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Homemade Gifts Add That Personal Touch

By Dawn Brosowsky

    Giving the perfect gift is something that has always been important to me. I intentionally try to match the perfect thing with its recipient because gift giving is one of my love languages. I want that person to feel the love and thoughtfulness that I put into each gift. I didn’t realize until later in life that not everyone has that skill. Many folks just give a gift out of obligation. They just grab whatever store bought thing, wrap it in shiny paper and slap a “to: from:” label on it and think its recipient should just be happy they got anything at all. That is absolutely not me!
   When I was a little girl, we did well to have food on the table so there wasn’t a budget to just go on aimless spending sprees. Together my mom and I would make divinity candy, carrot cake or date nut bread and it was my official duty to deliver our homemade goodies to our neighbors and friends. I was proud to knock on the door with something special and delicious to give because otherwise I had nothing to give at all.
   I love making homemade gifts. I want people to feel in their hearts that I took the time to create something that is unique to them and made with my own hands. Sewing, painting, crafting and cooking are ways that I get to experience the joy of gift giving. When we first moved to Florida a few years ago, we were really on a shoestring budget. I felt like that little girl again without anything to give at the holidays. Instead of being sad, I just looked in my kitchen and came up with a joyful solution. With my stash of canning jars and typical kitchen ingredients, I made a delicious hot cocoa mix that blew that store bought stuff out of the water. I either used thrifted fabric or a cut up man’s dress shirt to dress the top of the jar and my husband laser engraved some wooden tags for me that I tied with twine and there I had it; jars and jars of the perfect homemade Christmas gift.
My Special Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ cups cocoa powder
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips (I love using Ghiradelli)
¼ teaspoon salt
   Instructions: Pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the chocolate chips are finely ground. Store the dry mix in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I like to double or even triple this recipe.
   To make hot chocolate: Put 1/3 cup of the hot chocolate mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup of hot milk. Water works too but milk makes it richer and creamier. Top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows, if desired. Hey, this is a good time to try out making your own marshmallows too, but I’ll save that for another article. So, if you are lucky enough to receive a jar of hot cocoa mix, homemade pie filling, jam, jelly, pickles or home baked bread this Christmas, know that those gifts were intentionally made with love. Savor them and know that you must really be something special. Merry Christmas!