Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas

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Dear Creatives, It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! In our house that means lots of  handmade gift making. It is become a tradition, one of the heart & hands. Not to mention it comes in handy when the budget is tight & prices seem high on so many things. There are teacher gifts to be had, Heritage Sharing & holiday parties at Sammie’s school,  a cast party for Bah Humbug drama club, family gatherings & gift exchanges, whew! Did I forget something? I always love baking it tops my list for giving. I also love creating lovely gifts for the littlest to the bigger family members. Let me share some of my favorites I am making this season & giving.

First up I made these delicious Raspberry Crumble Bars. This is sprinkled with sugar & cinnamon my addition to the recipe. Topped with a crumble of granola & almonds. Filled with the most yummy raspberry filling you could imagine. Patience is all that is needed when it comes to waiting to try it, as it has to cool completely prior to cutting! Honestly it such an easy recipe & you get a whole tray of bars! I wouldn’t say this is the treat for the school as I can see a messy party with little fingers getting sticky & lots of  licking, lol. This one is great for a girls or family holiday gathering. Amazingly yummy served with coffee or tea. Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa.

1. Cream sugar, butter & vanilla
2. Add flour just a little at a time mix, add, mix, add…(adjusted the butter by just a bit to make it less dry)
3. line a pan with parchment paper
4. Set aside 1/3  of dough for later. Take 2/3 of the dough & pat evenly onto parchment paper in pan filling it across & up the sides a quarter of the way up
5. Add your yummy raspberry jam {First Street at Smart & final can I just say”Yum“!
6. Make a crumble mixture with left over dough & granola mix together, then add bits topping the raspberry jam
7. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of almonds (then I made a light mixture of sugar & cinnamon sprinkling on the top baking at 350* for 45min.

It makes sense to shop smart since this is the time of year all those gathering & gift exchanges start to add up! In this case my trip was to Smart & Final. Let me share a snapshot of things I purchased then onto some of the handmade gifts & how to’s I created while patiently waiting for the Raspberry Crumble Bars to cool! To view my entire shop you can visit my Google+Album

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Click to enlarge

This is so easy to do & there are a million recipes! Really for Christmas gifts you need to start this a few months early, but even so I am adding gift tags that say when they are ready. I am also ordering 4oz jars that means for each pint they receiver will get 4-4oz jars to funnel in their yummy homemade vanilla extract into & use. I also recommend purchasing the vanilla beans online vs in stores as they can be quite expensive. ( Smart & Final didn’t carry them)

• Purchase vodka (any kind will do)
• clean & dry jars I used 1 pint jars {Smart & Final had plenty of canning jars to choose from}
• for every cup of vodka add 3 vanilla beans-whole & sliced (do not cut all the way through)
• slice & add vanilla beans into the jar of vodka
• add lid & decorative cover secure lid
• store in dark place 8 weeks or more

• Smart & Final Circular: http://community.smartandfinal.com/
•  @SmartFinal on Twitter
• Smart & Final Facebook

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been Compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smart & Final #CBias #SocialFabric “all opinions are my own.” These are my honest opinions & not influenced from being compensated.

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