gifts for guys guest tutorial- chocolate dipped potato chips by annalea hart

We've already introduced you to annalea from our hartbeat earlier this year... however, can we just say one more time how much we adore her? LOVE the girl. And so glad to welcome her back for some gifts for guys goodness.

Hey there! I am so excited Kirstin and Jordan invited me back for this series. I think compiling a list of gifts for guys is brilliant. It can be so hard to find the right thing. The ideas so far have been clever and cool. Thanks ladies for all the help!

I knew that I wanted to share some edible goodness today.  There are seven guys between the ages of 14 and 23 on my gift giving list.  I might not be able to afford the latest electronic thingamajig or be hip to their current clothing trend, but I can always count on their stomachs.  The year I made my teenage cousin a plate of rice krispie treats was an unbelievable hit.  So I would like to bring you my  

Box of Year Round Yum.

The basic principle is:

• make something yummy to eat (hence the yum).   
• fill an appropriately decorated box with the yumminess.  
• give to a guy and let him enjoy.  
• and (here is key) when it is empty, go back to step one and repeat. 

This may entail your younger brother to drop off his box after class and promising delivery within the week.  Or shipping out yum to a cousin far away.  Regardless of how, you keep their stomachs happy throughout the year.

chocolate dipped chips

I chose chocolate covered potato chips for my yum.  About ten years ago, I had the genius idea to combine two of my husband's favorite flavors.  (I now know it was not a new idea, but at the time I thought it was.)  Our entire family was super impressed and I felt like a rockstar.

Annalea's Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

1. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave.  Start with one minute and stir.  Continue with 30 second increments until melted and smooth.
2. Dip chips, with ridges length-wise, in chocolate.  Lay on parchment paper.
3. That's it!  Let the chocolate fully harden before handling.  For quicker hardening, place dipped chips in the freezer.  

diy wrapping

In the meantime, decorate your box.  I chose a large empty oatmeal container.  This gave me plenty of room for the chips.  I simply wrapped the outside in kraft paper and embellished with some guy-friendly scrapbook paper and a label maker.  I protected the inside from chocolate by placing three sheets of parchment paper along the sides.

And there you have it.  A year of yumminess wrapped up in a bow.  But with a little twine to make it more manly of course.  I promise much satisfaction for both gift giver and recipient.

Sometime today, make yourself something yummy to drink and go explore Our Hartbeat... we promise that you'll love Annalea and her sweet family as much as we do!