My whole family is very much into reading, and there isn't one Christmas that goes by without us all buying each other at least one book, and this year it's no different, apart from the fact that I bought all books either secondhand or from a very old bookshop in my street that has been selling the same books since the 60s, so I feel as though I've been pretty good at not being a part of the ridiculous consumerist traditions with my Christmas shopping so far. Besides books, all they've asked for were "socks from the store next to your house", "cookies and tea" and "please bring us Portuguese coffee and cheese" because both my brothers live abroad and can't get access to these things easily, and I'm more than happy to oblige as all these items either come from local businesses or I can get them at my favourite bulk store, Granel da Rainha.

Along with what's already on their Christmas wishlist, I thought I'd make a few things myself, things I'd also love to receive, which are easy to make, easy to transport as we're all spending Christmas in Norway and quite sustainable to produce as well.

Hand Warmers

Even though I live in Portugal, which is quite sunny even in winter, the cold can really get to us, especially now that I'm getting my Masters and get home at 11pm every day. And if I'm cold, I can only imagine my brothers and their girlfriends who live in some of the coldest areas of France and Norway. So, my immediate thought was, why not make everyone some hand warmers? They're easy to make, easy to carry around, easy  to get warmed up and can be kept for years.

To make each hand warmer you will need:

Now that we got that loooong list out of the way, you'll need to place the squares on top of each other, with the right sides facing each other, and stitch around the square, leaving a small opening on the side. Turn the fabric right side out and stuff it with dry rice until it feels full. Now, simply close the opening and keep on repeating the method to make those hand warmers for the whole family.

To use you simply pop them in the microwave for 1 minutes and get them inside your coat pockets, these should keep your hands toasty warm for about 20 or so minutes, depending on how cold it is outside. If you don't have a microwave, you can warm them up in an oven at 190ºC for 10 minutes or so.

Candles

I'm very lucky for many reasons, but one of them is the fact that I get easy access to beeswax whenever I want. One of my boyfriend's dad's hobbies is beekeeping, and he's been doing it for so long that he's gathered quite a bit of beeswax, which is great for my next DIY. If you can't get beeswax as easily, you can try to find a local beekeeper and buy it from him or buy it online, as long as you make sure you're buying from someone responsible. According to this "beeswax candles are naturally dripless and smokeless, and they tend to have a longer burn time than candles made from other waxes. Beeswax also burns clean and purifies the air at the same time! In addition to supporting sustainable beekeeping, the consumption of beeswax candles is also good for the air we breathe. Unlike paraffin candles, which are made with a petroleum-based wax, beeswax candles have a completely clean non-toxic burn and produce negative ions when burning."

To make 3 candles (250ml each) you'll need

• 500 grams beeswax
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons essential oils (I particularly enjoy the sound of this little set)
• Glass jars to hold the candles
• Wicks, (I usually use simple cotton ones such as these, but I've always wanted to try these crackling wood wicks)
• Jars to set your candles in

Arrange your jars on a piece of newspaper in a steady place, such as your kitchen counter. Then, stick each wick into the centre of each jar, you can do this by using some wick stickers or simply glue them down with a hot glue gun. Use a clothes pin to keep the wick straight so that once the candle is finished it'll burn evenly.

Make a double boiler, by this I mean fill a pot halfway with water and place a heat resistant bowl that fits on top, but make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer and add your beeswax to the bowl, stirring occasionally as it melts, making sure to use either a disposable wooden chopstick or something you'll only ever use to make candles, as this will never again be free of wax.

Once the beeswax has completely melted, add the coconut oil and stir until all is melted and combined. Once that's done, remove the bowl from the heat, and whisk in your chosen essential oil and quickly, but steadily, transfer the mixture into a container with a pouring spout, making sure to use a spatula to scrape your bowl as clean as possible. 

Making sure to not pour any wax on the clothes pin, fill each jar, but not all the way up, and let it set for two days at room temperature, keeping the wick straight the whole time with the clothes pin. Once everything is set, trim the wick to about half a centimetre and you're done. 

You can leave the jar as is, or you can decorate it a bit, personally I would add something related to the scent so if you're doing a sweet orange candle, maybe thread a few slices of dried orange around the top of the jar, if the scent is pine go with a few pine needles. You can also add a few other bits to the thread that once the candle is gone can be used as a decoration, such as these little jingle bells or these bigger silver ones, also available in gold, or even these cute little wooden snowflakes.

For a faster, but still good alternative, why not buy some beeswax sheets, a long piece of cotton wick which you can cut into the right size, such as this one, and simply roll the sheets into candlesticks, making sure to warm up the sheets with your hands as not to break them, and rolling them tightly in place. If you have all the good intention to do this but not the time, you can also gift your loved ones with a DIY kit so they can make it themselves, prepared by yourself with all the items you bought already, or you can actually buy ready-made kits like this one or this beautiful one.

Chai Latte Mix

Whether you prefer your chai in a powder form or all natural, this is the recipe for you, I based it on one of my favourite teas, but used bulk bought ingredients and added more of my favourites to tweak the mixture to fit my taste. I'll definitely be making this one for a few people in my family.

For 100 grams of tea you'll need:

• 50 grams of Assam tea (or your favourite black tea)
• 10 grams of Rooibos
• 10 grams of cinnamon sticks (around 5 sticks)
• 10 grams of cardamom pods
• 5 grams of dry ginger
• 5 grams of fennel seeds
• 5 grams of cloves
• 5 grams of black peppercorns

Then, all you need to do is place everything, apart from the tea, in a mortar and pestle and gently grind all the ingredients into smaller bits. If you prefer a powder mix you can grind it all into a fine powder instead, but I like to see all the bits and pieces. Then, mix it all up with the black tea and the rooibos and place in a nice jar that will keep everything dry.

Tea Bag Cookies

To go along with my Chai, and to feed all the cookie monsters in my family, I thought I'd try this idea I've been seeing on Pinterest for years, cookies in the shape of a tea bag, which fits perfectly with the tea obsessed family I come from. I decided to go with shortbread because, ever since I started baking Jammy Dodger's for my boyfriend's birthday, I've fallen in love with them, but I feel as though my gingerbread cookies would be a good option too, you can find the recipe here.

For the shortbread you'll need:

• 250 grams softened unsalted butter (I use lactose free one and it works perfectly)
• 120 grams icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 350 grams plain flour
• 20 grams cornflour

Beat the butter and icing sugar together until fluffy and pale, which should take around 3 minutes. Add the yolk and beat to combine. 

Wrapping

If you're wondering how to wrap all this, my new favourite way to wrap is by using the furoshiki method, which I've mentioned before. There are quite a few ways to do this, and you can find a very helpful article about it here, but if you don't know what it is, furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping technique, based on the philosophy of reusing something simple, a cloth, and use it in different ways. I use this method everyday to wrap pieces of fruit when I'm in class, but there are many other different uses.