Best gifts you can make that look impressive?

[hereidrawtheline]

Seeing as how so many of us are on a very tight budget this year I thought we could pool some ideas of gifts to make that cost very little but have big impact - i.e. I need ideas!

Last year we did a really fab thing that went down well, we got loads of bottles, clear and green, and lots of super cheap, short fairy lights (lesson learnt, led will work best!) we got them from woolies for £2 each... anyway towards the bottom of the bottle you use a glass appropriate drill bit and drill a small hole, then thread the fairy lights in to it, leaving the bit hanging out for the plug. Wire the plug back on (must admit I got DH to do that bit) and use chop sticks or something to spread the lights out nicely inside the bottle, so they can be used year round really. Different coloured bottles and lights are nice too!

I just looked o Ebay as well! I saw some handbag shaped moulds which one of my friends woud love.

Thanks for giving me a great idea!

Last year I made nut brittle - melt sugar in saucepan and add selection of nuts, pour onto greaseproof paper to cool, crack into pieces, put into decorative receptacle of your choice.

And also my Grandma's delicious chocolate truffle recipe which is really easy and they last for a while as they don't contain cream, will dig out the recipe if anyone is interested

Am liking the fruity booze ideas

Is nut brittle really that easy Montifer? Have you got any quanties?

I would love your Grandma's recipe!

I was a bit worried about burning sugar but recall it was pretty straightforward.
Sorry, don't have a recipe.
Think I used a bag (1kg) of granulated sugar per panful, heated it slowly over moderately high heat until it was completely melted and then stirred in a load of roughly chopped nuts (I used macadamia, brazils, almonds, hazelnuts and made it more nutty than brittley)

Will dig out Grandma's recipe, it definitely contains large quantities of butter, ground almonds, brandy and grated chocolate, so quite rich

Ok, inspired by this thread I now want to give gifts of blackberry infused vodka, but I cant find bottles to decant it in (appart from expensive ones in Lakeland which kind of defeats the object)

Can anyone point me in the right direction of bottles I could use?? Please...xxx

Posh water bottles?

I've decided to make bath teabags instead of bathbombs, as I don't have a mould and I think they look great.

I've found these which are very cheap, but now need to know where I can buy bicarbonate of soda in large quantities IRL. Online will cost too much to ship and it'll rather defeat the object if I spend a fortune on little pots of the stuff!

And what about citric acid?

We make a load of small things to put in a 'hamper' for grandparents. We're tie-dying cloth bags and teatowels this year, and have already decorated a load of small tiles I got off freecycle for coasters - need to stick some felt on the back so they don't scratch whatever they're put on.

We usually just change our focus of 'craft things' from this point in the year from them having little or no point to them to us collecting them to make lovely hampers for christmas presents.

Then we make loads of sweets and goodies from the Usborne Christmas cook books and wrap them nicely.

The grandparents were absolutely delighted with them last year, so I think we are making a bit of a fun and inexpensive tradition

Tea bags sounds like a great idea .. would it work?

Colditz, so (I know I sound thick) you are saying I could just use old screw top bottles?

I am thinking of making biscotti for some people, the coffee lovers maybe.
And maybe a pair of these fingerless gloves for others, if I can get my head around the pattern.

were making bath bombs in the shape of xmas trees,snowmen,stars and whatever other cutters i can dig out.

'how to grow your own drugs' bokk has lots of nice ideas.

Ok, spent most of the day on ravelry and rest of the web looking for ideas.

I'm going to make these ribbon streamers for DD and her friends.

Bumper I think I might give those a go my dd 6 and 3 year old will love them.
Thanks.

Grandma's Brandy Truffle recipe:
6oz dark chocolate
1.5oz unsalted butter
2oz icing sugar (sifted)
2oz ground almonds
2 tblsp brandy

Melt 2/3rds of choc into a bowl over pan hot water and add brandy. Grate the remaining chocolate and set aside.
When chocolate is melted and mixed with brandy, stir in butter.
Mix in icing sugar and ground almonds and blend well.
Leave in fridge until firm enough to handle.
Roll into balls which can then be rolled in the grated chocolate.

Excellent thread. No suggestions of my own yet but when I think of one I'll post.

I like the sound of some of these home-made gifts. It's given me inspiration

Montifer they sound absolutely delicious, thank you!

LaurieFairyCake I am going to be making those candles for family and friends for Christmas, they look lovely! I have loads of questions, would you mind if I emailed you? My email address is senatorvass at gmail dot com, thanks very much!

You can make some really nice flavoured olils by getting th bottles of cheap Olive Oil and putting Herbs or Lemos or Chillis in them and sealing them up, i always add these to made up hampers for my foody family.

LMN it was Hugh F-W in the Guardian Magazine approx last December. Can't find online but have it at home somewhere, will find it and post it on this thread in next few days

Bottles . I'm not sure if I've brought up the right page but they're on this site somewhere!!!

I'm also keen to make flavoured vodka or other food/drink type gifts but I know I'll never be organised enough to do it in time!! I'm too disorganised!!

I have gathered a few bits and pieces to fill mugs (tea/coffee/hot choc etc).

I've also bought some jars from Ikea with the intention of filling them with cookie/cake ingredients but whether I get around to doing it or not is another matter!

I have the honeycomb recipe:

Cinder Fudge
Watching the sugary syrup bubble up like a volcano when you add the bicarb and vinegar is great fun - just remember to use a good, deep pan. Dipping the cinder toffee in chocoloate - as well as being greedy and delicious - means it keeps better for a few days without it becoming sticky.

200g caster sugar
30g unsalted butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp water
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cider vinegar
vegetable oil for greasing the tin
150g dark chocolate (optional)

Lightly grease a 28 x 18cm tin and line it with baking parchment, lightly grease the paper too. Put the sugar, butter, golden syrup and water into a deep, heavy-bottomed pan and warm over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and boil, without stirring, until a teaspoon of the hot mixture turns into a hard ball when dropped into a glass of cold water (or until a sugar thermometer reads 138 degrees C). This should take five to ten minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the bicarb and vinegar. Pour it into the prepared tin straight away and, when completely cold, break into pieces. You can enjoy these as they are or dip them into chocolate that you've melted in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Undipped pieces will last for a day or so in an airtight container; dipped pieces will keep for three to four days.

i've just had an idea for all the 20/30 somethings I always have trouble with, tell me if it's rubbish

I was thinking of getting a mug/cup/glass(beer or wine) and filling it with sweets we all used to eat when we were young (flying suacers/jellies/etc etc) then wrapping in cellophane

Good or bad idea? I think i'd like it!

Also, if it's a good idea, would I be able to give everyone one of these or would that be a bit bare in mind lots of them will open it together

Thanks

Eddas that sounds like a lovely idae. M&S have a good range of sweet that would be suitable - even flying saucers!

I really like the idea of planting Venus fly traps in tea cups

Sweeties thing = tick gold star

hereidrawtheline - just seen your post and have emailed you. Very happy to help with your candle queries