Home-made gifts for friends and family

Brilliant ideas from iVillagers for friends, family and colleagues.

Simple sachets
'Make a sachet from a small piece of fabric with a simple ribbon tie. Fill it with any of the following: rose petals, cotton wool balls with vanilla powder, cinnamon sticks with orange peels and cloves, lemon thyme and lemon verbena leaves, or lavender flowers. They are perfect for women's lingerie drawers or to display in the bathroom.'

Bake your gifts
'Some of my favourite gifts from the kitchen are spiced nuts or peanut brittle. Get a favourite family recipe and include a story about when you first had it or who passed it down.'

The 'gift of time'
'Gifts of time are valuable and are more likely to be remembered than another sweater or pair of socks. Give a coupon for a monthly backrub, a gift certificate entitling the bearer to a trip to the zoo, a walk in the woods, a home-cooked meal, an hour of uninterrupted alone time - whatever you think the person would most enjoy. They can be naughty or silly or sincere...whatever you like!'

Gift baskets with a theme
'The only limit to this idea is your imagination. You get an affordable basket, then include items that fit the person's personality. For pasta lovers, you can put in a wooden slotted spoon, a small bottle of olive oil, some herbs, and maybe a recipe card or two. You can even use a colander as the `basket'. For a movie lover, give a film voucher, a package of special popcorn kernels and their favourite sweets - all in a movie popcorn bag or bucket.'

A cup of tea to 'share'
'I made these for friends and family, and they went down really well!
What you'll need:
1 tea cup and saucer
1 flavoured teabag
1 mini teaspoon
1 individual size cookie or shortbread snack
Clear cellophane
Ribbon
'I taped the teacup bottom to the saucer to secure it. I put the shortbread, teabag and spoon inside the cup and wrapped them with cellophane. I tied ribbons and attached this note:
'On Christmas Day at half past three
Pour yourself a cup of tea.
I'll think of you, you think of me,
Sitting 'round the Christmas tree.'

Hand-dipped chocolates
'You can make these fancy chocolates yourself.
'Step 1: Decide on what you want to dip or what your special someone enjoys. For example, strawberries, pretzels, crisps, biscuits, crackers and so on. (If using strawberries or other fruit, rinse and dry thoroughly before dipping.)
'Step 2: Choose a nice plain chocolate bar. I like Lindt chocolate bars - they are a little bit creamier than some other bars.
'Step 3: Line baking tray with wax paper, and melt the chocolate in a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler, place a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Once the chocolate is thoroughly melted, remove the double boiler from the heat and start dipping, covering about 2/3 of your selected item in chocolate.
'Step 4: Place the dipped item on the wax paper and let harden; sometimes a couple of minutes in the refrigerator helps. I prefer air-drying to prevent discoloration of the chocolate.
'To add some additional pizzazz, melt a tiny bit of dark or white chocolate and drizzle it over your creations for a contrast!'

Bath salts
'The scent is sweet, but subtle. Simply mix together in a jar:
3 cups of Epsom salts
2 tablespoons of baking soda
4 drops of rose oil
6 drops of sandalwood
1 drop of ylang ylang
2 drops of red food coloring.
'Put the cork on or close the lid then shake vigorously. This makes a great gift when stored in an apothecary jar with a cork.'

Have you got some crafty ideas that you would like to share. Chat to other iVillagers on the Home, Garden & Hobbies message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions taking place on the board right now: