Win an iPad with Halifax.
In this season of giving, there is a lesson that sometimes gets lost: it’s not the size of your gift but the thought behind it. A chat with a few teachers ahead of end-of-term on Friday has reminded me that the things people appreciate most are handmade gifts that are given with love and made with care.
Home-made treats can be given on their own, or you can attach them to the gift as a way of giving extra Christmas cheer to a shop-bought gift: cookies make wonderful gift tags! Halifax- the people who give you extra – are hoping to inspire more people to get creative and give extra with the homemade touch this Christmas. And it is the extra touches that take a gift from ordinary to legendary. The simple cookie is the perfect place to start.
I’ve put together a list of 12 Christmas Cookies that are easy to make- in some cases all you need is a decoration or two to embellish a shop-bought biscuit- and can be made by all ages as an end-of-term treat for friends and teachers.
1. Reindeer Noses: a twist on the American Classic, the Snickerdoodle, these biscuits are coloured with red sugar and so easy to make that even very young children can pitch in.
2. Carrot and Clementine Cookies: full of Christmas spice and hidden vegetables, they’d make a perfect healthy treat for Santa, and Santa-lovers everywhere.
3. Angel Cookies: give the gift of baking this Yuletide with a Cookie Mix in a Jar. Or make them and give them in the jar! Either way they taste great.
4. Reindeer Cookies made from Gingerbread Men: turn a gingerbread man upside down, add a little brown icing and details and you have a reindeer. This post shows you how.
5. Christmas Pudding Biscuits: last minute ideas for Christmas bake sales or play-dates: use chocolate biscuits to make Christmas puddings.
6. Snowman biscuits: another easy cookie that focuses on decoration. A few simple ingredients and you can make a snowman in seconds.
7. Stained glass biscuits: crushed sweets add a beautiful effect to Christmas cookies. Actually Mummy shows how easy they are to make.
8. Chocolate Gingerbread Trees: Frugal Family has combined two great flavours to make some delicious Christmas biscuits.
9. Kids Christmas Biscuits: The Great British Housewife gets the children in on the action, decorating biscuits to hang on the tree.
10. Traditional Gingerbread: Baby Budgeting tells you how to make traditional Gingerbread to decorate this winter.
11. Viennese Biscuits: Life at the Zoo and children make a traditional Austrian biscuit to give as gifts this Christmas.
12. Christmas Wreath Biscuits: festive and effective, these are the perfect nibble for when the neighbours pop by!
This competition has now closed and the winner has been notified. Congratulations Sarah Fleck. Thank you for taking part.
And if you want to Get a Little Extra this Christmas, then Halifax are offering a wonderful prize to Domestic Goddesque readers.
For your chance to win a 16GB Air Wi-Fi iPad (approx. value £400), please comment below and tell me your own tip or recommendation for a great homemade gift this Christmas.
Terms and Conditions: Competition closes at 12.00pm (midnight) on 18th December 2013. Entries received after this time and date will not count. One entry per person. UK residents only. Winner will be selected at random after the close date and will be notified on 19th December 2013. MEC Global and Halifax Bank are responsible for provision and delivery of the prize. For full terms and conditions for the competition, click here.
“Giving extra this Christmas ” is a partnership post between domesticgoddesque.com and Halifax, for which I have been compensated.
I helped my daughter use ceramic pens on a mug for grandad and then baked it in the oven. She chose his favourite rugby team’s colours.
Have a stash of homemade chutney to hand. Cover the tops with gingham circles so if anybody drops by you have instant gifts. If they don’t you can eat it yourself throughout the year!
simple gingerbread cookies that we hang on the tree to nibble through december, the boys love them!
We’ve infused vodka and gin with raspberries and black currants (from DH’s grandparent’s garden!- have been sitting in the freezer for over a year!) and will be bottling it as presents. I also had a go at making fudge, it went a big crumbly though so I balled the doughy-crumbly fudge into balls and dipped them into chocolate! Will also be making chocolate truffles again this year, they went down a treat last year.
my suggestion of a homemade gift this Christmas would be to personalise household storage items for the recipient. For example you could personalise a wooden tray used for storing files in by attaching some gingham ribbon to the handles and finishing them off by tying them in beautiful bows! Another embellishment would be to write the recipient’s initials on the side of the item (eg. tray again) – if it is for an adult you could use calligraphy to write their initials in a dark colour or perhaps if the gift is for a child you could use small diamantes to write their initials in! 🙂 x
I have got school photographs of the children all together & we will put them in home decorated frames for presents for family members.
We usually do some homemade presi’s especially from the little ones, easy ones are to buy spring bulbs and plant up in a nice container. We’ve decorated terracotta ones with handprints before.
Another easy one is to melt chocolate (even cooking chocolate will do), pour onto some baking parchment laid out in anything with edges to stop it running to far and then chuck (or artistically arrange), your choice of glace/dried fruit and or nuts (chopped). If you want to get really creative, melt a little chocolate of a different type (white is a good contrast) and drizzle artistically over or if you prefer melt equal quantities of both chocolates and pour onto parchment then swirl both together before throwing in fruit and nuts. Really quick and easy to do. can then wrap as one huge family bar or break into ‘shards’ and wrap in cellophane
Paint childrens hands and press onto a bauble and leave to dry, great homemade gift for grandparents
I make gluten free cheese straws to take as gifts to christmas parties and they are always snapped up really quickly. Gluten free pastry tends to be slightly more crisp than standard pastry so the cheese straws have a lovely snap to them.
Homemade lavender sachets – they smell gorgeous and are so simple to make. 🙂
For presents for grandparents Let your children get crafty and make pictures and cards for them,Even put them in a frame and let the kids decorate that too. Home made presents are the best!
Me and my 3 girls get messy making cupcakes and then arranging them in the shape of a tree, we use mini marshmallows and little silver balls as the trimmings and then decorate the top bun with a fairy, then cover it all in edible glitter … nom nom nom… oh and then clean up 🙁
homemade chocolates
After Christmas cut old Christmas cards up with pinking shears hole punch a hole for gift thread and then you have recycled festive gift tags fo next year
We’ve made a Christmas Cake tray bake and cut it into mini slices, along with mini mince pies and packed them in really pretty boxes with ribbon for the kids’ teachers
I’m doing Clementine Curd
get some old china cups and saucers from a charity shop or car boot sale and make candles in them for a pretty homemade gift
Making your own coloured paper chains is great fun with children
I like to make small bottles of sloe gin and jams and chutneys for Christmas with ingredients foraged from the hedgerows. I have picked sloes, blackberries, apples, damsons and plums this year and made into chutney and jam reusing bottles and jars with homemade labels. A tasty and cost-effective gift.
