If buying gifts this year for whatever reason, whether it's your babysitter's Birthday, a Christmas gift for your neighbor, a Valentine's gift for your favorite Aunt, or a Thank You gift for someone who took care of your dog, has you panicked, join the club. Families all over the world are feeling the pinch of an exceedingly tight budget.
When the budget starts to suffer, we start to rethink giving gifts. Yes, we want to show our appreciation to the people who support us and love us, but we just don't have the money anymore. The answer goes back to the old days: giving gifts from your heart, using the talents you have, and you will never go wrong.
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.
Most chocolate treats are relatively easy to make once you get the hang of it. You'll find out which pans work best, which spoons you like, and how long to melt the chocolate on the first or second try. I especially like this chocolate treat because it's something that most people would never dream of making for themselves.
Chocolate Dipped 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 baking aisle of your grocery store, you will find milk chocolate coating. This is the chocolate you'll want to use. Don't use the Real Chocolate as it is way too fussy and you don't want to worry about it not turning out right.
Peppermint oil flavor and other goodies like peppermint candy are good additions to the chocolate spoons and add yet another fancy element to them. You may also wish to sprinkle on some little candies like you would buy for sugar cookie decorations.
Parchment paper is a must for covering the cookie sheets. Do not use waxed paper. Warm chocolate has a tendency to stick to waxed paper. The parchment paper will make your finished product a lot easier to handle, and your clean-up a bit nicer, too.
I recommend that since you're giving a gift of food, buy the proper wrapping. Look in your candy making section of any craft store for clear cellophane candy bags in a size to fit the spoon, leaving some of the handle sticking out. You'll also want to find some ribbon and raffia to tie the package closed and to decorate the gift.
The process is simple:
Put a big pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Carefully chop up your big chunk of chocolate into little chunks and put in a small pot that will fit in the big pot. When the water in the big pot comes to a boil, shut it off, and very carefully place the small pot in the hot water. Don't let your water run over into the small pot with the chocolate. After the small pot sits for a few minutes and you see the chocolate start to melt on the edges, take the pot out of the water and begin stirring the chocolate with a big rubber spatula until it's all melted.
When you are done stirring the chocolate, dip one spoon at a time in the melted chocolate and lay each one on the parchment paper you have on your cookie sheets. If you plan to decorate the spoons with other candy, do it while the spoon is still wet. Otherwise the candy won't stick. Then move on to the next spoon, dip, decorate, and so on. Once all of your spoons are done, take your cookie sheet to a cold, preferably dry place. A refrigerator or freezer is okay to just get them set up a little, but don't leave them in that moist environment for more than a few minutes.
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.
Now that you've finished tying up all those pretty little gifts, aren't you pleased with yourself? You have spent your time creating gifts that show you care. Instead of running out to the store to quickly buy yet another gift card, your gift shows that you took time to plan and make a very special someone a very special gift... straight from the heart.
When the budget starts to suffer, we start to rethink giving gifts. Yes, we want to show our appreciation to the people who support us and love us, but we just don't have the money anymore. The answer goes back to the old days: giving gifts from your heart, using the talents you have, and you will never go wrong.
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.
Most chocolate treats are relatively easy to make once you get the hang of it. You'll find out which pans work best, which spoons you like, and how long to melt the chocolate on the first or second try. I especially like this chocolate treat because it's something that most people would never dream of making for themselves.
Chocolate Dipped 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 baking aisle of your grocery store, you will find milk chocolate coating. This is the chocolate you'll want to use. Don't use the Real Chocolate as it is way too fussy and you don't want to worry about it not turning out right.
Peppermint oil flavor and other goodies like peppermint candy are good additions to the chocolate spoons and add yet another fancy element to them. You may also wish to sprinkle on some little candies like you would buy for sugar cookie decorations.
Parchment paper is a must for covering the cookie sheets. Do not use waxed paper. Warm chocolate has a tendency to stick to waxed paper. The parchment paper will make your finished product a lot easier to handle, and your clean-up a bit nicer, too.
I recommend that since you're giving a gift of food, buy the proper wrapping. Look in your candy making section of any craft store for clear cellophane candy bags in a size to fit the spoon, leaving some of the handle sticking out. You'll also want to find some ribbon and raffia to tie the package closed and to decorate the gift.
The process is simple:
Put a big pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Carefully chop up your big chunk of chocolate into little chunks and put in a small pot that will fit in the big pot. When the water in the big pot comes to a boil, shut it off, and very carefully place the small pot in the hot water. Don't let your water run over into the small pot with the chocolate. After the small pot sits for a few minutes and you see the chocolate start to melt on the edges, take the pot out of the water and begin stirring the chocolate with a big rubber spatula until it's all melted.
When you are done stirring the chocolate, dip one spoon at a time in the melted chocolate and lay each one on the parchment paper you have on your cookie sheets. If you plan to decorate the spoons with other candy, do it while the spoon is still wet. Otherwise the candy won't stick. Then move on to the next spoon, dip, decorate, and so on. Once all of your spoons are done, take your cookie sheet to a cold, preferably dry place. A refrigerator or freezer is okay to just get them set up a little, but don't leave them in that moist environment for more than a few minutes.
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.
Now that you've finished tying up all those pretty little gifts, aren't you pleased with yourself? You have spent your time creating gifts that show you care. Instead of running out to the store to quickly buy yet another gift card, your gift shows that you took time to plan and make a very special someone a very special gift... straight from the heart.
About the Author:
Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom and owner of ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative website to help moms achieve success working from home. She welcomes you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Meals section. Be sure to sign up for her free lessons for work at home moms.
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