I’m going to do something shocking today. I’m going to talk about Christmas before advent has even started. I know try to overcome your shock!

I am a great believer in waiting for Christmas, which given how impatient I am is not expected. I don’t put the tree or Christmas decorations until as close to Christmas Eve as I can manage (last year Christmas was at my house and we decorated the tree before dinner!) and the family line is we don’t really plan for it until after Ma’s birthday (which is next week).

However, some Christmas things do need to be planned for, like food and wine and presents.  For the last 4 years or so, I’ve been making a gift basket of things I have made. They often include food. This year they will include a small pot of handscrub.

I’ve been using this for a while, it’s great for getting dough off my hands after I make bread and I would imagine that it would do a similarly great job for gardeners too. My pot sits next to the kitchen sink, it does separate but you just give it a stir and it’s fine, it lasts ages too.

I’m not going to pretend it’s the cheapest thing you’ll ever make but it’s not that expensive for the amount that you’ll make.  If you wanted to make it more gifty, you could put set together, some handscrub and maybe a nail file or hand cream.

What 

3/4 cup of olive oil

3/4 cup of brown sugar (I use demerara)

3/4 cup of coarse sea salt

the juice of one lemon

In a pot, mix all the ingredients together. That’s it!