I don’t think you can beat homemade truffles! Absolutely divine! Plus, you can make them your own by adding different ingredients for an added kick, such as cherry brandy – which is a fave or bailey’s. Then roll in cocoa, gorgeous. A pretty little box and you have a lovely gift x
take photos of kids and make into next year calendars
Blackberry vodka
some nice choclolate cookies
As a cute alternative to a traditional wreath, my son draws round his hand on green card, cuts out and arranges in a wreath style formation. He then decoartes with bows and christmas berries and we hang from a piece of festive ribbon. Looks super if you do year by year and shows the stages of your little ones hand growth. Super sweet. x
A mix CD specifically made for that person you’re giving it to. The thought you put in to what songs you think they’ll love is so enjoyable and you know they’ll love it. What I like to also do is make the mix CD a personalised case out of an old cereal box, decorated or painted and with the track listing on the back!
If you haven’t much money for presents then buy a bottle of virgin olive oil, add some rosemary sprigs or lemon rind, tie a nice ribbon around and by summer that will e some lovely salad dressing for your summer bbq’s.
Make homemade fudge or cranberry sauce, or any other food that you’re good at creating. It’ll save you vital pounds on the food bill – leaving more for Christmas prezzies 🙂
I think you can’t beat a homemade Christmas card. They show you care and want to spend the energy!
I make my own gift bags out of left over wrapping paper. I find that gift bags can be quite expensive so using a freebie template I found online, I played around and you can use old wrapping paper so they don’t cost a penny – and you can personalise them too 🙂
Home made foodie things seem to always go down a treat, but also for Grandparents things that have photos of the kids made into them seem to go down well too.
Homemade baubles, you can make it your own by covering in glue and dipping in glitter then add a name to make it personal with stickers or different coloured glitter
A numerous home made card crafted with mag photo cuttings
Im making christmas chutney and christmas pudding vodka for a ittle gift set. I will also add some home made pot porri from slow dried oranges – lovely
homemade cookies
I have been brewing christmas beer as the perfect homemade gift for my friends and family.
I know it’s old fashioned but i still love making the paper chains we used to make at school
Iced pretty biscuits! Everyone would love 🙂
Save old toilet roll tubes and make your own crackers, very easy to do and much nicer to have a personalized prize 🙂
Homemade mince pies ALWAYS taste better than shop bought and they make your house smell amazingly festive 🙂
Homemade Hampers,
containing
homemadeJam,
homemade fruit Wine( 1 bottle elderberry, 1 bottle Blackberry),
chutney and fudge
Nut brittle
All homemade
Homemade chocolate truffles, presented in a pretty box are always a welcome gift in my family.
Make your gifts personalised to the receiver. I have made a gift for my BFF this year and personalised it towards her hobbies etc (can’t share what it is incase she reads this!)
Some Mulled wine in the slow cooker. x
Heat some chocolate over a pan of boiling water and dip things like orange or marshmallow; then you have chocolate dipped products 🙂
Homemade gingerbread for the children, marzipan sweets and a Christmas cake for the adults. All scrummy gifts.
I like to give out bottles of home made damson gin (to over 18’s of course). It’s so easy to make, and we have a very healthy supply of damsons, and it’s always been well received by those who’ve received it. I buy the stopper cap bottles, and decorate, usually with a different theme each year.
For home made Christmas gifts I like to make marshmallows, put them in a glass jar and tie a beautiful ribbon in a bow around the neck of the jar.
homemade eggnog
I always make several rumtopf jars and give them as gifts, they go down very well
We make spiced pickled peaches which make a great present.
A great homemade gift is decorated glass jars with a tea light in the bottom
Make hand impressions with your little ones hands from salt dough, it’s really cheap to make. Takes a few hours in the oven on a low temp. Then let your kids paint them, once dry coat them with a PVC glue mixed with water. They been a big hit with my family this year
We decorate little jars and fill them with a mix of oats and edible glitter, then we give them to the children in the family to sprinkle down their garden paths to help the Reindeer find the way to their homes ^_^
We have made some cushions for extended family this year, with my children personalizing them to Granny and Grandad etc. Cheap to do and a whole lot of fun
I love making fudge, peppermint creams and biscuits as edible gifts. They look lovely in boxes with pink tissue paper and a ribbon
Making homemade gifts need not be time consuming. Sometimes the simpler things are best 🙂
We make shortbread and choc chip cookies for my son’s teachers every year. A cheap basket from the charity shop, lined with pretty fabric and filled with cookies then wrapped in cellophane, What’s not to love?
homemade pickles and chutneys.
Personalised homemade chocolate. Its loved by all.
Home made sweets and chocolates always go down well as presents I find, especially if you have used some chocolate moulds as they can then look professional, During the year l keep any small cardboard boxes, ice cream boxes etc (even yogurt pots) that come my way and once dressed up with some fancy ribbon and sellophane they can look better than shop bought (and taste better)
The secret to a good home made gift is to know the person you are giving it to. For instance for my sister I am got some pictures my late father painted turned into a print and framed. It didn’t cost much to do but I know that she will love it.
Chocolate Spoons are always a winner – they make hot chocolate delicious. I think they are cute to wrap up with a tag and tie to presents as an extra treat!
Get an old photo frame and let the kids loose with some crafty bits & bobs – a lovely home-made frame which the grandparents love!
BUDGET CAREFULLY AT CHRISTMAS AND DON’T SPEND MONEY YOU HAVEN’T GOT.
I didn’t have much money last year so I made my youngest a sensory box.
– I found old clothes that had a variety of textures and colours and cut them into shapes (you can sew them and stuff them with different baby safe materials to add an extra sensory experience).
– I filled old plastic bottles with things such as bead and painted rice.
– I also added more natural items, such as a pine cone, a soft bristled brush, a shell, a short piece of rope, skeleton leaves (although I would only let my son explore these items with an adult present).
My son loved it and still plays with the sensory box a year later, although I have added more intricate items to match his development.
Buy plain, inexpensive plastic baubles and let the children decorate them with glitter, tinsel and sticky gems to make sturdier decorations for the tree.
I have taken up Aromatherapy, so making gift sets of bath oils, creams, massage oil and other pampering goodies
My children like to make some homemade gifts for their friends. This year they are going to make gingerbread people, wrap them in cellophane and add on a festive bow. Last year, we decorated some clean jars and made small meringue “kisses” (just small meringues) they added a little food colouring to make different coloured kisses. Also, one of my daughter’s has a couple of tops/nightshirts that have sentimental value to her and she has outgrown. She doesn’t want to pass them on to her little sister so, as an extra present, I am going to convert them into a couple of cushion covers so that she can use them as much as she likes.
I love making a homemade hamper with homemade Chutneys & Jams with locally sourced products.
