For years now the people in my family and Patrick’s have exchanged gifts at Christmas like many other families around the world with one exception: many of ours are handmade.  It is a match made in heaven when our families meet for these exchanges, as we often walk away with a years supply of soap or handspun wool from my aunt, lovingly made Christmas bread from my grandmother, home made batches of Coquito, darling hand made refrigerator magnets, or hand knitted scarves, hats or mittens from his sister.  We never know what’s coming, but we always know it will be thoughtful, useful, beautiful, and potentially delicious.  It’s a far cry from the crappy craft items most people associate with handmade holiday gifts (reindeer candy cane ornaments? wreathes? remember the puffy paint sweatshirts?).  This year our main gift list includes various pickles, preserves, and freshly roasted coffee.  But, like every year, we have planned poorly and find ourselves short gifts for some of the people we want to share with. Over the years, we have collected a mental list of last minute DIY gift items that don’t suck and don’t take up an extraordinary amount of time or resources.  It is easy to lose yourself in a “brilliant” idea such as candle making or cookie making, only to find yourself in a huge mess with lots of wasted money and ugly or burnt gifts. I’ve been there.  So, here is a list of some of our favorite, last minute, handmade items we have given and received over the years:

BOOZE:

I recommend using swing top bottles (like old Grolsch bottles) if you have them, or mason jars, since they are usually easiest to find or most likely to be lying around your house.  If you are someone who brews beer, feel free to bottle them in any capable sterilized bottle.  You can sterilize bottles by adding 1 Tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water or Sanitabs if you have them available.  If you use bleach, rinse the containers thoroughly before using to avoid a chlorine taste.

Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog):
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of coconut milk
1 can of cream of coconut (not the same as creamed coconut, check the ingredients for sugar, there should be LOADS of it)
1 can of evaporated milk
1 egg
1 t. cinnamon
¼ t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
1½  c. Puerto Rican rum (i.e. Bacardi)

Blend all ingredients in a blender, pour into sterilized swing top bottles or Mason Jars, refrigerate until needed.  Any eggnog or coquito that contains more than 20% alcohol can be aged in a refrigerator if kept under 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is suggested you age it at least three weeks, but you can drink it right away or age it up to a year.  The alcohol reacts with the milk and egg proteins meaning the longer you age it, the better the texture and softer the taste of the alcohol.  Seriously, though, we have never complained while drinking young Coquito.

VEGAN VARIANT:
1 can of coconut milk
2 cans of cream of coconut
2 c. soymilk
1 T. cornstarch
1 t. cinnamon
¼ t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
1 ½ c. Puerto Rican rum

In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat the cornstarch and soymilk until thickened.  Remove from heat and blend together with remaining ingredients.  Pour into sterilized swing top bottles or Mason Jars and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Mulled Wine:
1 gallon of cheap wine
1 c. vodka
2 c. orange juice
1 c. muscovado or dark brown sugar
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
4 long cinnamon sticks (about 6 inches each)
4 whole star anise
1 T. of whole black peppercorns
½ t. of cayenne pepper

In a large stock pot combine all ingredients and heat just below a simmer for at least 10 minutes. Add vodka after removing from heat and bottle using sterilized swing top bottles or Mason Jars. If you jar this while hot you do not need to refrigerate. If this makes you uneasy feel free to refrigerate it until needed.

Mulled Cider:
1 gallon of unsweetened apple cider
2 c. bourbon
¼ c. muscovado or dark brown sugar
1 orange slice
6 whole cloves
4 long cinnamon sticks (about 6 inches each)
4 whole star anise
1 T. whole black peppercorns

In a large stock pot combine all ingredients and heat just below a simmer for at least 10 minutes. Add bourbon after removing from heat and bottle using sterilized swing top bottles or Mason Jars.  If you jar this while hot you do not need to refrigerate. If this makes you uneasy feel free to refrigerate it until needed.

