MemberWhat’s your favorite gift to DIY for the holidays?
In the past I’ve made a coconut/sugar scrub, soy wax candles, and chocolate covered pretzels.
This year I’m going to make sugared cinnamon almonds, and maybe some lip balm. I’m also planning on making some play makeup for my two-year-old since he loves playing with Mama’s “makeup stuff.”
HostessI experiment with different fudge recipes and give them as gifts. A favorite is always peanut butter fudge, I make tons and put them in small tins for coworkers – my husbands coworkers fight over it!
Most recently I made some caramel apple fudge, and it was okay, but I’ve made brown sugar, oreo cookies & creme, thin mint, fudge, strawberry, and many other flavors!
MemberI love making goodie basket full of baked goods. My family has come to expect them, especially my brother. He had been sending me texts of what he wants in his for weeks. Looks like ill be making a trip to mom’s so I can use her kitchen to fulfill at least his “order”. Lol
HostessI’m not great at DIY. About the best I come up with is baskets of baked goods, but people usually don’t complain about that. I have some girlfriends who are great at the DIY soaps and scrubs, and I think that’s awesome!
MemberMrs. Mouse: Commenting to keep an eye & see what other bees do! Dh’s mom asked for no present or handmade presents only this year (for everyone in the family) so I’ve got lots to do! I’m thinking mulled wine spices, toffee or caramels, maybe a driftwood cross for DH’s mom, I’ve made framed script prints before, scarfs…
MemberI’ve made these in the past. Takes me an afternoon to finish.
HostessMrs. Mouse: I have to ship so many of my gifts that planning things that are lightweight is key! This year many people are getting homemade personalized notecards, my sister is getting a wedding album made by me, and there will probably be a lot of cookies.
MemberSuper simple, but I like giving people really nice tins/containers filled with this caramel chex mix stuff that is SO FREAKING ADDICTING. It’s so easy anyone can do it, and everyone loves it!
SIMPLE & ADDICTING CARAMEL CHEX MIX
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup white corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1-2 cups chopped pecans, almonds, and/or walnuts (adjust mix to your liking)
1-2 cups pretzels
1 (12oz) package Chex cereal (rice is my family’s favorite, but corn or wheat will also work)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 275 F. Spray a large roasting pan generously with baking spray.
2. Pour the cereal, nuts, and pretzels in two large bowls or one extra large bowl (you’ll need space to stir them).
3. Microwave butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. Stir together until well-mixed. The butter will want to float on top, so you’ll have to do some creative stirring (stir in large vertical loops, pulling up the bottom and folding it over the top so that the butter gets pulled into the rest of the mixture).
4. Pour the butter/syrup/sugar mix over top of the cereal/nut/pretzel mix and stir to coat as evenly as possible.
5. Spread the coated mix in the roasting pan and bake for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes, pull the pan out of the oven and stir the mix really well. The more you stir, the more even you’ll coat all the pieces and the better the final mix will be.
6. Spread the mix on sheets of wax paper to cool. Be sure to break up any large clumps or it’ll harden together in a big lump.
7. Serve to anyone you want to fatten up. (Just kidding, but it really is impossible to stop munching on this stuff once you get started!)
MemberI also like cutting out pictures and words from magazines and newspapers, and then mod-podge-ing (that’s a verb now) them onto nice boxes (for jewelry, trinkets, etc.). Or, I’ll paint quotes on the borders of clocks or mirrors (Target usually has good and cheap thick-border clocks and mirrors).
MemberLoveMyBrit: Yum! That sounds awesome. What a great idea!
jenilynevette: Oooh, fudges. I’ve never made fudge before. Can’t compete with my MIL’s, it’s pretty dang good.
tksjewelry: Gemstone: I think gift baskets are great! I just love the idea of something that is personalized.
xstitchbride425: That’s super cute! Fun idea.
MsGinkgo: Homemade stationery is a great idea!
I had one more idea, but I’m not sure if I’ll attempt it this year. Someone I know made homemade cinnamon marshmallows that were amazing and sooo pretty.
MemberHere’s one I forgot about, a bee sent them to me in a swap a few years ago. Raspberry homemade marshmallows. I don’t even like raspberry, but those were ridiculously heaven. If someone had sent me a tin of those, I would be over the moon. They take hit chocolate to a whole other level.
MemberIve made a few spa heat packs. Just a wool 6″ by 12″ rectangle case, with a cotton liner, filled with brown rice, 10 drops of eucalyptus and sage essential oils. Just heat in microwave for 2 minutes and it’s an amazing smelling /feeling heat pack that lasts a long time. It’s a niche but nice cheap gift if you have a sewing machine.
MemberFollowing for more great ideas. I found a lot of ideas for $5 diy gifts, if you go to that post.
HostessLoveMyBrit: that sounds delicious!!
MrsBuesleBee: MIL makes these and they’re divine!!
MemberMsGinkgo: Right?! Something about the salty/savory + caramel/sugar = absolutely addicting!