I love to make double chocolate cheesecake and give to friends and family who don’t like Christmas Pudding.
getting some plain plates, cups or bowls and give the kids some sharpie pens and let them free to draw what they wish, then bake at a high heat in the oven it bakes the sharpie on and its great! makes great personlised gifts for families and the kids love making them and even some of the smaller kids can do wit with assistance (just so they dnt eat the pens 😉
nothing tastes quite like homemade fudge.
have also made dog biscuits in the past as well
Home made Limoncello – its chilling in the freezer as we speak
Definitely homemade fudge – so easy and so gratefully recieved and enjoyed by recipients so a win win present, easy to jazz up as well in pretty wrapping and ribbons which makes it look even more special, better than shop bought in my opinion
I like making fudge for people. And gingerbread stars 🙂
Delicious home made coconut cupcakes, you can make the icing look like snow and even make a fondant snowman head to put on the top. They look and taste great and always go down a treat
I love to make my own chocolates as gifts. I got some moulds a few years ago and I make them so much with my son – great family fun and then you can wrap them up in cellophane tied with a ribbon and they make a lovely thoughtful personalised, withe the added bonus of eating the odd one along the way in the name of quality control 🙂
We have done movie hampers with popcorn, dvd, snacks etc for family members
save xmas cards to make homemade gift tags
My favourite homemade gift is to put all the dry ingredients for cookies layered into a jar, with the recipe attached on a pretty gift tag.
Homemade jam/condiments. They always go down well!
Fudge or photo calendars.
Homemade chocolate truffles always go down really well – my sister makes very nice ones.
we make caledars for family with pictures for every month, if there is someone who has a birthday that month we put their picture in they are cheap and easy to do. Or plain coloured tea towels with childrens hand prints on grandparents love them
i make lovely dark chocolate and peanut butter cookies, gift wrap them in cookie bags lovely bows and they are amazing to hand a bag out to each person in the office 🙂
Home made coasters are a lovely present, use an old tile and cover them in some nice paper or tissue paper and glaze. pop felt on the bottom, tie up with a piece of ribbon and they make a lovely present!
me and the kids always make homemade cards for grandma, this year we are doing decorated boxes (by the kids of course) with home made lemon and jam tarts 🙂
My recommendation for an easy to make and tasty home made treat is rum truffles; they’re so easy to make and delicious too; my grandad loves them.
I’ve kept items my daughter has made throughout the year I.e a painting, stories, things from nursery and they’re all going in a box for her Granny.
I have dug out the sewing machine this year. I’m going to make my sister a roll for all of her makeup brushes. I’ve already made a “crayon roll” for my best friend and her kids. The idea being she keeps it in her bag and pulls out whenever they are bored. I’m NOT experienced in sewing but I’m enjoying it. A few mistakes here and there just add character to a present 😉
I try and keep hampers giving to me in previous years and then fill them up with all sorts of bits that someone may like wether its biscuits, bath bombs or little stocking fillers, my girlfriend especially likes scratchcards and little bottles of wine 😉
My 2 sons have put their hand and foot prints onto plates for their nana for Christmas. she’ll love them
Home made crosswords
we always make hand crafted Christmas cards with the kids, put their drawings in them, it makes a special gift for the family
a cardboard fireplace to hang the stockings from for whoever doesn’t have one – like this one! It’s amazing! 🙂 https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=tVjz98ypADWLMM&tbnid=XG2tjLHfWeAY3M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcripessuzette.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F04%2Fyour-pea-green-envy-begins-in-3-2-1%2F&ei=SG6vUrryIqPF0QW33YGACA&bvm=bv.57967247,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNFZ1o3QL8l-4Wh68CEphuiV8UwPZA&ust=1387315084500590
I make jars of chrismtas chutney in November using a Mary Berry recipe. Bottled in a nice jar with hand written tags they make lovely gifts, and its had enough time for the flavours to develop.
Sloe gin!
@smeethsays
homemade body scrub using brown and white sugar, vanilla extract and olive oil. Pop in a recycled jar and decorate with ribbons and a gift tag 🙂
I always make little bags of cookies for all my family, put them in gift bags with tissue paper. they always go down well, and I think they look just lovely… You don’t have to spend a fortune to make people smile, and that’s what Christmas is all about for me… Smiling!
We’re making fudge using toffee flavoured condensed milk – delicious!
My mum always used to encourage my brother and I to make Xmas decorations,.. We used to love using the previous years Xmas cards and cut out shapes for our gift tags!
we have roast pork and stuffing for all the family on Christmas eve allday for the family to pop in when they want
I made candle holders and xmas wreaths this year using jars,xmas ribbon, buttons etc, they have come out beautifully and will make ideal little gifts for my neighbours x
I do a calendar each year for us, the grandparents & in laws! I’ve done it each year since kids were born. It’s everyone’s favorite gift! We look through pictures of the past year. So fun!
I make a gingerbread house for my little boy, he loves it
skittles vodka!
I am making shortbread and will put them in a little box with a lovely silky ribbon as a present
Parmesan biscuits, very easy to make and lovely with nibbles
Can’t beat some nice homemade cupcakes with lovely festive decorations!
We try to make lots of things like coconut ice, truffles, cookies, christmas cakes but the best bit we make is millionaires shortbread. Epic yummyness.
I make jars of homemade chutneys and pickles, including a low salt version for someone on a special diet who can’t eat shop-bought chutney – it’s really personal.
Use your old Christmas cards to make a ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ treasure hunt, linking pictures on the cards to the clues you write so, for example, if it was a picture of Santa, you would write something like ‘He comes into the house here’.
A stick man figure made of tacked together pound coins! Creative and useful!
I love making sweets and chocolates and wrapping in home made boxes
we make salt dough decorations and my 2 year old loves decorating them! we press his hands into the dough and then bake until hard and then paint as father christmas! the fingers as the beard!
my daughter loves making homemade truffles, fudge and peppermint creams! all quick and easy recipes for kids to make and give as gifts!
When I was a kid we used to make homemade peppermints for the older relatives
Home made Christma s cake or mince pies always go down well. I ma not very good in the kitchen but I always make my own Christmas cards. Takes longer but it as worth it as I get lots of comments about them and whether they are better than last years.
personalised gifts are the best. we always make things for family member that have a personal touch
I’ll be making fudge this year, although my practice batch that I made the other night didn’t go too well (too crumbly), think the heat was too high. Never mind, I’ll try again at the end of the week. Wish me luck 🙂
i love those cookie ideas fab!
we make photo gifts and xmas cards for our family which are always a hit x
Lemoncello! Take one bottle of cheap vodka, zest from a pile of lemons, leave to infuse for a week (agitating each day), then add a pile of sugar, leave for another week or so. Then strain/filter and bottle. Serve fresh from fridge. Absolutely scrummy, everyone will want to know where you bought it from!
Homemade Mulled cider is a lovely gift to give.
I always make homemade gingerbread for Christmas
Home made fudge would be great to give as a gift
Homemade Elderberry wine with personalized labels.
When wrapping the presents, I put a bow only on the ones which are delicate, and might break or squash. Then they are easily identifiable when storing, transporting them, and I can have a word with santa, so he knows they need to go on top of the pile. Look good too! x
homemade chocolate truffles – easy and decadent!
Cut up old Christmas cards to make tags for presents
Homemade Holiday Lollipops are my thing 🙂 Clear lollipop with whatever christmassy sprinkles I can find
We have a few friends with young kids and last year, I made them all craft kits. I got small tupperware boxes and filled them with crayons, pencils, coloured paper and various sequins and other bits. The kids all loved them, they were totally unique and the parents were grateful for gifts which weren’t the usual battery powered toot which is broken by Boxing Day!