TEA:

Lavender Tea Blend:
1 c. loose black tea (unflavored)
3 T. culinary grade lavender
1 T. rosehips
1 T. sweet orange

Combine ingredients in bowl and stir together.  Store in an air tight light-free container such as a tin, or in a plastic bag wrapped with paper.

Red Flower Tea Blend:
1 c. loose black tea (unflavored)
3 T. hibiscus blossoms
3 T. rosehips

Combine ingredients in bowl and stir together.  Store in an air tight light-free container such as a tin, or in a plastic bag wrapped with paper.

Bottled Chai Tea:
6 long cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
2 T. cardamom pods
¼ freshly cut ginger
2 T. whole black peppercorns
½ c. honey or to taste
1 c. black tea
1 gallon of water

In a large stock pot combine spices with water and honey and bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add tea.  Let steep another 5 minutes. Strain and bottle in swing top bottles or Mason Jars. Refrigerate until needed.

FOOD:

If you haven’t made fudge before, don’t be afraid, it is ridiculously easy and decadent enough that most people won’t make it for themselves. As with most recipes, the quality of your fudge relies heavily on the quality of your ingredients, in this case your chocolate.  Use high quality chocolate for good tasting fudge.

Dark Chocolate Fudge with Crystallized Ginger:
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
pinch of salt
1 c. chopped Crystallized Ginger
1 ½ t. vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and salt over low heat stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and fold in chopped ginger and vanilla extract.  Pour into a foil or parchment lined 8″ square pan and spread evenly.  Chill until firm (about 2 hours).  Remove from pan (flipping it upside down and peeling back the foil or parchment), cut into squares and wrap portions well in wax paper.  Store at room temperature.

White Chocolate Fudge with Cranberries and Pistachios:
3 ½ c. white chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
pinch of salt
½ c. dried sweetened cranberries
½ c. chopped unsalted pistachios

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and salt over low heat stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and fold in chopped pistachios and cranberries.  Pour into a foil or parchment lined 8″ square pan and spread evenly.  Chill until firm (about 2 hours).  Remove from pan (flipping it upside down and peeling back the foil or parchment), cut into squares and wrap portions well in wax paper.  Store at room temperature.

Manjar:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

If you are unfamiliar with the many names of milk caramel (dulce de leche), Manjar is the Chilean name given to this sugarbaby-like treat.  I learned how to make this at a very young age from my Papa’s family.  We use it on toast or on top of pieces of white cake like icing. Most people I know use it as an ice cream topping.  It is popular in many different cultures and made in a variety of ways with a variety of cooking times.  The easiest method is to boil a small can of sweetened condensed milk completely submerged in water for anywhere between an hour to 4 hours.  For a soft, lightly colored syrup boil the can for an hour, for stiff, dark-colored paste-like spread, boil close to 4.  Make sure you keep the can completely submerged in water or you risk a very sticky explosion.  You can boil as many cans as you like in one pot as long as they stay completely submerged, and if you use smaller cans you should cook them for a shorter amount of time, larger cans for a longer amount.  I recommend starting with 1 ½ hours and going from there.  To remove the can use tongs, dump into a sturdy sink, or just wait for the pot to get cool enough to remove them (this could take several hours).  Once the cans are cooled, you can apply your own decorative labels.

HOUSEHOLD:

Many health food stores (including chains like Whole Foods) have herb sections where you can buy essential oils and various different containers from tins to jars to bottles with spray tops.  Likely, wherever you find the essential oils to use for these recipes you will find containers you can use to package your gifts.  If not, ask a clerk in that section and they should be able to help you find something in your neighborhood.

Bath Salts:
Epsom Salts
essential Oils
jars, tins, or plastic bags

For every cup of bath salts add 10 drops of essential oil, mix in a large bowl before portioning.  Good quality oils are important, and I strongly recommend choosing a different fragrance over a different brand if you find the one you want is too expensive.  Vanilla and Sandalwood are often the most popular and most expensive, so try scents like Sweet Orange or Lavender instead.  For more complex recipes see this site.

