Homemade Christmas Gifts for the Gambler

Homemade Christmas Gifts for the Gambler.

Your gambler can be a casino hopper or the guy that holds the weekly poker night. There's a gift you can make for either one.

Give a Gift for the Poker King:

If you know someone that has a regular poker night there are a lot of gifts that can be given. Some are from the kitchen, to feed that crew that comes over. Some can be ornamental like a platter to hold those snacks.

Try some unusual snacks, Smoked Almond Cheese Snacks:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix 4 cups of flour, 1tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. Grate a 16 oz. smoked cheddar cheese block and add the cheese (4 cups) to the flour mixture. You will need 2 cups of butter that is slightly softened. Cut it by bits and mix it into the flour for a crumbly mixture. Eventually, after you knead it a while, it will become a smooth dough.

Flour wax paper and roll the dough out until it is ¼ inch thick. Use a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to cut the shapes. You can also use the shapes of the card suits if you have cookie cutters that are available. Put them on a greased cookie sheet and put a whole hickory-flavored almond in the center of each. You will need about 12 oz. of almonds. Bake the cheese bites for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. This recipe will make 120 snacks.

If you don't have smoked cheddar, use regular and add a dab of hickory smoke flavoring. I've even used the recipe with regular cheddar and no smoked flavoring. Both are good.

Serve it up on a Royal Flush Platter.

You can make a glass royal flush serving platter. Purchase a plate or platter that has a smooth underside. You will be decoupaging that side. You can find inexpensive clear glass plates at second hand stores, dollar stores, or charity thrift shops. Make certain there are no scratches on the plate.

The simple method for clear glass requires a picture of a royal flush or individual pictures of the cards in a royal flush. There are several sites that have pictures available for purchase or for free, that you can save to a file and burn in a CD. You can either email or take the burnt CD to a discount or drug store that has a walk in photo service, such as Wal-Mart, Target or Costco, and get a laser-printed photo made. I know that this sounds like a lot of work, but the ink smears if you print it at home.

You're going to glue the picture to the backside of the plate, so it shows through the glass. Turn the plate over and center the photo. Clip the picture out and spread the spot on the back of the plate that you will be placing the picture, with a thin layer of under-glass glue or a decoupage medium for glass. Put the picture face down on the glue and put a piece of wax paper over the picture and roll it with a brayer, which removes any air bubbles. The brayer is a little roller. If you have a small wallpaper roller at home, it works well too. Remove the wax paper and clean off any excess glue. Allow this to dry. Put a coat of the decoupage medium over the back of the picture so when you paint it, the paint doesn't bleed through. Cover it thoroughly and allow it to dry. If you are using a strong color such as black or red, do a second coat to the cards.

Use a sponge and enamel craft paint to paint a background color. Allow this to dry thoroughly. Use as many coats of paint as necessary to achieve the finish you want, making certain that you allow them to dry in between. You can also coat the entire back with the glue and glue contrasting cotton fabric as background. You can add other images or outline the cards with a different color. When the plate has dried apply a coat or two of decoupage medium to it. Apply a thin coat of spray varnish to seal it once the glue is dried. Flip the plate over and you have a poker plate with a Royal Flush in the center.

Attach a note to the plate, "Not dishwasher safe. Be careful when hand washing. Do not soak the plate." Put the Smoked Almond Cheese snacks in a plastic container. Wrap the two separately and tie the packages together with a ribbon.

For the Casino Gambler:

Buy a fanny pack and load it for action. Except for the ATM cards and the money, you can use the article "Fanny packs: The Gamblers Suitcase" as a guide to packing the fanny pack with useful items. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/412488/fanny_packsthe_gamblers_suitcase.html

Scan the dollar stores for small objects that you could use as a good luck charm. My sister and I took another sister to Las Vegas for their 50th wedding anniversary gift. I found little fuzzy pressed cardboard animals and passed them out as good luck charms. They were only 50 cents and a great deal of fun. They already came in a small plastic bag. If you find something like this, give the object an exotic name and print it on a card with a "history" of its magical good luck powers. If your recipient goes to Atlantic City or Las Vegas and plays keno, give them a magic Keno crayon. (They don't let Keno players have sharp objects.) Include a "lucky buck", a dollar bill in a bag with "Lucky Buck written on it.

Make certain that you put lots of hard wrapped candy with the gift. Lifesavers, Jolly Rogers, and mints are great.

Just give a Lucky Charm.

Let your imagination be your guide. Make something small out of beads or fabric. Keep it small enough that it can be clutched in the hand easily. Attach a chain to your figure and give it a history. For example you could say the magic amulet from Queen Slotsalot of ancient Egypt. Type up a story about how it was found in her tomb with a message to give it to the man or woman that wants pure luck. Keep the story short and size it to fit on a business size card. Print it out on heavy stock paper and attach it to your homemade good luck charm.