24/09/2014 14:59

Wow. Some great ideas, thank you.

I used to crochet and have been looking for an excuse to pick it up again. I love the gloves (and so would the kids).

The hamper idea is fab too. I've not made fudge for years, but I'll start digging through my recipes for ideas.

Might give the hyacinths a miss, although it's a lovely idea, as I tend to kill any plant I come into contact with.

OP posts:
HermioneWeasley · 24/09/2014 17:31

I did homemade vanilla extract last year. You need a glass bottle, some vodka and vanilla pods. Not massively cheap, but about half the price of buying it

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 24/09/2014 18:06

Hyacinths really need to have got going by now, we've just done ours but usually do them at the beginning of September.

For crochet, there are lots of fabulous Christmas things you can do, tree decorations, bunting etc.

slushie · 24/09/2014 18:26

I want to make snowflake cookies with dd1 for grandparents. I have a snowflake cutter, but not sure how to make the icing that goes on top any ideas? Also best way to present them?

slushie · 24/09/2014 18:29

Think I might make skittles flavoured vodka for sil, never done it before but heard its good.

anyoldname76 · 24/09/2014 18:41

I love making Christmas presents whether the recipient likes them is a different matter Grin

This year I'm making Christmassy ruffled aprons (already done 2)
Snowflake bracelets
Cherry brandy
And I'm making a pearl cluster necklace and bracelet for my mum.
I will still have to buy a few gifts for my dad and niece but other than them everyone else is having homemade.

mommathatwearspink · 24/09/2014 20:53

Last year a friend made her own sugar body scrub. She wrapped it up with a soap and a polishing sponge. I thought it was a lovely idea!

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