do it yourself
12 days of Christmas ...well, sort of.
We couldn't think of anyone who would be interested in getting so many birds for Christmas, so in lieu of the holiday spirit, we decided to give our own spin to the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas," to give you some simple and cheap Christmas gift ideas, DIY style. You can sing along while you're reading, c'mon, we know you want to.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree. BY MAGGIE KOERTH
Reasoning that food has more universal appeal than Danny Bonaduce, we resisted the urge to go out and buy an old Partridge Family lunch box and focused on the pears instead. Once they're dipped in chocolate, dried pears are even more yummy than David Cassidy, and easier to fit in a Christmas candy tin. A word of warning, don't buy the Sun Maid mixed dried fruit bag. We tried that and ended up with exactly one dried pear and a lot of apricots. They were good coated in chocolate, but it throws off the song's alliteration. Opt for the dried pear package instead.
Ingredients:
One package of dried pears $1.89
One package of chocolate bark, $1.99
Wax paper, $1.29
Total Cost: $5.17
Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan. Don't turn the burner past medium heat or you'll burn the chocolate.
2. Once the chocolate chunks are liquefied, turn the burner down to low. Dip the pears in the chocolate, one at a time, so that the chocolate covers half of the fruit.
3. Place the dipped pears on wax paper. Leave them alone until the chocolate hardens. Then, peel them off and put them in a recycled cookie tin or other container.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two turtledoves. BY ANDREW WARD
Nobody we know eats doves, but turtles are another matter. Turtle candies - caramel, chocolate and pecan confections - are a simple treat you can make at home. All you need is an oven, a microwave and a refrigerator.
1 bag of pecan halves, $3.88
1 bag of wrapped caramels,$2.55
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips,$1.35
tsp. shortening,$1.43 for a small can
Ingredients:
Total cost: $9.21
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line
cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Make a "Y" with the pecan halves. Place unwrapped—you don't want to eat plastic—caramel in center of "Y." Repeat until you fill your sheet.
3. Place cookie sheet in oven for 10 minutes to melt caramel.
4. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in microwave. Stir the mixture. Spoon chocolate over candies. Chill overnight until firm.
5. Let the candies reach room temperature before you try them; the chilled caramel could break your teeth. This recipe makes about 30 candies.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three French hens. BY ERICA BRITTAIN
There's nothing better than having some "Chick-hen" noodle soup on a cold, winter day. Get some dry soup ingredients, throw them in a jar and presto, you have a meal that will warm anyone's insides.
Ingredients:
ingredients:
1/4 cup red lentils, $.99
2 tbsp. dried onion flakes, $1.29
2 1/2 tsp. Chicken bouillon, $2.29
1 cup medium egg noodles, $1.19
1/8 tsp. Celery seed, $3.19
1/8 tsp. Garlic powder, $1.29
1/2 tsp. Dried dill weed, $2.29
Total cost: $12.53
Directions:
1. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Spoon into Mason jar and seal lid
tightly.
2. Attach a gift tag that reads the following:
3. Bring 8 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. Stir in jar of soup mix. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. If you would like, add 1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables and 2 cups diced chicken. Simmer for five minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is heated through. Happy Holidays!
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling birds. BY TABATHA BEERBOWER
If you haven't noticed, we aren't so keen on the bird thing, but to stay as true to the song as we could, we made bird picture frames.
Materials:
Picture frame, $3.97
White fake feathers, $.96
Smaller brown foul feathers, $.77
8
Total cost: $5.70
jayplay
thursday, december 11, 2003