[craftymama]

I have run out of ideas of what to make everyone for Christmas. I have done soap, candles, calendars, photo tiles, baked goods, and ornaments. Does anyone have any unique ideas of things to make for gifts?

[mamalike]

Have you done flavored oil in a self etched glass container?
The etching solution is easy to use, and if you have a dollar store near by you can get the glass containers for a good price, then if you already have stencils you would like to use then you just need a good recipe which I'm sure can be found easily.
It may not be original or unique but they taste good and are beautiful.

[Jana]

I made special barbeque oils one year.

I steeped herbs (such as rosemary and garlic) in olive oil, in a dark cupboard in a sealed container (it takes a good month or more). A trip to a local outlet store had me buy some spritzer-type bottles made of hard, clear plastic.

Spraying on a bit of the flavored oil onto meats on the barbeque not only helps sear and seal it, it lightly flavors without a lot of extra added calories.

I made up 3 different types of such oils, and gave those as gifts one year.

[Jimymah]

Oh, hey now, I can do that, Jana! It doesn't sound hard or expensive, and if I can get a start now, it'll be ready for Christmas.

Thank you for solving my dilemma!

But how do you know how much of what herbs to use.... can you share some suggestions that way ?

[craftymama]

Those are great ideas! I would like to know what spices would be best to use as well. I decided for my 2 older daughters that I am making them no sew fleece throws but the oils sound really good for the rest of the people.

[Jimymah]

I decided to try this idea, let me share what I did?

I took a SMUCKERS jam jar, freshly washed and such, filled it 1/4 full with fresh rosemary, and 1/2 bulb of "smacked" garlic, filled the jar to the top with olive oil, and stuck it in the cupboard.

I just got the jar out, and wow, that smells good enough to use right now!

[jason]

My mom used to make jams and jellies. I do not have any recipes though.

[CarolGee]

Originally Posted by craftymama

I have run out of ideas of what to make everyone for Christmas. I have done soap, candles, calendars, photo tiles, baked goods, and ornaments. Does anyone have any unique ideas of things to make for gifts?

Dear Crafty: If you haven't already done this, I went online and found a pattern for fleece scarves and hats, and this year, I made 15 sets. You can make them so quickly and you don't even have to sew them, they are all about the cutting and there is a little sewing. I went online and looked for Fleece Scarves and Hats,

Family Crafts - Step By Step

type in the above link and I am sure you can master these. They are so cute and so easy. The scarves I cut 12 inches wide and 60 inches long, sewed in 4 inches from the narrow end on both and then cut 1/2 inches to make fringe, (like the fringe on the hat) they came out great!
best of luck, CarolGee