Every year, I make something for the few neighbours around me. This year, I’ve made fabric wreaths. We all have porches so they haven’t got wet and I’ve made all of the same wreath but in different colours. They all look lovely.
Being a chocoholic I’m going with homemade chocolates this year using dark chocolate to cover smashed pistacchio nuts together with cranberries. Wrapped in a clear bag with a pretty ribbon to tie them the teachers will be blown away 🙂
Try and start as early as possible, I have a huge long list of things I wanted to make for Christmas but I’m not going to finish it. New years resolution is to start making things for Christmas from about July.
I have done so many homemade gifts this year with reindeer food, snowman soup and a make your own snowman set for the girls plus the standard truffles and mince pies for neighbours, teachers and nurses. The girls also drew pictures for their godfather that I framed for him as he moved to Glasgow a few months ago and misses them terribly. I think home made personal presents mean so much more than something bought in a store, if only I could convince hubby to give it a go as I would much rather the girls made me something than bought it.
Homemade hot chocolate ingredients, layered in a jar – very simple and effective
Last year all the teachers and those support little got a little hamper full of homemade goodies, Chocolate stirrer’s, marshmallow snowmen, chocolate dipped biscuits and fudge.
this year its a selection of homemade Syrups
I love to layer the dry ingedients for cookies with red and green M&Ms in jars as a fun a crafty present 🙂
I make mince pies using this recipe which is divine and wrap up nicely in a pretty xmas napkin
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mincepies_73207
A homemade Christmas pudding in a gift box 🙂
Give a new baby a personalised stocking which they can us throughout their childhood. Make an identical one to give their parents, and you give them the gift of a reduced-stress Christmas Eve every year! The parents can fill the stocking ahead of time, the child hangs their stocking at bedtime, the parents can simply swap them over, no hassle!
Lots of my gifts are homemade. I’ve done teacup candles in thrifted vintage china, felted sweater hot water bottle covers and covered notebooks. I think people appreciate the effort that’s gone in.
Candy Cane xmas vodka – purshase some small Jars, Blend up some candy cane, let in enfuse with the vodka, decorate the jar with a candy cane and decorations and if you really want to be sparkley add some edible glitter!! delish!!
Homemade Soaps are a great gift, all pretty wrapped and tied with a gingham bow.
They look great and can use xmas moulds so they are really Christmassy. Much better than the soaps you can buy on the high street stores and smell so much nicer. It is something that the kids enjoy doing aswell x
For the teachers’ gifts this year I have made small star biscuits using a basic biscuit dough, coated them in melted chocolate with hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top and then piled four on top of each other and wrapped in cellophane bags.
Every likes a little over indulge and some yummy treats at Christmas so I always bake small little cakes for everyone and when buying all the ingredients in bulk it doesn’t cost as much 🙂
Home made foodie gifts are so simple and very cost effective – I’ve done garlic, chilli and basil oils, fudge, blackberry vodka (a definite winner!) and a selection of chutneys, and all went down a treat.
A homemade puppet show, using sock/finger puppets. My children are under 5 and loved this last year.
Save your christmas cards to use a present tags next year
Substitute some of the normal flour in your mince pies for ground almonds
For a cute present, get a teacup and saucer set from a charity shop and either fill it with chocolates or turn it into a candle, by melting a candle in a pan over the hob, place the wick in the middle and use sone skewers to hold it in place, poor in the wax and leave to set then wrap them up!
A handmade photo frame clock- its simple, very inexpensive and can be personalised completely to the persons tastes x
A great homemade gift from me would be shortbread Christmas trees. I’m a terrible cook, so something that’s supposedly simple still requires a lot of thought and effort!
Homemade choc marzipan walnut sweets. melt choc in a bowl on cooker (Bain Marie) roll out marzipan and cut circles (about size of the top of an egg cup) dip in choc and place a half walnut on top, leave to dry and put them in a box (like an old Ferrero Rocher box, bit of ribbon wrapped round and done.
I like to make cake or biscuit jars where you layer the ingredients in a see through jar – they look great and all they have to do is add milk/eggs and they have a lovely homebaked cake or biscuits.
home-made cooking essentials are a brilliant gift – cinnamon or vanilla sugar; basil or garlic-infused olive oil; even homemade limoncello liqueur are all easy and relatively cheap to make but cost a fortune to buy in the shops. There are recipes online for pretty much anything you can think of and the recipient of the gift will know that it was made with love – which makes everything taste better!
This year, I’ll be making a homemade mulled wine kit. I’ll tie the spices and sugar in a pouch and attach to a nice bottle of red wine. Carefully, I’ll add cloves to an orange and also tie this, along with a cinamin stick, to the bottle.
I make christmas decorations with my children,we have a scrap box that we add things to all year round
I make chilli jam, cranberry curd and Christmas spiced chutney.
I make small star shapes with royal icing and sprinkle then with different colours of glitter and embed some gold coloured theadand when they are dry we hang them on the christmas tree
Agree to a maximum spend on each family member, makes it cheaper and you have to put more thought into the gifts that you buy.
with my children (when they break up on friday) we found pine cones (yesterday sat 14/12) so we can spray or paint them colours for the tree, last weekend we made and painted a star garland too (only shape we had multiple sized cookie cutters).
Homemade christmas tree decorations! Every year you make one or two more and they get added to your family’s repetoire of decorations.
I make Rocky Road Fudge, Sweet and Spicy Nuts and Lemon Curd as great homemade gifts!
homemade candles with Christmas spice
my favourite homemade gift is cupcakes – i love making them and i hope my friends and family like to receive them! I make different flavours and use buttercream and fondant icings to decorate them in different designs!
Giant snow flake decorations made by my daughter she learnt in Art at school then gave me a lesson, we soon had them all over the house 🙂
home made truffles always make good presents and are extra special as they are made with love
We make all our own christmas present tags, we buy gold and silver thread (bought cheaply at our local market) and then cut out scenes and pictures from last years christmas cards. We also collect holly and small branches from our nearby wood and stick those onto presents for a really festive look. We also make little place cards too by using pine cones with pictures stuck to them.
I make a Christmas cake for close family – got 4 in the kitchen at the moment which I am still ‘feeding’ until I ice them next week. I am not a particularly good baker but you can get some lovely sugarcraft pieces that really dress them up. Plus a festive ribbon hides all sorts of imperfections.
I love getting the kids to make handmade cards to go with our cookies we bake!
I like to make home made fudge, I have a lovely recipe I use from the pink whisk and I add different ingredients depending on each persons personal favourite 🙂
Home made chocolate crispy cakes
I’ll be making mince pie fudge for all my friends and family this year – super easy, very cheap, and tastes divine!
My tip is don’t aim for perfection, wonky is good ! We always make homemade Christmas cards and handpainted picture frames or baubles for the grandparents, which always go down well ! Coconut ice, peppermint creams and honeycomb are other edible faves.
