Though holiday gift giving has never been easy, the next few years promise to make it downright painful. Of course, you want to express your appreciation for your friends and family, but who has money? Citibank just laid-off 53,000 workers. Who is next? Toward that end, I did some research to find truly inexpensive gift giving ideas that it is not too late to start.
Pour and Melt soap is very easy to make. In fact, I made a batch with my six-year-old granddaughter. We had a lot of fun, both learned a few things, and came up with some really neat ideas for molds.
You can purchase a two-pound block of Glycerin from either Jo-Ann Fabrics or A.C. Moore for less than ten dollars. This block will let you make dozens of small molded soaps for a gift basket. Just cut the soap into small chunks, this is easier than it sounds since glycerin is very soft, and melt the chunks in the microwave or in a double boiler on the stove. When using the microwave, program one minute at a time to prevent boiling. When your glycerin is liquid, add food coloring and essential oils as you please. Essential oils can be expensive glycerin has a very nice scent all on its own so they are not necessary.
Pour your soap into molds, spray rubbing alcohol over it to remove bubbles, and let harden. Let them sit at least a couple of hours in a cool dry place. When the mold has cooled, you may have trouble getting the soap out. Cut around the edges with a sharp knife and it will make things easier.
You don’t need a lot of expensive or special equipment for this project although a glass or acrylic measuring cup is best for the microwave. You can use anything for a mold but a light plastic or rubbery mold is easiest to work with. After your soap is set, simply wrap it in plastic wrap or parchment paper and put a ribbon on it. Voila! You have just made a gift!
Another fine and inexpensive gift to make is herbed vinegar and oil. There are dozens of recipes on the net and at your local library, but really, all you need to know is what you like. The things you’ll need are:
· Cooking oil (Not vegetable or corn, these are too sweet)
· Glass bottles or jars (Plastic is not a good idea unless you know the oil and vinegar will be used up quickly)
· Herbs
Make sure you container is clean. You might want to boil them before you add your oil, but that is a personal preference.
Bruise your herbs gently. In the produce section of your local grocery store, you can find packages of fresh herbs. They are usually two to four dollars apiece. One package will make several bottles of herbed oil so don’t despair. You don’t have to add garlic, but if you do, simply peel it and put the toe in the bottle. It will release its flavor gently and not overwhelm the oil. Put the herbs in the bottle, fill it with oil, and set it aside. This is herbed oil!
Olive oil is the most inexpensive but you can use Safflower or any other cooking oil as well.
The process for herbed vinegar is slightly different. You can use any vinegar, but the white vinegars are very, very stringent and will likely overwhelm your herbs. I use red wine vinegar, store brand, and it is excellent. You need to warm your vinegar before adding it to the herbs in order for it to absorb their flavor then set it aside for at least two weeks before using.
The difficulty with herbed oil and vinegar is the bottles. Thrift stores carry any number of vases but not a lot of bottles with tops. The bottles sold in grocery stores are outrageously expensive. You might be able to find some at a dollar store, but their supplies are limited. I order my bottles in bulk online. Sixteen 8.5 ounce decorative bottles cost me 29.00 with shipping and handling. However, if you have bottles around your home that are empty or almost so, you can simply wash them out and use them. The oil and vinegar are what is important, not the bottle. As a side note, I recently started going to the liquor store to look at their bottles. Liquor bottles are beautiful! They are wicked expensive, but so very beautiful.
The soap and the herbed vinegar and oil are less than five dollars per person to make and are a good way to make several gifts, though not an individual one. For individual gifts you might want to consider buying pre-made herbed vinegar and oil and making your own croutons to give with them.
Croutons are very easy to make. Simply cut bread slices into squares and place them on a cookie sheet. Brush melted butter with herbs and spices over them and bake at 250 degrees until the squares dry out, usually two to four hours. Put your croutons in a gift bag and you are done. You can add pot holders, oven mitts, or really anything you want in the basket and make a thoughtful and excellent gift that your friends and family will truly enjoy.
