I hope these two simple and easy Christmas gift ideas will save your day!

Christmas is still a wonderful time of the year for me and I really love exchanging presents! Unfortunately, as I get older, and maybe because there are no small children in the family (other than our beloved fur babies!) I am noticing a change in the amount of effort people are willing to put into getting presents, some even hinting at doing no presents at all! What?! The horror!! Even if it’s something small and inexpensive (and I think presents should be in general), it feels good to GIVE so here are two simple, cheap and easy ways to show you care… Other than art supplies, edible gifts are my preferred presents 😉 These easy Christmas gift ideas are, by the way, easily customisable depending on the person’s taste or the time of the year…!

1. Christmas Lolly and Chocolate Jar

1. Grab a nice glass drinking mason jar (or similar) and colourful straw per person (if you are in Australia, you can find the jars at Kmart for AU1.50 around summertime)

2. Raid your supermarket for red, white and green lollies! Use different shapes and flavours for more interest and texture. 3. Open up all the bags in front of you and start layering the lollies using one colour per row until you get to the top. Make sure they are nice and tight in there so they don’t move around later on (you can use the handle of a fork or spoon to help you push them in place if needed. 4. Close the lid, add pretty ribbons or tulle in red, white and green to the handle and voila! Your loved ones will have a cute and original gift that they will love (who doesn’t love lollies and chocolate?! Point them out to me!) and a funky glass jar they can use all summer long and be reminded of your thoughtfullness 🙂

2. Christmas Chocolate Bark

Another easy Christmas gift idea that is is yum! Try not to eat it all before giving it away 😉

1. Get some good quality cooking chocolate, dark , milk and/or white (blocks or melts) – the Cadbury blocks are my favourite! 2 x dark blocks and 1 x white block is enough for 3-4 people.

2. Melt the chocolate with a bain-marie method ie: – Break up the chocolate into pieces in a bowl – Fill up a small saucepan with cold water – Place the bowl with the chocolate in the water (it’s easier to use a bowl that is about the same diameter as the saucepan) – Let the water warm up and melt the chocolate (don’t let it boil and get into the bowl), stirring occasionally with a metal spoon Melt the dark chocolate in one saucepan and the white chocolate in another, preferably at the same time. 3. Line up a tray with baking paper and: – Pour your melted dark chocolate on top of the paper (use a spatula to spread it into a rough rectangular shape, making it as thin or thick as you like) – Dip your metal spoon into the white chocolate and drizzle it over the dark chocolate (no need to be neat!) – Sprinkle your chosen toppings, again, adding as much or as little as you like (I am usually quite generous hehe). My favourite toppings are pistachios, mixed nuts, moist coconut flakes, broken up candy canes! 3. Let the tray(s) cool down in the fridge until hard then cut the chocolate with a large knife, in large rough rectangular or triangle shapes. The whole point is to create rough ‘shards’ so you don’t have to be too neat (trust me this is so good nobody will care how it looks anyway!). You can however cut off at edges that may be too thin or sparse. 4. Wrap them up in a piece of cellophane or bag (or even a pretty box lined with baking or tissue paper). You can stack up the pieces to create visual interest then tie up a bow or ribbon 🙂

OM NOM NOM!!!

Please share this page and leave me a comment below 🙂 Love to you! Mimi