I make homemade jams, chutney and curd and give them at Xmas .
Homemade hampers are really good to put together as you can make them just right for the recipient. I’ve just made one for my 96 year old grandad full of goodies that have a ‘laxative effect’ as its a problem for him…he has a good sense of humour!
Home made ginger chocolate . Gorgeous.
Make lists and be prepared plus if you only home-make one thing let it be a delicious stuffing to go with your turkey. merry Christmas all xx
Give a piece of driftwood you find on the beach. looks great, costs nothing, thought that counts
Christmas Cake made in November, which is then fed every few days with Brandy. Few days before Christmas its then covered with Marzipan and Icing! By Christmas Eve most of its gone as I have so many friends and family wanting a slice!
Many years ago when money was scarce I made felt animals by hand for all the children in the family for Christmas. They cost very little to make but a lot of time and care went into them and they were loved by all so much that soon I was getting orders from friends and neighbours. It helped us through a very difficult period and brought a lot of joy to the recipients.
I make shortbread and put it boxes with nice napkins to give to family & my elderly neighbours
I love to make homemade chocolates as presents for friends and family. I try and make them indivudual according to their tastes and preferences, the best part of it is, they are cheap to make and you can never go wrong with chocolates! It’s a win/win homemade gift idea 🙂
i Reuse my old christmas cards. I cut with Pinking scissors and add gold twine, if it is a bigger pic I fold it and insert a lottery Card in the fold, makes an “extra” present
I will be weaving pine fronds and holly leaves and berries into three wreaths this year
This year I have made Christmas cards by sewing them. You can download “form a line” patterns and personalise with names. They take a while to do but they look fab once finished. Really enjoyed doing this for my family and friends.
I make brownies and wrap them up in red cellophane,add a bow. Yummy and festive looking!
I painted some upside down light bulbs with santa and a snowman on to use as baubles on the tree and gave the set to my family (all learnt at a craft class)
I love making sweets for friends and family at Christmas – sugar mice are always a hit!
Flavoured vodkas are easy and great. Also, I found a really easy mini fudges recipe in My Daddy Cooks book which we are going to use to make sweets for teachers next week.
we’re making hand decorated t shirts for people (or shopping bags for people who don’t wear T shirts 😉 ) using acrylic paint and stencils. Top tip, don’t use too much paint!
Get someone to help with the cooking! And don’t be a perfectionist.
My tip is to not feel guilty about not making everything, especially when you can buy lovely handmade gifts on Etsy.
My children love to make peppermint creams for grandparents. Easy to make Christmassy shapes & decorate too.
I make chocolate truffles with my children and give them as Christmas gifts in little bags they make and wrap with ribbon. Simple but thoughtful.
My Mum makes lovely fruitcakes using her family recipe which she gives as presents to neighbours 🙂
Home made fudge packaged in a nice glass jar with a hand written label always goes down very well
You can go wrong with gift of homemade food!
i always wrap my own hamper. fill jars with homebake cookies.
we love making dough decorations for the tree and gingerbread reindeer’s for our tummies 🙂
We filled glass jars with retro sweets (rhubard & custards etc!) printed off personalised vintage style labels to stick on & tied with ribbon 🙂
WE are making gingerbread house for the table – during Boxing Day, this will be shared by the children
I try to make them personal to the person I am giving them too, whether that means icing in their favourite colour, a shape they would like (a friend loves stars) or piping their name. It just gives it that extra personal touch
Home-made chilli oil, lovely and red, just add a bit of holly and mistletoe to decorate the bottle
make peppermint candy and decorate with glitter
I make a few homemade gifts, a cake mix, Christmas cupcake papers, pretty vintage plate and napkins. I pick up baskets throughout the year. For garden lovers, I buy narcissus or crocus bulbs usually at a garden centre in a pick and mix crate and add a pretty plant pot, can be personalised easily with names
I’ve been making rag wreaths this year using wire coat hangers. They look beautiful!
Homemade beaded jewellery can be a lovely gift. For children you can even give them the pretty beads, alphabet beads and elastic as the gift and let them make their own personalised jewellery.
Choose an LP (charity shop) to suit the the person who the presents is for. Line the LP centre up with the centre of an oven proof bowl & put in the oven at 180C for 3-4 mins. when it droops, remove it & (with gloves of tea towel) gently mould.
Fill with favourite sweets etc..
Love making truffles with the children although it can get messy and somehow not all the truffles make it into the gift bags!
homemade paper chains for decorations to shortbread biscuits great with a cup of tea after doing all the Christmas washing up
A calendar is always very acceptable and a lovely gift to customise
Home made crackers, they’re much better than shop brought ones!
last year my lids made Christmas Tree shaped Ginger Biscuits with a ribbon so they could be hung as a decoration and used these as gift tags with iced names on them 🙂
Homemade coconut ice, marzipan, fudge etc.
Savory muffins in a hamper look great – my favorites are cheese and spinach. Only problem is they need to be eaten within a few days but they can also be frozen so you can have a good supply for a while!
Can’t beat a home made cake, everyone love them
I make a homemade food hamper for my sister – usually has bread, pastries and sweet treats like rocky road and fudge cake in it.
I made a recipe book for my mum and sister as they always asking me for recipes and I left room so they can add their own and it’s very personal
i will be giving my wife tokens to cut out that can be exchanged for special meals to be cooked
Get an old empty frame, drill some holes in it and tie strings from one end to the other. Then use mini pegs and attach pictures!
A friend who is into crafts gave me some tips on making your own christmas cards. Its really easy to get good results – even as a clumsy handed beginner – and the recipients really like a personalised card.
We make a 12 page booklet of photos/pictures etc (one for each month) that our 5 year daughter has made to send to family who live far away
Make your own crackers, they’re quite easy and throughout the year you can pick up little gifts to put in them tailored to the recipients like jewellery or minis of their favourite beauty products.
bake some cakes
I have just made a choc orange malteaser Christmas pudding and am pretty pleased with that
childrens handprints onto canvas with them each having wrote their names under make a lovely present
We are having a go at making peppermint creams this year!
Make homemade baking kits for family & friends to try. Using empty jars, or decorative tins layer up the ingredients and put handwritten instructions in the lid. Tie it with a bow and you have a practical, personal and tasty gift!
Jars filled in layers with the ingredients for scrum my cookies – if there are nuts, brown sugar and cox chips they will look pretty. Tie on a label of ingredients and recipe
fairy cake everyone loves them including meeeeeeeee
I always think the Christmas tree looks better with home-made ornaments: pine cones, decorations the kids make, etc. Really makes the house feel Christmassy.
Homemade chocolate truffles using Philadelphia chees and bourbon biscuits. then coat them in chocolate for a tasty treat
White chocolate bark with crushed candy canes usually proves to be popular. Still haven’t blogged this from last year – oops.
For all of the smaller gifts I make pretty drawstring bags from left over fabric scraps, and if I have the time add an appliqué initial of the recipient in a contrasting colour.
I’m going to make some no cook fudge and retry to make some gingerbread after the disaster I suffered on the weekend!
