Old Stringtown Holiday Gift Guide 2008

Dec
19

Chocolate Peppermint Spoons: Festive plastic spoons dipped in chocolate candy coating then dusted with crushed peppermints.

Tonight we’re having our little tree-trimming party here at Stringtown Rising Farm–me and 52 and the teenagers, pigging out on homemade pizza and fudge brownies, decking the halls with homemade ornaments and downing all the leftover rum and bourbon. I’m just kidding! About the teenagers, anyway……. My dining room table is an assembly line of cookie ornaments and homemade gifts. I’ll be packing up gift baskets with some combination chosen from the below items, depending on the recipient.

I’m compiling the whole list here of what’s going out in Santa’s sleigh from the beating heart of Old Stringtown, with links to the posts with instructions, in case you missed one or are still looking for a last-minute fun and frugal idea–and some of these gifts really can be made at the last minute! Including the ones I’m adding in this post–the Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels and Chocolate Peppermint Spoons.

Old Stringtown Holiday Gift Guide 2008:

Wild Bird Suet
Chocolate Peppermint Spoons (see top of post)
Grandmother Bread–White and Raisin
Dump Cake Mix
Homemade Kahlua
Funnel Cake Mix
Homemade Baking Mix
Shoo-Fly pies (baked in pretty thrift store pie plates the recipients can keep)
Pumpkin Bread
Homemade Dough Enhancer
Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels (see bottom of post)
Winter Citrus Potpourri
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Drunken Rum Cake (I decided to try these out for gifts as Mini Drunken Orange Cakes–replacing the rum in the recipe for orange juice and baking them in mini-loaf pans with a slice of orange decorating the top of each one)
Bourbon Balls

Also, of course, a variety of homemade jams.

And you know everything comes with a cookie ornament gift tag!

Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels: Small pretzel twists dipped in vanilla candy coating and sprinkled with crushed peppermints.

P.S. Don’t forget a 2009 Chickens in the Road Calendar!

Clover: “Would you shut up about your calendar already, woman!”

“Where is my holiday? Where is my festivity? WHERE IS MY COOKIE ORNAMENT?”

More posts you might enjoy:

23 Responses
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12-19
5:22
am

WOW!Everything sounds sooo Goood!I want to make the Peppermint vanilla pretzels for the girls at wk. I did’nt know what i was going to get them because there are so many of them it would be to expensive to buy them all gifts.Plus, easy and probably not too time consuming.Thanks for all the great ideas!

Leah - Reply
12-19
5:25
am

On PEPPERMINT Candy Canes

Has anyone else noticed it is getting harder and harder to find peppermint candy canes? I searched for the miniature ones, individually wrapped, and finally found them at Target. They have some other flavor, fruit, I believe.

Christmas on Stringtown sounds, indeed, truly magical. I think we are all longing for a little bit of the “good life.” Thank you for keeping it alive in our minds and hearts.

WV Janis

WV Janis - Reply
12-19
5:28
am

My GOSH she is like SO demanding already! For some reason, I hear her voice as being like, ya know a ‘valley girl’ – not sure why! LOL Thanks for some great ideas’!!!

Heidi - Reply
12-19
6:44
am

Merry Christmas to you!!!

Susan - Reply
12-19
7:52
am

When I was a kid, I used to make chocolate covered spoons to give to all my school teachers. You can use a variety of red and green spoons, dip them in white or dark chocolate. After it hardens, wrap the chocolate end in clear saran wrap, and tie with a pretty ribbon. Then you can arrange the spoons in a christmas mug with a packet of hot chocolate!

stefinity - Reply
12-19
9:28
am

As usual, you have me drooling on my keyboard! I think I could handle the plastic spoons, but my daughter and her husband are lucky that I’m going to have chili in the crockpot waiting for their arrival tomorrow night! Wish I lived up or down the road from you! :catmeow:

Nancy in Atlanta - Reply
12-19
9:57
am

You never cease to amaze me. So creative, talented, and energetic you are. Keep it up.
Merry Christmas from very warm Florida.
Nell

Nell - Reply
12-19
11:14
am

What size are the mini loaf pans? Are you substituting OJ for rum since folks, in general, don’t care for the rum? If you use the OJ do you still add the sugar to the glaze mixture (like you do with the rum glaze?

DH has made 2 of your rum cakes! The first was knocked off the counter during the night and consumed by our 2 Aussie dogs. Grrrr! So, DH made another last night – YUMMMY!!! LOVE IT!

MaryLundShu - Reply
12-19
11:20
am

There are a few people on my gift list who would prefer not to have something with alcohol in it. You make the glaze just the same, just substitute orange juice for the rum. It’s really good!

Oh, and the loaf pans–they aren’t real tiny, maybe about half the size of regular loaf pans.

Suzanne McMinn - Reply
12-19
12:45
pm

Everything looks so scrumptious! Mini orange cakes sounds oh so yummy! I keep making things for baskets but am having a terrible time deciding who gets what.

IowaDeb - Reply
12-19
1:02
pm

:biggrin: Have fun tonight!! I bet the house looks and smells fabulous!!! Santa will definitely want to hang out for a long while, so save him some rum!!!!! :rockon:

MARY - Reply
12-19
1:57
pm

You are going to be making some lucky people very happy with your homemade goodies – so much better than store bought and they come with extra love

catslady - Reply
12-19
2:00
pm

I was missing seeing those goats(even tho I got some goats right here!) You mean you can get your teenagers to help decorate? Even the 12 year old isn’t interested to decorate anymore! Oh I get it, no decorating,no brownies, that might do the trick..

Mari - Reply
12-19
2:24
pm

I let my kids decorate our tree. *G*
Your gift baskets sound lovely! I’m sure they’ll be appreciated. Those spoons are a great idea!

Brandy - Reply
12-19
2:29
pm

Your gift baskets sound great!
Hope fun is had by all tonight.

Estella - Reply
12-19
2:30
pm

WOW, wish I could come.

Miss Hissyfit 9Lil) in Atlanta

Miss Lila - Reply
12-19
2:31
pm

oops. Thats Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta

Miss Lila - Reply
12-19
2:39
pm

ohhhh boy.
I’m really using this hissyfit emotion to my advantage. I’m trying to “contact” you through your contact link and for some galdurned reason my computer won’t go there. It’s not you, it’s the “protector of all things holy and computerized” in my computer, so my daughter (computer genius) tells me. Anyway, I wanted to know who designed your blog site because I really like it and want to start a blog of my own after reading everyone elses for the past 10 months. Here’s my email address, lilahuggins@gmail.com I know you’re really busy and all but if you could take just a second and email me I would be forever in your debt. Well, maybe not forever, but for a really, really long time.

Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta

Miss Lila - Reply
12-19
2:41
pm

Oh Yeah, (this is fun) and where can I get a hissy fit emotioncon or whatever you call them. I LOVE it.
Hope you get some money or something for every comment. LOL

Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta

Miss Lila - Reply
12-19
3:42
pm

It sounds like you are having a good time! I hope Clover gets at least one cookie.

Susan - Reply
12-19
5:00
pm

Get that goat some cookies pronto!

By the way, received my calendar and I love it – you are such a wonderful inspiration.

Merry Christmas!

Lynn - Reply
12-19
11:02
pm

I would love to be on your gift list next year! Everything looks so yummy and nice. Thanks for always sharing these great ideas with us. xxoo

Carolyn A. - Reply
12-19
11:19
pm

OK I am off to make some of those pretzels right now!

M - Reply