I wanna wish you a bucks up Christmas

Christmas used to be my best time of the year. I used to be so excited. I'll get a new dress, new pair of shoes, new hairdo, attend lots of Christmas parties, all my big aunties and uncles will be giving me money, I'll get my heart desire (that I had been prompting my parents on) under the Christmas tree, etc. Maybe it's because I’m older now, I don't get so excited anymore, Lol. No more Christmas dress, or Christmas shoe or hairdo. Nobody is even dashing me One Naira anymore. Let's just say, it's now my turn to be spending money here and there, buying gifts for everybody. I'm too busy calculating and figuring out what to get for my peps. Lol. Christmas for me starts when I see the delight in people’s faces when I give them a present this season.

Everybody spends money during this festive season. It is a season to be merry and give, based on this fact, this is the perfect time to start a venture, and holds a business idea in itself.
This month, we'll be talking of creative businesses you can do during Christmas. Today, we are featuring Christmas Desert Gift baskets.

You know every xmas, we always get hampers, with all sorts of stuff inside from cornflakes, to juice, wine, jam, coffee, etc. You can stand out with a customized desert gift basket. This service is not all over the place. To do this, you need to have flair for baking or at least be willing to try, or willing to partner with someone who likes to bake. The amazing thing is that, it's easy and cheap to start.

Step 1: Pick a desert(s) to work with.

Here is a recipe of Chocolate Chip Cookies in case you have no idea of where to start from.

Ingredients:
· 1/2 cup butter or margarine.
· 1/2 cup brown sugar.
· 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
· 1 egg
· 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
· 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
· 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
· 1/2 semisweet chocolate chips.
(If you don't find pecans and chocolate chips, you can improvise with mixed fruits).

Preparation:
· Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
· Cream butter or margarine; add sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
· Beat in egg and vanilla.
· Sift flour, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture.
· Stir in chocolate chips and pecans/mixed fruits.
· Drop the batter from a teaspoon, well apart, on a greased flat sheet.
· Bake for about 10 minutes.
This makes about 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Step 2: Package it.

Buy some transparent wrapping paper, basket, ribbons, to wrap the cookies beautifully and creatively.

Step 3: Market your services.

Actually this step can be done at any point, even before you bake the cookies. Word of mouth is the best form of marketing. Start with family and friends, and always ask for referrals.

Step 4: Always seek feedback from your customers after sales.

Be on the look out for complementary services to add to your business, and ways of improvement.
Please inform me if you decide to try this, send me your success story or challenge(s) you faced.

Like I said, This is not rocket science.

Cheers.

Recipe culled from www.about.com