Great thrifty holiday gifts

Let’s face it. It’s a shit time for the economy. There are some of us who maybe have dropped a bunch of money on something frivolous like shoes, clothes or an extravagant night are now sucking wind, saving money, paying off our credit cards. Others, like myself, are wondering when getting a home loan will not longer require a blood sample and my first born. Either way, everyone is thinking of the economy and their now nonexistent retirement accounts. Merry Christmas, right?

Well, here are a few ideas on how to get you through the holidays without excessively drinking egg nogg.

1) Make something. My mother always made almond brittle during the holiday season. It’s less common than peanut brittle and much tastier, if you ask me. You might need a little inspiration so here’s my mother’s recipe. I place several pieces in a decorative Chinese food to-go container or maybe a pretty tin.

Mom’s almond brittle

1 C. whole raw almonds (unsalted)
½ C. granulated sugar
2 tsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
Salt

Combine almonds, butter and sugar in a heavy 10 inch skillet. Cook, stirring fairly constantly, over medium heat until the almonds are toasted and the sugar is melted and golden brown (about 15 mins). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Spread the nuts on a sheet of aluminum (make sure you have sprayed the foil with no stick cooking spray). Try to place the almonds in clusters of 2 or 3. Lightly sprinkle with salt.

2) Tone down the festivities
You do not need to serve a 5 course meal in order to enjoy time with family and friends. My friend Robert has a saying. It’s something like “my guests don’t have a better time if I spend 4 more hours on dinner”.

Sometimes just have hours d’ouvres is much more fun then just dinner. Some of my favorite parties have been those that I've asked my guests to bring their favorite appetizer.

3) Try unconventional gifts
One of my favorite gift suggestions this year has been Tastebook. www.tastebook.com is a web site where you can upload your recipes and have them bound in a binder that can be opened. The fabulous thing about Tastebook is that you can put a few recipes in the book and then add more later. They start at $20 so, you could can add your favorite recipe and give it to a friend to complete with their favorites.

4) Bring a hostess gift, not an enormous present
A hostess gift is just that. It’s not meant to be a present that will bust the bank. It’s a gesture to your host. Pick a nice bottle of wine. Places like Trader Joe’s and World Market have really good wines for around $10.

5) Just send cards
My family agreed this year to just send Christmas cards. Since all of us “kids” are grown, we’re not broken up about not getting a gift.

Regardless of your financial situation, simplifying the holidays always seems to make them less stressful, as well.

Christmas Chaos

Growing up Christmas was always my favorite time of year. My mother dusted off her recipes for the seasonal family favorites. The house always looked like Santa threw up in it but, it was a magical time, none the less. For many this is a time of stress. Having to deal with unruly family members can make you feel like you’re in Christmas Vacation.

As much as I try to lead a stress free life, it doesn’t always turn out that way.

The tree is not finished. There are still presents to be purchased and the stores are mayhem (Did you hear about that Wal-Mart worker who got trampled the day after Thanksgiving? What the hell, people?)

What’s a girl to do with all this holiday stress? Just for you, my dear friends, I’m including my famous lemon drop martini recipe. Please feel free to change it and make it your own. CHEERS! And let’s not stress; the holidays are almost over.

Tart Lemon Drop Martini

This is a very tart martini. For those of you who will only drink sweet booze, I suggest you add sugar and maybe leave out some lemon. I know it's tart. It's supposed to be tart.

1 Meyer lemon (squeezed into the shaker)
Approx 6-8 ice cubes
1 Tbsp of sugar (not the hippie raw brown sugar – regular white sugar)
6 oz good vodka (don’t be cheap – there’s nothing worse than a bad hang over)

Put all of the ingredients into the cocktail shaker. If you’re a light weight (and you know who you are) add some water. Shake the cocktail shaker with your index finger on the lid. Shake until the cocktail shaker becomes too cold to hold (AKA: shake it ‘til it hurts).

And VOILA! Family? What family? What turkey? Oh, look I have a fabulous cocktail in front of me. Cheers.