The Best Edible Gifts for Christmas

The Best Edible Gifts for Christmas

These are Christmas favorites for me.  I promise you that the Orange Glazed Pecans and the White Chocolate Popcorn are really special and EVERYONE loves them, unless they don't like nuts.   I love nuts!  Edible as well as humans.  My own son doesn't like nuts.  I simply can't understand it.  All the more for the rest of us!

If you really desire to make someone's gift delightful, these are the recipes you need to make, ASAP!  Tomorrow, I will share my favorite Christmas cookie recipes.  I bet they are not ones you would think of. 

**Orange Glazed Pecans

4 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Place pecans on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes (no longer) at 325 degrees, until toasted.  Bring juice concentrate, sugar and cinnamon to a boil in a large (3-Quart) pot, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in toasted pecans.  Drop pecans onto foil-lined baking sheet and let stand until firm.

Sandy’s White Chocolate Popcorn

             Two 12 oz. bags white chocolate chips

            2 cups whole roasted almonds

            1 bag Trader Joe’s gourmet white popcorn

Toast almonds.  Melt chocolate.  Toss almonds and popcorn in melted chocolate.  Spread on waxed paper in a single layer and sprinkle with salt to taste.  Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.  Store in air tight container

**A Personal Favorite

Glazed Pecans

2 cups pecans

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cook the nuts in the butter in the microwave 4-5 minutes, stirring every minute.

Mix together with other ingredients.  Cool on a cookie sheet.

Christmas Nuts

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups large walnut, almond, or pecan pieces

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set next to stove.  In a large saucepan, heat sugar and sour cream together over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and temperature reaches 242 degrees on candy thermometer.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and walnuts.  Stir until creamy.   Turn out on waxed paper and separate.  Cool completely.

These are all easy, and very impressive.  You can wrap and give with any embellishment you can think of.  They are ALWAYS well received and enjoyed.  Perfect for making someone's Christmas delightful!  

A Unique Way To Wrap Gift Cards or Money

How to be THE BEST Party Guest Ever!

How to Set an Elegant Christmas Tablescape

Setting a beautiful table for Christmas is on of my favorite things to do.  I strive to create an "experience in dining".  When my guests are seated, I'm hoping that they will see that I want them to feel they are special enough to me to put extra effort into their dining experience.  I desire that they feel that dining at our table is a better visual experience than any restaurant could provide them.  

My hallmarks in setting a memorable table are: "Layer, layer, layer."  and "Make it Delightful".  And, "Details Make The Difference".  It's difficult to fail when I keep those to elements in mind.

• Start with a festive or themed tablecloth.  Here I used a traditional Christmas colored plaid with gold threads woven through the fabric.  At Christmas, I love every bit of sparkle that makes the occasion almost magical or majestic.
• A gold beaded charger (purchased at Pier 1 provides a great deal of sparkle
•  Add a timeless traditional plate that goes with anything.  This gold-rimmed plate is in the Lenox "Eternal" pattern.
• Next comes the Antique "Miss America" salad plate, followed by a ruby red Avon classic dessert dish.
• Top off your plates with a coordinating napkin with a unique napkin ring.  I love the theme of Poinsettias at Christmas.  These napkin rings have greeted many guests over the years.
• Use a not-found everywhere soup server.  These Fitz & Floyd ceramic gift boxes hide the wonderful pumpkin soup until ready to be revealed.
• Provide colorful beverage glasses that tie the tablescape together.  These emerald Boopie Depression goblets combined with the more modern Pier 1 gold goblets are doing their job perfectly.
• Now to finish the dinnerware off, I placed shiny gold doilies below the coffee cups and added a diminutive glass holly leaf and berry embellishment.
• One of the most important components of a beautiful tablescape it the centerpiece.  This tablescape is adorned with winter greens, berries,  artificial Poinsettias, ruby glittered candles, and snowflakes.

You can mix and match almost anything you have in your Christmas boxes.  Think outside the box!  You could arrange colored glass bulbs in apothecary jars or baskets, or any other unique container.  You could feature a Nativity Scene with your Nativity set.  Snowmen, Angels, Nutcrackers,  Santa & his entourage, woodsy candles and greenery.  Truly, the sky is the limit!

 Make a table square out of any fabric you like.  Set it at a diagonal and start coordinating!

 Details Make The Difference! 

I always set a table that is whimsical too!  I punched all those snowflakes with a snowflake punch. 

Gift tags  and silver snowflakes created the napkin decorations.  Inexpensive coffee cups coordinated with the Pier 1 Snowmen Plates.

A close-up view.

 

Same plates, different accessories

It is my wish that this post has inspired.  I know many of you could do a much better job than me.  I'd love to see and hear about Christmas tables you have created.    If you email me your pics, I'll feature them in an upcoming blog post.  Have fun...and Make It Delightful!  

Festive Strawberry Slushy Punch~With, Or Withour Champagne

I served this at a Christmas Open House one year and 
it was consumed faster than the desserts of appetizers. 
It is really a delightful punch!

Berried Treasure Slushy Punch

2 1/2 cups sugar

6 cups water

2 3-ounce packages of strawberry flavored Jell-O

1 46-fluid ounce can of pineapple juice

2/3 cup lemon juice

1 quart orange juice

2 2-liter bottles of 7-Up

• Bring the sugar, water, and strawberry Jell-O to a boil in a large saucepan; boil for three minutes.

• Stir in the pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice.

• Divide the mixture into two separate containers and freeze (May use decorative gelatin mold)

• Combine the contents of 1 container with one bottle of the 7-Up in a punch bowl.  Stir until slushy.

• Repeat with the remaining portion as needed.

This punch is delightful when added to champagne in a champagne glass.  Add a cranberry and mint sprig for a Christmassy look! Or, add a flower or strawberry with a mint sprig. It is absolutely delightful!