Gifts From the Heart

If you are not done with your Christmas shopping, now is the time to get serious about it! With some ingenuity and help from Christmas Twigs, you can give a gift from your heart that your loved ones will cherish for years to come!

Bolt Action Bullet Pen Handmade by Christmas Twigs

 Our beautiful Bolt Action Bullet Pens are handmade.  They come in a variety of woods and acrylics in many different colors.  You can even request a color if you need it custom made. Our pens would make a stunning gift for dads, moms, siblings, co workers, teachers, neighbors just about anyone on your Christmas list!

Write a handwritten note to tell them how much you appreciate them and tuck it into wrapped gift.  Add some notecards or a day planner to give with this gift thoughtful gift.  Every time they use their pen, they will think of you!

 

Christmas Twigs has exquisite hand crafted wooden french rolling pins.  They are easy to use and would make a nice home decor accent displayed in your kitchen.  Perfect for anyone who cooks in their kitchen.  What about giving it to your college kids so they can use it in their apartments.  Makes a thoughtful wedding gift as well.

Give a french wooden rolling pin wrapped in a beautiful kitchen towel and tied with a raffia bow.  Add some fun measuring spoons and jingle bells tied to the bow. Add a couple of recipe cards with your favorite recipes tied to the bow as well.  

For all the years of making Christmas magical for you as a child, give your parents a whimsical Tree Bears by Ditz Design.

Have each family member write down their fondest Christmas memories.  Put them altogether in a notebook and present the tree with the notebook to your parents at a special dinner.  Or all of you just show up and surprise them one evening in December!

 
Your children would love a 
Teddy Bear Plush Hug to snuggle up with while sitting by the fire or reading a book.  Would make a cute rug in their bedroom.

  

For your honey, or friend, or grandparent, give them a special gift to relax with.  An animal footrest would make a fun gift so that at the end of a long day they can put their feet up and chill!  We have a variety of animal styles to choose from.  Truly a unique gift that will go on giving. 

Tie a big bow around the animal footrest and also give a book that your loved one would enjoy reading.

Get the creativity going and give a gift from your heart to theirs.  Let us help!


 

Cute Edible Mice to Make With Your Family and Give As Gifts

 So I am not so fond of mice but these mice are a big hit!  Easy to make and tasty too they make the perfect teacher or neighbor gift for this yuletide time of year.  Here is what you will need to make these yummy candy cookies.

Christmas Mice

*Package of filled cookies

*Chocolate Kisses

*Sliced almonds (for ears)

*Maraschino cherries with stems

*Dipping Chocolate

*Icing 

      

Melt your chocolate on the stove top in a pan which sits in a pan of boiling water (stirring often to make sure it won't burn) or use your microwave.  Then dip cherries.  Put a chocolate kiss next to the dipped cherry with the stem of the cherry sticking straight out behind.

Add the sliced almonds behind the chocolate kiss for ears and then set the mouse on a half of a cookie.  Take a small tube of icing and add a nose and add a mouth.  You can use white or dark chocolate to make your cute Christmas mice.  Get creative!

Gather your children because these are so much fun to make.  Everyone will have a good time and then you can surprise neighbors or teachers or anyone you like with these  festive Christmas treats!

     

Wood turning is an art.  Beautiful things come out of the wood shop!  To take a block of wood and turn (no pun intended) it into an artisan french rolling pin truly takes talent!

These rolling pins truly are exquisite!  They are made of maple and then other types of contrasting woods are used to fashion the design inside the pin.

They are both functional and decorative.  Use your french rolling pin to smooth out your dough and then after cleaning it, display it as decor in your kitchen.  These make wonderful gifts.  When you give a rolling pin like this as a gift, you are giving a lasting gift that is useful and decorative! 

Direct from Santa's shop to Christmas Twigs a gift like this will truly be treasured for years to come!  Easy to clean and maintain too.  Just rub the wood with cooking oil when done using.

  

Bolt Action Pens-Great Gift Item!

Looking for a new and great gift to give a loved one?  Look no further! Handmade bolt action pens have a wide appeal.  They are carefully handcrafted out of wood,acrylic, and sometimes marble.  They are shaped like a bullet and have a rifle looking clip to clip on a shirt. They definitely get noticed!

