DIY foodie Christmas Gifts

For the last 3 years my family have been surprised every Christmas with a basket of home-made goodies. I just find it so charming when people bring me something they’ve made/baked in their own kitchens all by themselves and I think it’s so much more personal and thoughtful than a bought gift.

Now I know, not everyone are self-proclaimed Nigella’s in the kitchen but these 4 ideas are probably the easiest you’ll ever come across! Some of them you don’t even have to do anything, you just measure and throw a lot of stuff into a jar! Seriously..you can do that AND hold your wine glass at the same time. Tie a pretty ribbon around it, and it’s done. Voila! For those of you that are more daring, I also included a FAB brownie recipe and some Christmas cookies.

I think with people still feeling the pinch of the recession, home-made gifts are just logical. Why spend money you don’t have on gifts when you can make something for a tenth of the price? And all you really need to do is find some cute jars (Consol factory is GREAT for this as they are SUPER cheap), pretty gift bags and some ribbon. Surely you’ve got some ribbon lying around your house? And you can type up instructions, cut them out and stick them on some pretty cardboard, no card needed!

The recipes and ideas I’ll be sharing over the next few days are all for sweet things but I thought I should share some other ideas with you so you have a bigger variety to choose from. And if you do decide to go this route this Festive Season, please let me know! And e-mail me a pic if you can. I’d love to see your handiwork! 🙂

Home-made gift ideas :

• Marinated Olives (olive oil, lemon juice, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, whole chillies and peppercorns)
  Marinated Feta (Cubed feta with olive oil, peppercorns, dried mint and lemon rind)
• Chilli Jam
• White chocolate & cranberry biscuits
• Rocky road bars (chocolate with mini marshmallows, cherries, crushed biscuits and nuts)
• Flavoured sugars (caster sugar flavoured with vanilla pods or lavender)
• Spice mixtures (combine all your favourite spices to make a signature spice mix and package in pretty bottles)
• Cheese straws (Sprinkle a sheet of ready-made puff pastry with mature cheddar and some paprika, slice, twist and bake until crisp and golden)

Next Post’s Home-made gift Idea :

Triple Chocolate Brownies