My boyfriend and I have been together a long time so things like Valentine's day don't really have the same charm as they did when we first got together.
We don't bother with cards any more (we figure we'd only be re-hashing the same sentiments every year) and we're not into extravagant gifts - Christmas and birthdays is enough. This year we thought we'd get a little more personal and make each other presents, with a budget of £5 which forces you to get creative.
I decided to make chocolate heart-shape lollies so ordered the white sticks and cellophane wrappers from Ebay for about £1.50 each.
The recipe is pretty self explanatory, I bought milk and white chocolate bars from the supermarket, melted it and experimented with shapes and patterns. Then wrapped them in cellophane pockets and tied with a ribbon. Everyone loves chocolate and they can be made for pretty much any occasion. I love the idea of wrapping them in pink or blue ribbon and giving them to a new Mum or taking them to a baby shower.
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| I dipped the end of the sticks into melted chocolate and placed them on the greaseproof paper so they'd stick and not move around. |
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| I did about three layers of the chocolate and built it up so it had a chance to dry in the shape after each layer, rather than it spreading and distorting. |
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| I had planned on making little white chocolate hearts on the centre of the lollies but then realised that splattering was much more fun. |
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| I wrapped two lollies in each wrapper, back to back and tied them with lilac ribbon because that's what I had lying around but you can pick any colour you like for each occasion. |
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| All lined up in a pink gift bag. |
