DIY Stocking Stuffers

Can you believe there are only 9 weekends left before Christmas? I know, I have said this to all my friends but seriously, where has this year gone? If I were to guess at what month I thought it was, I’d say about May. If you’re feeling this way too, Christmas might just be sneaking up on you!

Now thoughts of Christmas prezzies can start coming to mind around this time of year. How often do you struggle with finding the right presents for work mates, friends and family? It’s hard to find something the right price and the right tone for those people on your Christmas list who aren’t receiving major presents. It is often tempting to grab some chocolates or a bottle of wine and be done with it. This year I have decided to present my co-workers, friends and family with some home made goodies that will not only be easier on my hip pocket, but also boost their health!

Everyone likes yummy treats at Christmas time, but the traditional goodies often contain a lot of processed sugar, dairy products, condensed milk, wheat and other nasty ingredients. I thought I’d make up some healthy and delicious Chrissy Balls, full of flavour and goodness.

Chrissy Balls
Base:
1 cup of pitted Medjool dates (fresh dates)
2 cups of nuts
1 cup dessicated coconut
¼-1/3 cup of raw cacao
3 TBS coconut oil
1-3 TBS sweetener of choice (honey, coconut nectar, maple syrup, agave nectar)
Pinch of Celtic Salt
Splash of Vanilla extract

Festive Extras:
The recipe above is just the base of a Chrissy Ball recipe. To make things extra festive, I’ll be adding 1/3 cup of chopped dried cherries and goji berries, 2TBS of raw cacao nibs and a cheeky slosh of rum!
You could alternatively add ¼ cup of diced ginger, or a few drops of peppermint oil to make some decedent Christmas treats.
Add your extras and all other ingredients to the blender and blend! You’ll likely need a high speed blender for these, or you could use a food processor. Blend until you have a sticky dough of your favoured consistency. Some will like these balls smooth and truffle-like, others with prefer them chunky. Either way, the dough needs to stick together when pressed. If your dough is too crumbly, add a few more dates, or if it is too oily, add some more almonds or coconut.

Once your dough is ready, roll small pinches into balls and coat in desiccated coconut or cacao powder. Then pop them on a tray in the fridge or freezer to harden. They can be made now and kept in the freezer till Christmas time. All you need to do when you give them out is split them up, maybe put them in pretty Mason jars or in the old festive red cellophane and put some streamers on!

I’m also going to make up a few big batches of lip balms and body scrubs this year as stocking stuffers and little extras. These home made products are super simple to make and don’t take much time at all. Ingredients of these can usually be found at your local health food stores.

Lovely Lips
I’m going to make some little pots of tinted lip balm, as I saw these cute little jars at a dollar shop recently and thought they’d be perfect. To make a lip balm you’ll need:
Lip Gloss Base:
2 TBS Virgin Coconut Oil
1 TBS Beeswax
1 TBS Cacao Butter

Lip Stick Base:
1 TBS Virgin Coconut Oil
1 TBS Beeswax
1 TBS Cacao Butter

Optional Extras:
A few drops of vitamin E oil (as a preservative and deep moisturiser)
A few drops of essential oils for flavour (try peppermint for an invigorating kick, lavender for relaxation and calm, rosemary to improve memory and retention or rose to nurture and soothe)
A pinch of beetroot powder for a pink tint
A pinch of raw cacao and turmeric for a bronze tint
Flower Essences for a vibrational boost to your balm (Woman Essence, Emergency Essence, Calm and Clear are nice mixes to use)
1 tsp raw honey for flavour

Directions:
You might need to finely chop or grate your beeswax and cacao butter. Add then along with your coconut oil to a bowl and place it in or over a saucepan of boiling (or very hot) water. You want to melt the oils over this water bath until they are 100% liquid.
Remove from the heat and add your extras.
Mix well, and then pour or pipette the liquid into your containers. Allow to set without the lid on (in case the lid sticks to the balm), for about 30mins to an hour, then pop on the lid and give away!

Scrub-a-dub-dub

The final DIY prezzie I think I’ll make this year will be some body and face scrubs. This recipe is so easy, simply:
2 parts sugar
1 part oil (coconut, almond, apricot, hemp, macadamia, sesame or a combination)

Mix these guys together and you have your scrub! White sugar is best for delicate areas such as the face, while raw sugar is best for tougher areas such as the feet and legs.

Optional Extras:
½ tsp vitamin E oil as a preservative
Essential oils for smell
Substitute 1 cup of sugar for 1 cup of salt for extra scrubbing

Pop your combination in a jar or tub, decorate and give!

These recipes are great to get the kids involved in (perhaps not the lip balm one, with hot wax), but they will love making something special for their teacher or Grandparents. These DIY presents are a great way to keep your Christmas costs down and really give people something special!

Rhianna