They come in a variety of colors and two finishes either gun metal or brass/copper.  They are so beautiful up close and they take Parker ink refills.  Check these bolt action pens out at Christmas Twigs.  These make great birthday, Christmas, or anniversary gifts. Would be a great gift to give to neighbors, family, friends, and co workers.  They will certainly be pleased with their gift!

Prepare For Christmas Baking Now

My life became a lot easier when I started using a beautiful handmade wooden french rolling pin and I learned to make bread in an hour! I make a beautiful bread braid filled with fruit or jam and baked in the oven. (Resembles German Stollen a bit.)

Drizzle icing on top of the dessert bread braid and you have a beautiful gift to give your neighbors at holiday time. You can use a variety of jams such as raspberry, apricot, or cherry filling. Whatever you have on hand or want to put in the middle of your dough. It will taste delicious!

Use your favorite bread dough. I love this recipe from fast easy bread
You can make this from start to finish in an hour! It's great! This will make two bread braids. Half your dough and cover the other portion. Then roll out your dough with your french rolling pin. Take a 4 0z. container of cream cheese and mix it with a 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and add 1/2 t. vanilla. Spread it on down the center of your dough.

Next put your jam or pie filling on top of the cream cheese mixture in the center of your dough. Then take your kitchen scissors and cut strips on both sides of the rolled out dough. Don't cut too far into the middle. Fold over the very top of your braid and begin braiding the strips back and forth on your braid. Fold the bottom of the braid up on your dough and secure each strip by pinching them tightly together.

Bake in a 350 oven for 25 minutes and while it is still hot and fresh from the oven, drizzle powdered sugar icing on top of the braid. You could get fancy and serve it in a basket with a french rolling pin and the recipe for a gift. Put a fabric napkin in the basket first and then put your gifts inside and tie a fancy wired edged ribbon bow on the side of the basket.

There you go a gift you neighbors will love and remember you for, for years to come each time they use their beautiful handmade french rolling pin!

Great Gift Idea From Socks!

Who would have guessed such cute socks could be recycled into gloves and a darling neck scarf??? I am an advocate for preparing for Christmas in the summer so why not round up the mismatched socks in your home and start sewing some cute gifts. Talk about using things you already have! These turn out so cute you will want to make more than one set!

You can find the full tutorial on the blog Ruffles and Stuff . Disney, the woman who thinks up these ideas is very talented and her tutorial is step by step easy to do and understand!

There are plenty of socks out there that would make a great set for boys as well. Take a look at your Christmas list and see if you can't start using your time and talents to make a gift that will truly be heartfelt this year! Then go ahead wrap it and cross one more thing off your Christmas list right now!

Spoil Those You Love With Holiday Gift Baskets !

If you are looking for something extra special to give as a holiday gift this year, why not put together a gift basket. The sky is the limit when it comes to what goes in the basket and you can tailor it to fit the person you want to give good holiday cheer to!

1. First choose a container to put gifts in. It doesn't have to be your typical wicker basket. Find something fun and creative. What about filling the back of a toy dump truck or fill the inside of a cute purse with yummy holiday treats? Come up with a catchy saying to go with your creative gift. Like "Purseonally we hope you have a Happy Holiday!" Something along those lines.

2. Decide what filler you will put in the bottom. This can include fabric, shredded tissue, regular tissue paper, something to display your gifts on in the basket.

3. Gift items to go in the basket can include, holiday DVD's, CD's, advent calendars, ornaments, small collectible Santas, cookies, chocolates, fruit, crackers, cheese, muffins, or hot chocolate. Is there something special that you can buy that represents your part of the country? Tailor the gift basket to fit the individual(s) you will be giving it to. Tuck movie tickets, and or gift cards inside the basket for an added surprise!

Don't forget to consider including gift items from a local college such as t-shirts, mugs filled with individually wrapped candies, items with the college logo, and a good book from the college bookstore. You could also include tickets to the next college basketball game. This would be great to give a college student or an alumni from that college!

4. Finish off your basket with holiday accents, bows, ribbon, small bells, ornaments,candy canes, etc... Wrap your basket in cellophane or a large clear gift bag. Then tie the top with wired ribbon and attach a festive handmade card.

There you have a gift that is not only thoughtful but sure to please! If you would rather order a gift basket and have it shipped visit Christmas Twigs and let them take the stress out of your holiday! It will also leave a lasting impression that you took the time to create or give such a nice holiday gift!