Has your gift giving budget taken a hit this year due to your dwindling finances? You are not alone. So, what do you do when you want to give someone a gift for their Birthday, or for dog-sitting, or Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or any number of times when a small gift would be appreciated?
We've discovered in our goal to reduce spending, that when money is tight, the first thing that we start to question is our gift giving. We all want to lavish people we love with beautiful, expensive gifts. But, that won't be the case any longer in our family, so what do we do? I believe a gift given from the heart is appreciated just as much, if not more, than gifts of monetary value.
Making chocolate treats is one of my favorite gift ideas. It's pretty simple to impress someone with a beautiful box of chocolate covered pecans or chocolate dipped pretzels. Chocolates always seem festive, and homemade chocolates say you appreciate someone very, very, much indeed.
Chocolate gifts aren't as hard to make as you might think. With a little practice, you can create marvelous confectionery delights that will thrill your friends and family and make you the talk of the town! This is a fancy chocolate treat that no one makes for themselves, so it is the perfect gift.
Gourmet Chocolate Coffee Spoons
If your gift recipient likes a nice, hot cup of coffee, then they'll like it even better with a little spoon of chocolate. This is a gift that both men and women love.
Start with this list of items:
Purchase some heavy duty plastic spoons. You may even wish to check out some flea markets or thrift stores for silver spoons that are pretty. Either way, make sure they're nice and clean.
In the grocery store's baking aisle, you'll find blocks of milk chocolate coating. That's what you'll need for your spoons, not the Real Chocolate. Real Chocolate tends to be harder to control, and will not stay shiny if it's not handled exactly right. The chocolate coating is much better, and actually tastier, than the Real stuff.
If you'd like to add some crushed peppermint candy or other candy sprinkles to your spoons, that's really pretty, too. You may also look for flavoring oils, like peppermint or amaretto, to really make these spoons fancy.
You'll need to cover cookie sheets with parchment paper so the spoons won't stick while cooling. Don't use waxed paper as the chocolate will stick and you'll have a mess. Parchment paper can also help the clean up if you're working on a larger number of spoons.
You'll need some clear candy bags to wrap your spoons. You can find these in the craft store with the candy making things. While you are there, look for some ribbon, raffia, and anything else you may want to dress up the packaging.
The process is simple:
Fill a large pan with water and bring it to a boil. While you're waiting, carefully chop your chocolate into little pieces. Place your chocolate pieces in a smaller heavy pan that will fit into the large pan. When water boils, remove large pan from heat, and carefully lower the smaller pan into the water, being sure you don't overflow the water. Let chocolate sit and start to melt, then remove from pan with water and begin stirring with a big spoon or spatula until chocolate is all melted.
When the chocolate is melted down, take a spoon and carefully dip it into the chocolate, hanging on to the handle, and place it on parchment paper on your tray or cookie sheet. Now is the time to add any decorations like sprinkles or crushed peppermints. Then continue dipping each spoon and decorating. When you are done, take your cookie sheet full of spoons and place it in a cold area. You can put them in a freezer or refrigerator but don't let them stay in there because they will get moist. If you do use the freezer or refrigerator, take them out in just a few minutes and let them totally set up somewhere dry.
When your spoons are all set, place one in your cellophane candy bag and tie shut with some of your ribbon or raffia. You can embellish your ribbon with a little candy cane or anything else that would make your gift package special. You can also package more than one spoon in a candy box for someone who is lucky enough to receive more than one chocolate coated spoon.
You have now completed a gift that anyone would be thrilled to receive. Don't you feel good knowing that you used your creativity and time to make a personal gift for someone you care about? This is not just any gift... it's a gift you gave from your heart. - 16463
We've discovered in our goal to reduce spending, that when money is tight, the first thing that we start to question is our gift giving. We all want to lavish people we love with beautiful, expensive gifts. But, that won't be the case any longer in our family, so what do we do? I believe a gift given from the heart is appreciated just as much, if not more, than gifts of monetary value.
Making chocolate treats is one of my favorite gift ideas. It's pretty simple to impress someone with a beautiful box of chocolate covered pecans or chocolate dipped pretzels. Chocolates always seem festive, and homemade chocolates say you appreciate someone very, very, much indeed.
Chocolate gifts aren't as hard to make as you might think. With a little practice, you can create marvelous confectionery delights that will thrill your friends and family and make you the talk of the town! This is a fancy chocolate treat that no one makes for themselves, so it is the perfect gift.
Gourmet Chocolate Coffee Spoons
If your gift recipient likes a nice, hot cup of coffee, then they'll like it even better with a little spoon of chocolate. This is a gift that both men and women love.
Start with this list of items:
Purchase some heavy duty plastic spoons. You may even wish to check out some flea markets or thrift stores for silver spoons that are pretty. Either way, make sure they're nice and clean.
In the grocery store's baking aisle, you'll find blocks of milk chocolate coating. That's what you'll need for your spoons, not the Real Chocolate. Real Chocolate tends to be harder to control, and will not stay shiny if it's not handled exactly right. The chocolate coating is much better, and actually tastier, than the Real stuff.
If you'd like to add some crushed peppermint candy or other candy sprinkles to your spoons, that's really pretty, too. You may also look for flavoring oils, like peppermint or amaretto, to really make these spoons fancy.
You'll need to cover cookie sheets with parchment paper so the spoons won't stick while cooling. Don't use waxed paper as the chocolate will stick and you'll have a mess. Parchment paper can also help the clean up if you're working on a larger number of spoons.
You'll need some clear candy bags to wrap your spoons. You can find these in the craft store with the candy making things. While you are there, look for some ribbon, raffia, and anything else you may want to dress up the packaging.
The process is simple:
Fill a large pan with water and bring it to a boil. While you're waiting, carefully chop your chocolate into little pieces. Place your chocolate pieces in a smaller heavy pan that will fit into the large pan. When water boils, remove large pan from heat, and carefully lower the smaller pan into the water, being sure you don't overflow the water. Let chocolate sit and start to melt, then remove from pan with water and begin stirring with a big spoon or spatula until chocolate is all melted.
When the chocolate is melted down, take a spoon and carefully dip it into the chocolate, hanging on to the handle, and place it on parchment paper on your tray or cookie sheet. Now is the time to add any decorations like sprinkles or crushed peppermints. Then continue dipping each spoon and decorating. When you are done, take your cookie sheet full of spoons and place it in a cold area. You can put them in a freezer or refrigerator but don't let them stay in there because they will get moist. If you do use the freezer or refrigerator, take them out in just a few minutes and let them totally set up somewhere dry.
When your spoons are all set, place one in your cellophane candy bag and tie shut with some of your ribbon or raffia. You can embellish your ribbon with a little candy cane or anything else that would make your gift package special. You can also package more than one spoon in a candy box for someone who is lucky enough to receive more than one chocolate coated spoon.
You have now completed a gift that anyone would be thrilled to receive. Don't you feel good knowing that you used your creativity and time to make a personal gift for someone you care about? This is not just any gift... it's a gift you gave from your heart. - 16463
About the Author:
Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom behind ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative site to help moms achieve success working from home. She invites you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Meal Ideas section.
