Is it too late to do homemade pressies such as, ahem, pickles?

[WilfSell]

Inspired by the pickle thread, I might actually do some spiced pickled pears... But I might do little jars (where do I get cheap jars from?) and hope they are mature in time?

Or biscuity/chocolatey/peppermint creams? How far ahead? Good recipes? What do people put them in that doesn't cost a fortune?

Other ideas please.

Oh god, I've left it too late haven't I?

On the jar side of things I belive that Ikea do jars

Can't help with the pickling query though or the biscuity/chocolatey/peppermint creams either as I've never ventured there!!

Considering making a yule log though - I've it marked down for the week leading up

IKEA. erk

But thanks - good tip. Will look online first but knowing IKEA they'd deliver in lovely shiny tinkly Xmassy shards

We make sugar mice or coconut ice mice, you can't make those too far ahead or they'd go off. Also fudge has to be done not too far in advance. Or we do gingerbread christmas trees with boiled sweet "windows" in which you then hang up on a real christmas tree.

It gets quite labour intensive but my dc like nothing more than sweet making followed by making small cardboard decorated boxes so it keeps them happy for days on end.

It's easy (and cheap) to make little decorated cardboard boxes, just make a template and keep going.

heh heh, sounds like a good production line. Sugar/coconut mice: how do you make them? Sounds lovely for kids...

Fudge is good! made some tonight ( have a thread about this...will get it into every convo somehow im irrationaly proud of myself )

Am also making chilli jam

ooh sugar mice! recipe please?

chutney? e.g. apple chutney. Easy to make, better to make in large batches

Also, sweet chilli sauce or pickled garlic.

Coconut mice are quite easy. We have several of those Usborne Christmas/cookery/sweetmaking books.

Dessicated coconut, condensed milk, icing sugar. Mix together. Add pink food colouring to some, leave the others white.
Shape into mouse shapes. Add choc buttons for ears, liquorice tails, and silver balls for eyes.

Sugar mice, just mix icing sugar and egg white, add pink to some, and decorate as above if you like.

This is what they look like (here they cost $2 each, ours look very like this)

coconut ice mice

Fennel - how do you make the boxes? That sounds like a fab idea!

Can I get your chili jam recipe please Milkno?

A sheet of A4 cardboard will make a couple of small sweet boxes. You need to mark it out with ruler and pencil, say 10-12 cm wide and long, 6cm high sides, plus tabs to stick them together with.

Something like this box template

Thank you - all great ideas. Will make children work set to this weekend...

Sorry Ava

bit late now but it's this one

We had to reboil it next day as it didnt set but thats most likely to just be me being a twat

Sorry again

Merry christmas