Homemade Christmas Gifts for Chilli Lovers

DIY Gift Ideas for Christmas that Chilli Heads Will Love

Nov 23, 2008

The best Christmas presents are often those made by hand. These homemade Christmas gifts are sure to please the most demanding of chilli heads or lovers of spicy food.

There are many shop-bought Christmas gifts for chilli lovers from Asian cookbooks to the latest hot chilli sauce but homemade chilli gifts add a colorful and affordable personal touch. Good for using up an oversupply of a personal chilli crop; here are some great Christmas gift ideas to make at home using chillies.

A Bottle of Chilli Oil

Take a medium sized glass bottle with a sealable pouring spout and fill to the brim with dried chillies. Any size of chilli will do but the dark red small variety like the bird’s eye chilli pepper looks especially good. Top up with olive oil and allow to marinate for 2-3 weeks before wrapping. Tell the receiver to continually top up the oil to maintain a constant supply.

Boxes of Dried or Fresh Chillies

Take small square clear plastic boxes and fill with chillies. Use different varieties to create a hot spicy collection and label each up with the type and heat content if known. Print out neat food labels with a chilli graphic for added presentation.

Packets of Chilli Seeds

Chilli lovers like to grow their own chillies so look for seed varieties that they may not have grown before. Colorful chillies like the multicolored Antillais Caribbean or long thin chillies like the Indian Torpedo chilli pepper can add an exotic touch. Either buy seeds from an online nursery or put your own seeds into packets and label up accordingly. Take care to wear gloves if packing your own seeds and prepare gifts in a well-ventilated room as dried chilli seeds can cause irritation to eyes and lungs.

Home Grown Chilli Plants

A colorful homegrown chilli plant always adds festive colour. Try the colorful Chinese Five Color pepper, as shown in the picture below, or if home grown plants are unavailable, consider giving a tray of small plug plants from the local nursery ready for the chilli head to plant out once the weather is warmer.

Homemade Chilli Sauce

Hot and spicy or mild and sweet, a jar of home produced chilli sauce will demonstrate the love and care put into any gift. Enclose a copy of the chilli recipe with the jar in case the receiver wishes to make more of the special concoction. Put a health warning on if numerous chillies are used!

Chilli Christmas Box

Can’t decide which gift to give or make? For that special person, make up a chilli box, wrap with bright red ribbon and include all of the gifts above.

Chilli seeds and packets of dried chillies are available to buy cheaply online or simply grow your own for really special homemade Christmas gifts.

The copyright of the article Homemade Christmas Gifts for Chilli Lovers in Spices is owned by Helen Smeaton. Permission to republish Homemade Christmas Gifts for Chilli Lovers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.