It's better to Give

Wow! I have gone a whole month without writing a single word. November was crazy and now that December is in full swing I thought I would get one or two blogs in before the year's finished. Here are a few hostess gift ideas that I wanted to share. Each gift idea would cost less than $25.00. Some ideas are store bought and some can be made by your creative hands.

Pottery Barn offers Monogrammed Hotel Napkins, set of 6 for $19.00. I love anything monogrammed. Making a left turn on this thought...when I look for monogrammed items (dishes, silver, napkins, etc.) I don't worry about the initials because I feel that if that item was monogrammed then it was pretty darn special to the person who bought it and now it's pretty darn special to me.

For even more savings, just go and buy a plain set from TJ Maxx or Target. Have them monogrammed by someone you know that sews. Most sewing machines today come with the monogramming capability.

Williams Sonoma and Crate and Barrel have tons of kitchen utensils and linens. A nice kitchen towel and spatula set tied up in a silky satin or organza ribbon makes a wonderful hostess gift.

Homemade Ideas

Instant Spiced Tea

I love to make this and give it to my neighbors. I usually can get about six small baggies with this recipe. You can easily double it to make more.

2 cups Tang
1 ½ cups Sugar
½ cup Instant Tea (plain)
1 small pkg Lemonade (no sugar added)
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Ground Clover

Directions: Combine all ingredients together and place in a container. To drink just mix 3 teaspoons to hot water.

You can put the mix into small bags or tins. Attach with a ribbon and make a recipe card. I've used small canning jars I found at the grocery store (less than $1 each).

Sugar Coated Pecans (These are heavenly)

1 egg white
1 Tbsp water
1 lb. Pecan halves
1 cup white sugar
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease one baking sheet.
2. In mixing bowl, whip together egg white and water until frothy. In another bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Stir pecans every 15 minutes.

Again just wrap them up in holiday bags and tie with a pretty ribbon. Maybe I'll make some and put pictures up this week.