Friday, October 7, 2011

Homemade Gifts


Last year we made homemade vanilla extract to give out to family and friends for Christmas. It is a long process but it was so much fun to make. Both the girls enjoyed the daily turning of the bottles so it was great to have something they could participate in too. We purchased these beautiful bottles and Shane designed a great label. I love how they turned out. If you are interested in trying it out, we roughly used this recipe. It worked perfectly.


We are now on the search for what to do this year. One idea I really think would be fun is flavored sugars. You could use them in baking or to add to coffee or tea. They also would be great to add to the top of simple sugar cookies for a little hint of flavor. I would love to try a vanilla flavored or orange flavored sugar.

Realistically, with building a house and expecting a baby in 2 months, our friends will be treated not to fancy flavored sugars but to a night of fellowship and a Christmas movie at our apartment.

Do you have any favorite treats to share during the holidays? Or a favorite treat you've been given in the past?

2 comments:

  1. such a great idea to hand out homemade gifts! the label on the vanilla extract bottle is super cute. we are lucky to get lots of homemade jams, yogurts and brioche from my father in law!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my goodness, I didn't even know that you could make vanilla extract! How cool is that :-) Last year my neighbor gave out loaves of french bread and tapenade topping. Deliciously simple!

    ReplyDelete