Home made gifts thread anyone?

[ProfessorPickles]

I hope I haven't missed another thread about this, but I was hoping to share some ideas for home made gifts!
I've decided to set a limit of only £100 this year on gifts to spend on 2 year old DS who will get £50 as he had plenty for his birthday, my parents, sister and grandma and grandad. Might have to spend on a couple of friends also!

Last year I made a chilli jam to go on crackers with cheese which went down well.
I'm thinking of making short bread biscuits and brownies to give as gifts too.

I also made cards with DS last year which cost us nothing and everyone seemed to like them! I'd normally spend £5+ per card for special ones so it saved me a fortune! I'm going to look on Pinterest or somewhere else for new designs to do this year.
I could possibly do my own Lino print cards to give out!

Has anyone got any reasonably priced ideas for things they like to make to give as gifts?

I can't believe I'm getting excited about Christmas already

Here are some prettily wrapped individual Christmas cakes I made last year for elderly neighbours on their own. I'll do more this year.
I plan to make some individual cushion covers for some people, and a shoulder bag. I'm partway through knitting a teacosy for a particular friend. I always do chutneys, jams - I'd like the recipe for chilli jam!

Oooooohhhh I love things like this!

Rosemary salt - just salt flakes in jars with sprigs of rosemary stuffed in - superb on lamb and ridiculously easy.

Sticky rib glaze in jars www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/parprika_glazed_ribs_01985

Chocolate bark - melted chocolate into a lined tin, pour a thin layer and sprinkle with crushed candy canes, or marshmallows, popping candy, raisins - anything!

Flavoured vodka - werthers original vodka and Christmas pudding vodka are especially good, or make use of any leftover fruit that needs to be used up (strawberry vodka is lovely, and blackberry isn't bad!) - I want to try apple and cinnamon this year.

Here's the recipe for the chilli jam TheExMotherInLaw
It's a nigella!

www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chilli-jam-2692

Foxache I love the rib glaze idea I think I know someone who'd like that! And the chocolate bark sounds good and easy to make.
I like the vodka ideas but nobody drinks it apart from me, maybe that can be my gift to myself

Making bags here, mainly simple shoulder bags. Also bags for the dc's mp3 players. Keen to hear other ideas.

I'm planning on doing exactly this. I'm going to get a little "red riding hood" basket and a festive material to cover and make little hampers for everyone. I'm normally quite frugal (always try to be fun though) anyway but I have dc2 coming any day now (4 days overdue) dd1 will be getting £100 (+homemade hat, mittens and scarf) and ds1 will just be getting homemade gifts (he's going to be 8/9 weeks old when we get to Xmas so I'm sure he wont mind lol). I always do an onion chutney and make my own water biscuits. Like the idea of flavoured vodka... Can it be done with any spirit or does it have to be clear/tasteless already. My fam. are more whisky drinkers.... Also do you have a recipe for it x

I'm making:

A backpack for my nephew, in combi van material, with his name on.

Three Christmas tree decorations for my best friend that look like books, with the titles embroidered on, her 3 favourite books (Life after Life, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Christmas Carol).

Three Star Wars-themed tree decs for her husband (he has a "geek-tree in his man cave", direct quote ).

Policeman fancy dress costume for DS.
Minions fancy dress costume for DS.
Pillow with DS' name appliquéd on.
Pillow shaped like a huge 3D arrow for DS (he loves pillows!)

Big tin of rosemary shortbread for my best friend's family, who are delightful and have been lovely to us this year.

That's it. I don't bake/cook/jam anything (can 'jam' be used as a verb in this context?!). Oddly, no one I know drinks alcohol!

I'm very excited about all my sewing projects

You lot that are sewing and making bags and pillow cases etc are showing me up big time
I'm very impressed!

Anyone going to be making home made soaps and smellies? or candles maybe?