Pop some petals or candy canes etc into a cellophane bag with the present in it, it’s a nice change to wrapping paper 🙂 Some nice homemade wine too.
I love making crystal window decorations that sparkle in the sunshine!
Gingerbread biscuits in festive shapes – all very individual and tasty @kateonthinice
We decorate bowls with golden baubles and put a few of them around the flat to make it more christmassy
I like to make things from fabric. The nicest gifts are handmade quilts because you can snuggle up with them on the sofa with the children & some classic disney 😉
Making your own gift tags are good for involving the kids
My favourite gifts are the carved plaques/reliefs that my parents usually make for the family. They’ve been making them each year and so get a bit quicker and easier – I guess what we like most about them is that they’re something they take great care with and make especially for us.
I don’t think you can have any better than create a personal photo album or photo montage in a lovely picture frame.
Having family that live in far flung places in the world – and even closer to home – an album or wall art that depicts family over the last year at a very family time when not all can be together is not only a wonderful gift, but can build a year upon year parade (A bit like the Gigg sports teams mug shots eh?!)
Also – if you’re a bit of a geek – you can easily whizz up a screensaver install package that can pop the pics on you home/work machines!
It may all sound a tad cliche – but family are the most important people in all our lives, not just Christmas!
I made greetings cards out of photos that I had taken throughout the year, and gave my relatives a selection box of cards for Christmas last year.
The children and I are baking biscuits for their teachers. Thank you for all these recipes 🙂
I like to write people little poems or letters for something a bit different, all presented in your bets handwriting on nice paper and charming envelope
I make some gingerbread me put a bow on their necks and wrap the up in Greaseproof paper, put them in a box, then pretty Material and finish with a bow
I usually make homemade gingerbread men for the kids, I make a centerpiece for the table and the kids make decorations. ♥
I love making a hamper of home made produce. I make Jams, Chutney’s, Cookies, Pickles, Pickled Onions etc and then make everyone a little hamper of my products. HOWEVER, the best home made present I ever received was a little parcel carefully wrapped with pretty ribbons and a label that said – Please do not ever open this as it was filled with love, made with love and wrapped with love. Do not let my love escape!
Make your own gift tags for a personalized touch 🙂
Ooh all those cookies look delicious!! As you may have guessed, I LOVE giving homemade gifts.. and they range from DIY candles, to doorstops, to homemade toys for the kids. Fingers crossed. Would LOVE an ipad!!!
Last year I made my own biscuits which everybody seemed to like, so I will probably do the same this year. My dear old grandma used to make knitted items for my sons, like cardigans and hats. I’ve also thought about making my own jam and giving as gifts…maybe next year.x
Cookies are always a welcome gift
Get some fancy clear jars and fill them with the dried ingredients to make your won Christmas cookies then put a lovely festive ribbon and tag around them
Home made cookies with the recipe attached so they can make more in the new year
I make spicy carrot chutney as presents as it is lovely with cold meats after Xmas dinner.
JAM IS ALWAYS A FAV AND SO EASY TO MAKE!
Wow – fab tips here. If I have time, I’m planning on making a personalised Christmas tree decoration for my friends’ kids – I’ll cut their initial out of felt, back it with card and decorate with multi-coloured beads and sequins for that twinkly effect!
Voucher for your time – babysitting voucher
Make a collage of personal photos and put them in a pretty frame.
I always make a big batch of homemade mince pies, so much better than bought ones… 😀
I make clotted cream fudge and box it up in boxes that my wife makes as presents for nieces and nephews
we have taken a photo of baby Grandson on the same day of each month (i.e. on the 15th of every month) for a year. So next year we will have a whole 12 months of Grandsons’s 1st year, these photos will then be put in a memory frame as a gift for his parents. The frame will show all 12 months of him growing up in one pic. not expensive, handmade and unique.
And thanks for including my wreath biscuits, they don’t last long enough to give as gifts!
I make chilli jam and red onion & cranberry chutney as they go brilliantly with Boxing Day leftovers.
I like to make cookies in Xmas shapes, trees, stars, snowmen etc. then wrap in cellophane and using ribbon sit them on a couple of candy canes-ta-da! You have a sledge/Santa’s sleigh full of yummyness!
Salted caramel truffles
Every year, I make a gingerbread house. The kids get to decorate it. Then, once we get to Christmas Day, we all dig in. Gets demolished pretty quickly.
Homemade truffles – better than storebought and always a hit!
herbs from your garden!
My son & I made some chocolate truffles to give as gifts to the family from him. They looked a bit lost in anything we tried to pack them in, so we wrapped them in cellophane, tied with a ribbon & made some crackers to put them in. It worked great & everyone was really pleased with our home made gifts
This year we’re making peppermint stars and giving them away in Kilner Jars so that it’s a present which lasts as the jar can be reused. I’m also making cards with photos I took last Christmas – as we all wore fake moustaches last year, they should raise a laugh!
Homemade christmas cake, pudding and mince pies,can’t buy anything like them!
Xmas decorations made from coloured, sticky back paper, as I used to make when I was a child.
Every year I present my parents with a framed photograph of their Grandchildren standing by the Christmas tree. They love it and it’s a wonderful reminder of how much they have grown.
We love to make simple Christmas buns, mince pies, lemon curds, crispy buns etc. Then plate one of each of them up on a Christmas plate and visit an old lady who was a neighbour years ago. my Children got poorly the last few years so we have not been able to visit, the look on her face when we go to visit is priceless and my kids are so excited planning what bun we are taking her this year. sometimes the simple ideas make people happy 🙂
I like making homemade truffles. They are easy to make and don’t require special skills. You can get nice cases for them on ebay.
Our attempts at biscuit making was ermmm unique but got away with it with copious amount of icing and decorating sweets.
Homemade mince pies, snowy rocky road (made with white chocolate, cranberries and other festive tastes) and rum and raisin fudge. All big winners in our family and really yummy
I love to spend an afternoon with a selection of Belgian cooking chocolates, nuts, cocoa, unsalted butter, cream and booze and get messy in the kitchen. Some of it has to be quality checked on the way ; but more fun later comes in wrapping and presenting the truffles. They’ve always gone down well and the nicest part is your friends know you’ve put your time and love into them too.
The easiest home made pressie of all – truffles
I love to make Christmas Reindeer out of twigs and then spray them in silver and gold. Home made butter fudge wrapped in greaseproff papre then fabric squares and tied with ribbon is a lovely gift too.
Homemade jams and chutneys, I give them as gifts every year! And all the ingredients that go in to them are grown on our allotment!
Home made cream liqueur – much nicer than Baileys
For the crafty types, Homemade Christmas cards are a lovely idea. I could spend hours getting glittery, shiney, pretty bits and bobs, ribbons bows coloured & patterned cards from homeware and craft shops! <3
crackers and cards are easy to make and the kids hav so much fun
Alcohol is always a good present for the adults and so easy to make. I’m making some christmas vodka this year with cinnamon and orange peel. I’m also going to attempt to make macaroons! Wish me luck!