Air Freshener:
1 c. distilled water
1 T. vodka or rubbing alcohol
10 drops of essential oil

bottle in a small, dark colored glass or aluminum spray bottles.

Glass Gem Magnets:
Glass gems
¼ inch strong magnets
magazine images
crazy glue or glue gun
Modge Podge or silicon glue

Cut out roughly circular images (a little smaller than the gems) from a magazine. Using modge podge or silicon glue, glue the images to the bottom of the glass gems and let them dry.  After they are completely dry, use a glue gun, crazy glue, or other industrial strength glue to apply the magnet to the back.  You can find glass gems at a floral shop, gaming shop, or craft supply store.  Make sure you buy clear unadorned gems, no shiny iridescent surfaces or they will obscure the image.  You can buy magnets at hardware stores, craft stores and some office supply shops.

Toy Magnets:
Small plastic toys
¼ inch strong magnets
glue gun or crazy glue

Go to a toy store or dollar store and pick out bags of small toys: plastic army men, plastic animals, floral arrangement birds, etc.  My favorites are rubber goldfish.  Using a hot glue gun or crazy glue, apply the magnet to the part you want to be the “backside”.  You might need to use wire cutters to trim off pieces of the toys that stop them from lying flat.

Maps and Pictures and Books on Tape:

The American Memory site run by The Library of Congress has a wealth of images. We spent months picking out maps and photographs to have printed for our family members this year.  Nearly all of them are copyright free, and while this project might seem quick and easy it’s surprisingly time consuming.  Here are a few quick tips:

1.     do your searches in the “gallery view” so you can quickly identify images vs. text or sound files.

2.     unless you have a converter, don’t bother with MrSID images, confine your picks to jpegs.

3.     make sure you adjust the file size to the DPI and image size you want to have printed before you take your file in

4.     search specific collections, such as Panoramic Photographs, Maps, Panoramic Maps, or Advertising

5.     check the copyright information, while most of them are public domain, some collections are not, and companies like Kinkos will refuse to print them if they suspect copyright infringement.

The Internet Archive, archive.org, is an excellent resource for books on tape.  While I’m generally not a fan of books on tape, tending to prefer the printed versions, I found myself completely entranced with the archives of public domain readings on this site.  There is everything from childlike readings of popular folk and fairytales, to authors reading their own works, to old radio programs.  So, even if you are not a fan of books on tape, chances are you have an Internet challenged loved one who does.  A great gift is a CD collection of various books on tape or old radio programs.  I recommend you start with these links:

Old Time Radio Programs

War of the Worlds, October 1938, Orson Welles

The Whistler

Dragnet

Or browse by subject

Audio Books for Children or Adults Who Act Like Them

Fairy Tales

Children’s Literature

Audio Book Classics

Charles Dickens

Joseph Conrad

Bronte Sisters

Jane Austin

Russian Classics

Edgar Allen Poe

Sun Tzu

General Philosophy

Audio Book Pulp

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Sherlock Holmes and other Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Jules Verne

Short Science Fiction Collection

Audio Book Cool Kids

William S. Burroughs

Allen Ginsberg

Jack Kerouac

e. e. cummings

T. S. Eliot

“Punk” Works

Last Minute Wrapping Paper:

Newspaper
Acrylic paint
Water

My housemate insisted I include my last minute giftwrap in this article because she thinks it’s adorable.  Make a mixture of white paint with a little bit of color and water.  You want it fairly runny or you will end up using a LOT of paint.  Find some old newspaper, preferably something with lots of images, and preferably not with totally depressing headlines… I mean, unless that’s your thing.  Laying it out flat in a stack, paint it quickly with watered down paint.  Hang it up to dry or lay it out flat in a place where animals or children won’t attack it.  You don’t have to use white paint, but I do because it washes out the print a little better and the pastel colors make the paper seem more cohesive.  Also, white paint is cheaper.