Looking for some inexpensive holiday gifts? Why not give from the heart, and feed the stomach, or your child's imagination?
Especially if you have little ones, making holiday gifts together can help teach them the true value of holiday giving, and following the old adage, "it's the thought that counts." If you have time to go thrifting or antiquing, you can usually find some beautiful, kitschy, or just fun containers for items like homemade cookies, infused olive oils, or even from scratch Irish cream, wine, beer, or eggnog. Just be certain to properly clean and sanitize your containers as needed. Here are a few easy ideas to get you started:
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
You can now purchase microwavable bowls of white, dark, and semi-sweet chocolate for dipping strawberries which is a great project to do with the little ones. Just wash and thoroughly dry about 5 dozen strawberries and spread them out on waxed paper on the counter or table. Follow the directions on the package for melting the chocolate, and then grasp the top of the strawberry and dip into the chocolate, swirling slightly to remove the excess. Set on the waxed paper and allow to cool about 30 minutes before refrigerating.
Salt Dough Ornaments
2 cups of plain flour (not self-raising)
1 cup fine grained plain salt
1/2-1 cup water at room temperature or a little warmer
Acrylic paints or markers
Clear varnish (if you want shiny ornaments)
Ornament hooks or silver, clear, or gold string
You probably remember using salt dough as a kid, but it's a versatile enough dough that big people can use it for crafts and holiday gifts as well. Mix together your salt and flour and then slowly add in your water until the dough takes on a firm, but not too wet consistency. Knead the dough thoroughly, and then use rolling pins, cookie cutters, cups, or whatever you like to create your ornaments. (Don't forget to make a hole with a straw for the hook or hanging string.)
Once they are shaped, decorate them, and then bake them at 200 degrees until they are firm (or microwave 1-4 minutes depending upon the power level of your microwave. Varnish painted ornaments for a shiny look. And don't forget to engrave or write your initials in the back.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