Love the idea of the upside down gingerbread man to make a reindeer!
I’m making some slow cooker fudge – it’s taken a few attempts though! The first batch didn’t set so we had fudge sauce instead! 🙂
Emma xx
(@beachpebble)
I have made fudge, chocolate stirrers and cheats biscuits in the past, this year with be coffee syrups x
I love to create new recipes & bake cookies & cakes as gifts
Over the years I have given all sorts of homemade gifts from artificial flower arrangements, self made clothes, bakes, preserves and biscuits. But this year I am giving the gift of myself! Sounds crazy I know but all too often we are soooo busy that we send cards and gifts when all your friends and family would like is some time with you
I make all of our staff boxes of Christmas Cupcakes and mince pies,takes forever buy i hope they know they are appreciated!!
I always make homemade tablet and make my own small personalized boxes to present them in. In the days gone by pre motherhood) when I had much more time on my hands I made all of my own gifts one year by crochet. It ranged from hats and scarves to makeup bags and pencil cases.
make different types of chutneys and put in nice jars and wrap with a ribbon. They always make a nice gift
Those are my Stained Glass cookies, and I stand by them – best homemade gift ever! 😉
Making up a set with pretty, but inexpensive, mugs and a home made hot chocolate mix and marshmallows in a box, tin, basket, bag anything presentable! Lovlely gift 🙂
Homemade Pear Chutney made from my own pear tree in a nice presentation jary goes down extremely well.
I love making personal tree decs, that itie to gift bags, usually containing a photo, so cheap but fun and a nice keepsake.
My young daughter and I make fairy cakes and give them to people, cheap, fun and great to make…
I have made gingerbread and fudge this year – my tip is to not panic about it being perfect – it’s home made, it shouldn’t look perfect 🙂
we are actually going to use your idea for the coffee cup filled with treats for Isla’s teacher. I think we’re going to bake snowflake cookies.
This year me and my daughter are making people “Xmas puds with a twist” ….Terry’s Chocolate orange, covered with Maltesers and topped off with white icing dribbled over the top to look like Christmas puddings. We shall have great fun making them and will be happy to be giving our family and friends a little great that we took time to make 🙂
I always make some kind of baked goods for Christmas presents, I think it’s really important to wrap or dress any homemade gift entra beautifully 🙂
I’m making flavored vodka this year, marsbar vodka and maybe skittles vodka.
lovely tips here tonight….for my kids i always find 5-6 small boxes ,put one gift on the first box and put it in sec box together with the second gift,and so one ,is like pass the parcel but each box has a gift and another box to open…makes it more interesting that put everything in one place 🙂
I love to make cinnamon biscuit stars, dip the points in chocolate and punch a hole in one point before cooking, so I can put ribbon through and hang on the Christmas tree. I’m also making wrapping paper using brown parcel paper (it’s stronger than most shop bought wrapping paper, so no annoying rips to contend with!) and I have a vintage style rubber stamp of Santa holding a sack of toys to decorate the paper with.
I’m making reindeer lollies for friends this year, easy, cute and yummy 🙂
Anything that shows careful, individual thought and care about the person you’re giving to
I make jams, chutney, lemon curd, little Christmas puddings, after 8 mints, sugar plum fairies and coconut ice for everyone
Make salt dough and roll it with a rolling pin,make shapes with cokie cutters, pirce to make a hole for a rbbon. Once bakes in a low temperature you can paint them with acryclic paints and give as xmas tree ornaments. Even kids can do these.
We let the kids decorate some leftover plain A3 paper last year-it was fantastically colourful wrapping paper!
We make homemade candle holders and decorate mugs and fill them with chocolates. The grandparents love receiving gifts that have been made rather than bought
I make chocolate truffles for everyone and put them in hand decorated boxes. And I get to lick the bowl 🙂
I have made a homemade Christmas Card Holder this year using ribbon and cards from last year. I also make chocolate truffles from coconut oil, cocoa, ground almonds, sugar and icing sugar, which I put into little paper cases and give to friends as presents.
Home made Christmas cake yum yum, can’t beat homemade!!
My homemade gift of choice is sloe gin. Easy to make and tastes lovely. Made with love 🙂
I like to make something different every year, photo gifts, finger print gifts from the children but I love to make beaded gifts like bookmarks, bracelets, handbag charms, keyrings and jewellery.
I love giving homemade gifts at Christmas. I also love coking, so for my sister I made a book containing 12 vouchers that could be redeemed for 12 home cooked family dinners. This went down very well with a busy full time working mum!
We love to create gifts for grandparents with photos of the little ones surrounded by their own drawings to frame the picture.Simple, personal and can be recreated every year.
In my learning support class, we are helping them make home string decorations, christmas cards and christmas cupcakes.
I save all the freebies during the year and make a cracker out of them for a extra pressie under the tree
We have made hand prints into trees Christmas cards for the grandparents this year (the toddler’s not mine ) 😉
I liked to make home-made chocolate in different moulds for special occasions for that extra little touch. 🙂
I have given many a cross-stitched gift in my time, mainly to family, and they all still have them. This year I am planning on shortbread which my daughter can help me make 🙂
I made lovely Christmas tree decorations out of green buttons for Squish’s teachers 🙂 So cheap and easy to made and something they can keep to put on their tree every year. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/112801165640712704/
(please delete my other comment… some hideous misspelling going on there!)
My Moseley ‘community spirit’ Sloe Gin in a pretty glass Kilmer bottle. The making of the gin is a tale of neighbourly spirit. I wanted to make sloe gin, but where to get sloes?? I asked a friend – she didn’t know. She asked the man who lives 5 doors down from her, but he didn’t know either. But two days later he turned up at her door with oodles of sloes for me. He had sent someone else to find some for me. How kind is that? I made the gin, it’s yummy. I still don’t know the man who found the sloes, but next week I will seek him out with a bottle of the finished product for Christmas. And all of this 3 miles from the centre of Birmingham – who said cities have no soul or no community spirit 🙂
We do the cookie mix jars for the children’s friends, they always go down so well! Maisie always decorates mugs for her teachers and fills them with wrapped sweets of some kind – we then tie it up in pretty cello and ribbon and they always look gorgeous! I must do a log post about them actuallyl! xx
I haven’t had time this year but next year I’ll be making fruit vodka for everyone from a recipe I have found! This year I’ll be sharing out my Christmas cake (I make mini ones) and home made mincepies.
We have made an ‘Essex Hamper’ full of local goodies for the teachers at the school so they can all help themselves to to the bits they would like from it.
