I’ve been making these Santa bags for a lot of years now, but this is the first time I’ve ever shared a how-to for it.
Other similar bags I’ve made include Rudolph, Christmas kitties and Christmas trees. Change the basic bag to any color and add polka dots or stars for an easy birthday bag!
Smiling Santa is reusable, giftable, and darn cute. He’s fast to make with simple embroidered stitches and a button nose. If hand stitching isn’t your thing, fabric paint will work in a pinch!
I use eco-friendly acrylic felt. It’s easy to find, cheap (20 cents a sheet) and sturdy.
Find the bottom of your bag and cut 1″ squares out of the opposite corners for each white sheet. This will create a faux gusset and allow your gift bag to stand up.
Cut the flesh-colored felt sheet down to 8″ x 5 1/2″. Fold in half and cut a gentle curve.
Open flesh-colored felt. Align 1″ from top of bag, centering so that each side has approximately 1/2″ of white felt showing.
Using the white embroidery floss, hand stitch a running stitch around the two sides and bottom of the face.
If I could make one candy to give away every year, it would be peanut brittle.
This is probably my most miraculous of recipes due to it’s ability to cause sheer happiness in it’s recipients. I’ve actually made friends by sharing this at parties and functions.
Every year someone tells me that this is their favorite peanut brittle recipe, which of course gives me a reason to keep making it for them!
You’ll need a good, heavy saucepan and a candy thermometer for this. If you’ve never owned a candy thermometer, it’s really worth having. I recommend investing a few dollars (a very few, really!) in a good quality thermometer. Glass thermometers are cheap, but they tend to break easily. I have a professional metal candy thermometer that I picked up at a local restaurant supply store, but they’re easy to find online and at other stores with cooking supplies, too.
Peanut Brittle
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (Golden Syrup works if you don’t have access to corn syrup)
Grease a 10″x15″ baking sheet thoroughly with butter.
Combine first five ingredients (sugar, corn syrup, water, peanuts and salt) in heavy saucepan. Stir using a long-handled wooden spoon.
Boil until candy thermometer reaches 293 degrees F.
Remove from heat and cool for a couple of minutes. Add vanilla and beat. Sprinkle baking soda into the mixture and beat will. It will foam and change colors, which is just what you want it to do!
Immediately pour into baking sheet. Be very, very careful because liquid candy at high temperatures is like lava! Make sure the baking sheet is on a towel or cooling rack because it will be extremely hot.
Allow to cool completely (time will vary, usually an hour or so) then flip over and give it a whack! Break the pieces up however you like, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Do not store peanut brittle with other candies because it will absorb moisture and become sticky, sticky, sticky.
This adorable wee Santa jumped right out of my head today. I carried him all through the supermarket, telling him to hush, we’d go home soon. The moment the last grocery was put away, my laptop was out, Photoshop fired up, and Lil’ St. Nick was having his say.
I love the way he turned out and I hope he puts you in the holiday spirit!
Sewhooked 