My 4 year old came to me last week and asked if she could give a gift to everyone in her Mother’s Morning Out class. After some quick Mommy thinking, I remembered a candy recipe my Mother-in-Law had given me for “Kreppein Kandy”. In addition to being able to give a gift to all her classmates, it was some great Mommy-Daughter time.
I know many of us are on tighter-than-usual budgets this Christmas season, but homemade gifts might just allow you to spend less and give more.
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” ~Acts 20:25
Here are a couple of our family’s homemade gift ideas.
Kreppein Kandy
(Feel free to rename this…we won’t mind!)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Karo Syrup
1 cup Water
Various Extract Liquid Flavorings
Food Coloring
Prepare counter-top by covering with aluminum foil sprinkled with powdered sugar. Bring the first 3 ingredients to a candy boil, 290 degrees. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons of liquid extract flavoring and about 6 drops of food coloring of your choice. (We use red/cinnamon, green/peppermint, orange/orange, yellow/lemon and blue/coconut.) Stir well. Pour in strips over prepared aluminum foil. Candy will harden as it cools. Lift, break and enjoy!
You can place these candies in plastic bags or plastic-type tissue paper and tie with ribbon for a simple, delicious and beautiful gift.
And this is what my house smells like right now…
The Scent of Christmas (Simmering Potpourri)
2 cups Water
1/2 Orange, thinly sliced
1/2 Lemon, thinly sliced
2 Cinnamon Sticks
10 Whole Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
May be simmered in pot, crock pot or simmering dish several days. Add water as needed. After several days, freshen with additional ingredients as needed.
**May also be packaged to give as a gift.
Just include a whole orange, whole lemon, cinnamon sticks, cloves and bay leaf and a 3X5 card with the recipe.
If you have a homemade gift idea you would like to share, email it to me at [email protected]. Include a pic if you can! I might not be able to share them all, but I will share as many as I can!
~Merry Christmas~