Just had a good browse on Pinterest and I've found ideas for the chocolate bark that was suggested further up, a toffee recipe that looks lovely, bath fizzes and some lovely hot chocolate recipes you make in a piping bag that look nice! I want to give everyone 2-3 home made gifts each so this is a good start

I'm thinking lemon curd too because I know my parents love it

I'm going to be making some blackberry vodka and some Christmas pudding vodka this year. Love the look of the chill jam upthread so will add that to the list.

Tbh I don't really follow recipes when I do flavoured booze anymore - I just decant it into a bigger bottle (old lemonade bottle for eg) and stick in some fruit and sugar and leave it, or sweets. Apparently mint aero vodka is lush.

I've never done anything with whisky and I don't like gin heathen but cherry brandy is good - I just add either pierced or cut up cherries and dark brown soft sugar.

This is a brilliant candle thread btw

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/arts_and_crafts/788341-Oooooooooh-I-have-just-made-candles-with-10-oils-and

I made whipped body butter last year which was very easy and went down well. A couple of years ago I made cheats marmalade using Ma Made and added it to hampers with shortbread and gingerbread. DH liked his sloe gin but doesn't drink enough to get through it.

This year I may do some of the above again, though I think I've left it a little long for sloe gin. :(

I made sugar scrubs earlier this year, I'll try and find the link!

Any ideas where to get cheap jars from? Small ones preferably.

THIS is a place mark!!!

till theve got 12 jars for £6 in hobby craft just been looking not sure how big they are though..

cherry brandy is good

I always make peppermint bark from orangette's blog.

Last year I covered notebooks in lovely fabric with ribbon ties and place markers.

This year, I will be making secret book safes: www.artofmanliness.com/2010/12/07/how-to-make-a-secret-book-safe/

I was also thinking of doing some Game of Thrones stuff for some GoT fan friends - a mason jar with a pincushion lid with the Greyjoy sigil appliquéd on and "we do not sew" written on the rim, and terracotta flower pots painted with the house Tyrell sigil.

TillITookAnArrowToTheKnee oooh, sugar scrub + body butter might work nicely together...

I've made homemade mincemeat that I'll be giving to people as an early gift. I'm also going to make blackberry gin (couldn't get sloes) and gingerbread syrup for hot drinks. DS2 is four weeks old so I might make him and DS1 (2yo) hats.

I've done hampers before and they can really add up, so I now just do the odd thing.

You could lose hours reading this linked thread so be warned!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/Christmas/a1317334-All-the-homemade-Christmas-people-over-here-please-lets-share-our-ideas-SECOND-EDITION

Can't believe it's from 5 years ago

IKEA do cheap jars starting at 80p for the smallest (250ml?) and then £1.20 and £2.00 for a huge one.

I love doing homemade gifts! My parents and FIL each got a homemade hamper last year and at Easter they all gave me the hamper and empty jars back and requested the same this Christmas So far I've made:

• Apple and blackberry jam
• Plum jam
• Christmas chutney (Bezza's recipe)
• Chilli jam (Nigella's recipe)
• Mincemeat (Delia's recipe)
• small Christmas cakes are in the oven as I type

I'll also include fudge and mini mince pies (made nearer the time) and anything DD wants to bake.

I did chocolate bark for DD's nursery staff, although obviously homemade it looked like I'd put in way more effort than I actually did! I melted milk and white chocolate from Aldi, swirled them together and sprinkled toffee popcorn over the top. I'm tempted to do Nigella's Christmas pudding bonbons this year.

Or if you're as cheap as me (and this is my plan) sainsburys has basics jam -perfectly good for cakes and toast- its 35p a jar. I'm going to buy like 30 jars of jam (if you call ahead you can do this) il make lots of nice cakes (and freeze them love my chest freezer and then boil sterilise them - wax paper costs £2 from hobby craft.

Shameless place marking!

Gingerbread men are a winner here. Decorated to resemble the recipients

I got some acrylic paint from Tiger for £2, the DC collected some large stones from the seaside last time we were there and they're going to make 'rock monsters' for the grandparents, Just need to pick up some varnish for them.