I think the key to a great homemade gift that doesn’t cost the earth is being thoughtful and making them personal. A saltdough hand impression for granny, delicious smelling lip scrub for a sister or flavoured sea salts for a foodie friend. When there is thought and time behind it, it doesn’t matter how much you spend. xoxo
I love to give fabric clocks as gifts and they’re really easy to make. You’ll need to buy the basic clock kit which is really cheap and includes the clock motor. Just get any type of wooden circle in the size of clock you require and make sure it is at the thickness of the clock mechanism kit or visa versa. You can buy the wooden circles ready made if necessary at craft shops. Drill a hole in the middle for your kit to fit into and paint around the edge of the circle in a colour of your choice. At Christmas I use a lot of gold and silver but any colour to compliment the colour of the fabric scraps you want to use. Cut out your circle of fabric to fit onto the wood and glue on. After the glue has dried insert the clock mechanism through the centre hole and attach the hands to the front and you’re done. I’ve yammered on here but it really is so quick and simple. You can jazz them up and use cartoon fabrics, attach glitter with glue etc. Anything your imagination can think up. Make great presents.
I like making little stuffed heart cushions/decorations – I made some last year in leopard print and tartan- very punk rock!
I recommend the ‘Christmas Eve box’ for smaller humans. Assemble some new pyjamas, a note pad and some pens, homemade fudge and hot chocolate and Christmassy DVD. A lovely way to show someone you care <3
A mini Christmas cake compete with marzipan and icing with a personal message written on the top, and a mini sugarpaste robin or penguin!
Every year I make home made Christmas cards crackers and soft Toys for the little ones It keeps me busy, and is a fun hobby to have 🙂
I made some homemade Christmas pudding truffles one year – they went down very well as gifts.
If you’re a photographer, why not create a collage of the year for a loved one!
the best homemade gift I’ve been given is the little bag of goodies to make our own mulled wine, mmm simply delicious
I’m going to make iced biscuits with little holes in to thread ribbon through to hang on the tree. If my icing skills are up to it I’m hoping to do little Santas on top of flood icing and use a cocktail stick to make his beard and fur on hat look fluffy.
I’m going to do simple home made shortbread angels, Xmas tree etc with white icing decorated on them, put them in. Glass jar, then tie a Christmas tag and ribbon round it and give them as gifts.
A white mug painted with chalkboard paint then with a lovely heartfelt message or joke to the recipient. Homemade gifts a fabulous and show so much love and thought!
I make handmade hearts sewn from Christmas material and decoration them with buttons – pretty hung over a fireplace with stockings 🙂
Homemade limoncello…. Yummy
Adults appreciate homemade alcoholic drinks. Sloe gin is an easy option, or try homemade limoncello. Decant into pretty bottles and make an individual personalised label. A little time and effort invested will reap compliments.
We have made tree ornaments using salt dough ad gifts. All sorts of Christmassy shapes but the favourites are santas made with a little ones hand print. You paint the fingers white for the beard, and paint the hat on the top and the thumb. Also love I gelled Xmas puddini bonbons. X
Make a personalised picture spelling out a name or message using scrabble letters. You can also use buttons to create shapes/letters e.g. initials of a new child.
Take some wooden clothes pegs, paint them, stick them on some coloured card and voila – you have a christmas card holder you can stick on the wall
Our best was homemade elder flower champagne. I cannot tell you how yummy and alcoholic it is by Christmas :O #bestgiftever
I will be making chocolate cornflakes in the shape of Christmas trees sprinkled with icing sugar and chocolate stars with my 2 boys for their Pre-school Christmas party to share with their friends
I have fruit trees in my garden that produce masses more fruit that we can possibly eat so I make chutney and cordials for Christmas gifts. Uses up excess fruit so it doesn’t go to waste and makes delicious gifts.
This year I am giving my family and friends homemade christmas cake but instead of fruit the cake will be red velvet yummy!
Got to be a homemade Christmas cake!
We always make our own Christmas pudding from a recipe my mum gave me many years ago and it always reminds me of her.
santa’s chocolate sledges using candy canes as handles, chocolate santa driving and choccy coins. a great gift for teachers that my 3 year old can make as well
Chocolate brownies, with cranberries and pecan nuts. Bake, portion and wrap in festive treat or presentation bags from Lakeland.
Dates wrapped in home made almond paste with a skinned almond centred in the date is also an attractive moreish treat for Christmas.
I like to make small salted caramel cookie squares. Your best chocolate chip cookie recipe in a square tin. Melted eclairs and sea salt in a layer on top and then another layer of cookie mix. Oven baked and then fridged.
Cut into small squares and put into fabric packages, with ribbon bows
I remember decorating a glass jar for a candle holder when I was younger 🙂 Still have it around the house too (probably about 15 years later, really can’t mind how old I was though).
Homemade chocolate truffles using Philadelphia chees and bourbon biscuits. then coat them in chocolate for a tasty treat
I think a brilliant gift for parents/grandparents, is to use the childrens hands/feet to create a picture of canvas, e.g hand prints to make a tree. Very unique and thoughtful, looks lovely too.
chilli jam!
We have made our own scrapbooks for our friends, they are full of photos, jokes and notes about things we like and have done this year.
With 5 sisters, 2 brothers and 26 nephews, nieces and 1 great nephew i like to make a collage EVERYYEAR using that specific years photos from birthdays and halloween party’s and every other year there’s always a new addition to add we then frame it and give it to the grandparents.
The last years one can be taken out of the frame and put safely away and the new one displayed.
Last years christmas cards made into tags 🙂
my little girl likes making our own Christmas tree decorations from fabric, we make hearts and snowmen using felt then using stuffing from a old pillow
Home made chocolate truffles.
A friend of mine did a biography with photos for a friend of ours which was a great idea.
The way to people’s hearts at christmas is a gift that touches the soul.
My Children make a scrap book with people’s birthdays in so they can fill it with pictures, messsages and notes.
We then look back at the end of the year!
Perfect.
Home made crosswords – there are many crossword making websites. Using one of these is a really easy way to make a personalised crossword, so you can make the clues & answers unique to the person.
For gifts that your children can share with their school friends I recommend adding hot chocolate to a cone cellophane bag, tying it out and adding another cone cellophane bag on the outside. Stack chocolate buttons and mini marshamallows on top. Tie up adding a candy cane within the bow. Then let your little ones hand out to their friends for a little tasty treat.
Homemade fudge! Easy and tasty – and even children can make it – yummio!
We all decorate plant pots and fill with hyacinth bulbs to give to the kids’ teachers.
I made a lovely crochet blanket for my nan this Christmas. It’s first time I’ve every started and finished a crochet project. The best tip I could give, would be to start early!
I love homemade calendars and my Nan does too. When I was younger, I drew pictures or wrote little poems for every month of the year and these days, I print off her favourite pictures of Amy or days out and make her a calendar with it. I didn’t do it one year as I thought it was getting a little boring, but she loudly demanded her annual homemade calendar…
I am going to make white chocolate chip and cranberry cookies in the shape of Christmas trees with the children.
Hello Goddesque,
My choice of ideal homemade gift is Honeycomb dipped in Dark Chocolate. Back in the US we had this very thing every Christmas. It was called Angel Food Candy. All odd shaped, glorious honeycomb covered in dark chocolate but it only came at Christmastime. I shall make some this year in remembrance of Angel Food Christmas Past.
Merry merry!
Karin xx
That sounds awesome Karin: I look forward to the post.